The International Organization for Migration is joining the African
Union Commission (AUC), the Economic Commission for West African
States (ECOWAS) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC) to launch the Ouagadougou Action Plan for AU Member States,
through a workshop March 24-26, in Abuja, Nigeria.

The Ouagadougou Action Plan is a cornerstone of the AU
counter-trafficking campaign AU.Commit and specifically calls on
Member States to harmonize proposed and existing anti-trafficking
legislation.

The Action Plan recognizes a special consultative role for IOM
and other relevant partners in assisting Member States and Regional
Economic Communities (RECs) such as ECOWAS in putting the Action
Plan into practice. 

IOM is assisting in this effort through joint workshops
promoting the Action Plan among the Regional Economic Communities
and discussing mechanisms for member states to address trafficking
in persons in a more strategic and programmatic manner. 

The workshop in Abuja is the official launch for the Ouagadougou
Action Plan in the ECOWAS Region as well at the AU level. IOM will
participate in a similar event to be organized with the
Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the East
African Community (EAC), later in the year.

The workshops are part of the "Stop Trafficking Campaign –
Operationalizing the Ouagadougou Action Plan to Combat Trafficking
in Human Beings, Especially Women and Children" project funded by
the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration of the US State
Department.

More than 50 officials and experts from ECOWAS and other
Regional Economic Committees, UN agencies, civil society
organizations and international partners dealing with migration and
development, will participate in the workshop. It is hoped that the
workshop and campaign launch in the Region will help establish
counter-trafficking efforts as a priority on the development agenda
of the ECOWAS member states. 

For more information, please contact:

Sara Mohammed

Tel +234 706 338 32 21

E-mail: "mailto:msara@iom.int">msara@iom.int