Lebanon - The Lebanese Ministry of Justice and IOM have launched a TV Public Service Announcement (PSA) as part of the "Protect and Assist the Vulnerable and Exploited Migrant Workers in the Middle East and North Africa (PAVE)” regional project funded by the European Union (EU) and the Italian Ministry of Interior.

The PSA highlights the existence of human trafficking in Lebanon and the many forms of exploitation that it can take. It also provides information on how to assist law enforcement in identifying cases of trafficking. It aims to engage the public in combating trafficking by reporting trafficking cases to the authorities.

This awareness raising initiative follows a series of trainings and workshops on counter trafficking and victim identification targeting governmental and non-governmental front line actors. These include hotline operators, internal security forces investigators, general security officers, labour inspectors from Ministry of Labor, social workers from Ministry of Social affairs, embassies of migrant-sending countries, NGOs, lawyers, social workers, community leaders and media professionals.

The project has also organized a roundtable discussion with judges and prosecutors to explore protection mechanisms for victims. 

The PAVE project aims to contribute to the protection of migrant workers against exploitation and trafficking in five different countries: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.

The project includes six main activities: training, regional dialogue, study visits, victim assistance, awareness raising and research and analysis. The activities are implemented through engaging government officials, civil society actors, migrants and the general public. The European Union contributes 80 per cent of the EUR 1.7 million budget.

For further information please contact Fitriana Nur at IOM Lebanon, Tel: +961 (7) 662 06 48, Email: fnur@iom.int