The IOM office in Tegucigalpa has joined forces with the United
Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Honduran government and
NGOs in the fight against trafficking of minors.



A recently signed protocol spells out the process all partners must
follow to achieve the prompt and safe voluntary return of child and
adolescent victims of trafficking and those vulnerable to human
traffickers.



The pioneering document includes a section on ways to detect
potential trafficking cases and the laws in place to sanction those
who traffic minors.



In Honduras, minors are trafficked for various reasons including
domestic work, sexual exploitation and illegal adoptions though
trafficking for sexual exploitation has recorded the highest number
of victims.



In the past 17 months, 230 cases of trafficking of minors have been
reported to the authorities. The majority of those under 18 are
trafficked to Guatemala and Mexico but there have been cases of
trafficking for forced labour reported within the tens of thousands
of Hondurans who migrate to Belize, Guatemala and other countries
in the region as seasonal agricultural workers.



A new law passed in February 2006 specifically sanctions human
trafficking for sexual exploitation.



IOM counter trafficking projects in Honduras provide support for
shelters for returning victims and reintegration programmes.



For more information, please contact:



Norberto Girón

IOM Tegucigalpa

Tel: +504 220 11 00 or 231 01 02

Email "mailto:ngiron@iom.un.hn" target="_blank" title=
"">ngiron@iom.un.hn





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