A two-day conference focusing on what can be done to prevent a
potential escalation in human trafficking in Angola ahead of the
African Cup of Nations (ACN) football tournament to be held in the
southern African country in early 2010, begins tomorrow, 28 October
in Luanda.

Organized by the Angolan Interior Ministry and IOM, the
conference will feature experts from various government ministries
from Brazil, South Africa and Portugal as well as IOM officials
from its mission in Germany to share with participants their
experiences on fighting human trafficking during big sporting
events.

2010 is a big year for major sporting events, particularly in
Southern Africa. The African Cup of Nations takes place in Angola
between 10-31 January while South Africa hosts the football world
cup between 11 June and 11 July 2010.

In total 120 people from various government ministries,
including the Ministries of Interior, Foreign Affairs, Social
Reintegration, Justice, Education, Family and Tourism, will
participate in the conference funded by the British Embassy in
Luanda and the Norwegian government.

With lots of football fans expected to converge on Angola ahead
of the tournament, increasing migration flows to and within the
country, there are growing concerns among women's rights groups in
the country that the inevitable influx of tourists will set a
fertile ground for sex work that could be exploited by human
traffickers.

"Although this is a potential worry, we need to turn it into an
opportunity by raising awareness of human trafficking on a scale
that has not been seen before in Angola. With a lot of
international attention on the region next year, we have to grab
some of it to ensure traffickers don't win. It is also an
opportunity for both the government and civil society to engage
more actively in countering human trafficking," says Katharina
Schnöring, IOM Chief of Mission in Angola.

In addition to co-organizing the conference, IOM is working with
the Ministry of Interior, UNICEF and the organizers of the African
Cup of Nations on an information campaign that raises awareness on
human trafficking of children during the ACN.

According to the US State Department's 2009 Trafficking in
Persons Report, Angola is primarily a source country for
trafficking, mainly that of women and children internally for
domestic servitude and young men for forced agricultural
labour.

However, Angolan women and children are also trafficked to South
Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia and Portugal.

For further information, please contact:

Katharina Schnöring

IOM Angola

Tel: 00244 924 643 032

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