Policy makers and senior government officials from Southern Africa
are today meeting in Durban to address the urgent need to set up
adequate protection mechanisms for victims of trafficking in
Southern Africa.

The three-day meeting, part of the Migration Dialogue for
Southern Africa (MIDSA), is hosted by IOM and the Southern African
Migration Project (SAMP). It represents the first regional effort
to specifically address the unique needs of victims of trafficking
and identify programmes, policies and legal frameworks to be put in
place to ensure their protection.

"Because of the clandestine nature of human trafficking and
because many countries in the region have not yet put in place
comprehensive counter trafficking programmes and legislations, many
victims continue to fall through the cracks, with little or no
attention paid to their protection needs and overall wellbeing,"
says Hans Petter Boe, Regional Representative for IOM in Southern
Africa. "This meeting aims to raise awareness among key government
officials and identify concrete recommendations to be adopted at a
regional level to ensure the better protection of victims of
trafficking."

There are currently few national and regional mechanisms that
address the specific needs of human trafficking victims in Southern
Africa. Trafficked persons often find themselves enslaved in
situations where their documents are confiscated, where they are
held against their will, where they often suffer violent abuse,
where their families are threatened with harm, and where they are
bonded by a debt that they have little or no chance of ever
repaying.

Because of their irregular status, they are usually afraid to
seek help from law enforcement officials, who treat them as
irregular migrants rather than victims of trafficking. The
clandestine and often syndicated criminal nature of human
trafficking also poses a threat to victims' lives, even after they
have been rescued.

Earlier this month, Mozambique became the first and only country
to pass anti-trafficking legislation in a region that is
experiencing both strong internal and cross-border trafficking.
Through its Southern African Counter-Trafficking Assistance
Programme (SACTAP), IOM has over the past four years provided
comprehensive assistance to 238 victims of human trafficking in
Southern Africa.

For more information, please contact:

Karen Blackman

IOM Pretoria

Tel:  +27 12 342 2789

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

or

Mariam Khokhar

Tel: +27 79 501 7854

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