The assistance offered to victims of human trafficking identified
and formally returned between countries in the Greater Mekong
Sub-Region (GMS) has improved due to greater commitment on the part
of the governments and cooperation with international organizations
and NGOs, according to a new IOM research report.

"The Long Road Home - An Analysis of Regional and National
Processes for the Return and Reintegration of Victims of
Trafficking in the GMS" attributes the improvement in cross-border
cooperation in part to the success of the Coordinated Mekong
Ministerial Initiative against Trafficking (COMMIT), which is
helping to coordinate policy development and strengthen the
capacity of anti-trafficking programmes in the region.

The report, which was prepared by IOM, supported by the UN
Inter-agency Project on Human Trafficking in the GMS (UNIAP,) and
funded by the Bureau of Population Refugees and Migration of the US
Department of State (PRM) and the Australian Agency for
International Development (AusAID,) analysed the processes for the
return and reintegration of trafficking victims in Cambodia, China,
the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand and
Vietnam.

"The report is the first systematic review of how victims of
trafficking identified in the region are helped in the country to
which they have been trafficked, how they are returned to their
country of origin, and how they are linked to reintegration support
when they get home," says IOM counter trafficking project
coordinator, Ashley Garrett.

While statistics associated with human trafficking are
notoriously unreliable, data documenting the return and
reintegration of victims provides an important window into a trade
based on the exploitation and abuse of the most socially and
economically vulnerable.

The report was commissioned in the context of a long running IOM
project: "Return and Reintegration of Trafficked Women &
Children Between Selected Countries in the Mekong Region," which
facilitated the cross-border return of some 1,730 victims from
Thailand – the main country of destination in the region -
between September 2000 and October 2006.

In addition to documenting existing processes, the report's
authors, Jerrold W. Huguet and Varamon Ramangkura, also highlight
shortcomings in current identification, return and reintegration
processes and list areas where the system could be improved or
strengthened.

These include the development of better internal coordination
and standard operating procedures; the incorporation of shelter
support and services into regular social services; improved data
and research; improved victim identification techniques; the
inclusion of trafficked men in legal provisions; faster return
processes; better training for social workers and interpreters;
better specialized provision for children; direct cross-border
communication channels between counterpart agencies; improved
confidentiality; and improved vocational training and monitoring
for returnees.

A pdf file of the report can be downloaded from the IOM SE Asia
website at: "http://www.iom-seasia.org">www.iom-seasia.org.

For further information, please contact:

Chris Lom

IOM Bangkok

Tel. +66.819275215

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