Myanmar - Every year some 300 Myanmar victims of trafficking receive assistance to return home via government-to-government repatriation channels. When they return to Myanmar, many face huge challenges in reintegrating with their communities, often due to the experiences that they underwent while abroad.

This week, IOM’s Myanmar mission held a national workshop with civil society organizations to explore their role in offering social services to trafficked persons. Over 30 Myanmar NGOs, women’s networks and alliances, faith-based organizations and local foundations gathered at the two-day event in Yangon to discuss how to reach and assist trafficking survivors – both female and male.

Opening the workshop, IOM Myanmar Chief of Mission Kieran Gorman-Best said: “Myanmar has made considerable progress in expanding assistance to trafficked persons, notably with the opening of several dedicated shelters for returning victims. But there is scope for increasing the assistance to victims once they return home. Civil society, working in partnership with government services, has an important role to play in their recovery and rehabilitation.”

The workshop was organized by an anti-trafficking programme implemented by IOM Myanmar with support of the US State Department’s Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration. The programme is cooperating closely with Myanmar’s Central Body for the Suppression of Trafficking in Persons to strengthen the protection framework for victims of trafficking. 

For more information, please contact
Maciej Pieczkowski
IOM Myanmar
Email:  mpieczkowski@iom.int