In Lilongwe tomorrow (October 24th) IOM and British Government officials will hold a three-day workshop for 40 Malawian immigration officials and travel industry staff aimed at raising awareness of human trafficking and encouraging action to prevent it and to protect its victims.

The workshop will be opened by the Chief Immigration Officer of Malawi, Mr. Elvis John Thodi. Participants will include immigration and police officials, document checking agencies and airline staff representing airlines operating at the Lilongwe International Airport.

Organised by IOM's Regional Office for Southern Africa in Pretoria, this workshop together with others in Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, has been funded by the UK Government.

The workshops are part of a three-year IOM project to address trafficking across Southern Africa. The project is the first to offer a cohesive, regional response incorporating Governments, NGOs and the private sector.

The workshop will equip Government and travel industry staff with the necessary skills to identify irregular migration at an early stage, and in particular to be able to detect and assist potential victims of trafficking. It also will encourage liaison between immigration and airline officials which is key to preventing this damaging trade in human beings.

These workshops are a partnership between the UK government and IOM to the fullest extent, in that modules are collaboratively prepared and tailored, and the training is jointly conducted. They combine IOM's expertise on counter-trafficking and technical cooperation on migration management for governments with UK Border and Immigration Agency expertise in forgery detection.

An IOM spokesperson said: "This training has been conducted in Namibia, and following Malawi, will also address immigration officials and airline officials in Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. This project is innovative in that it marks the first time that airline carriers will receive such training, and IOM hopes to see a significant impact on the early recognition and appropriate tailored response to cases that the target group may come across."

A UK Border and Immigration Agency spokesperson said: "The UK Government is very pleased to be involved in this groundbreaking initiative to tackle human trafficking and the misery it causes. This is an international trade which requires an international response."

For more information, please call:

Marija Nikolovska
IOM Pretoria
Tel +27-12 342 2789
E-mail: mnikolovska@iom.int