IOM launches counter trafficking course

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) on Tuesday launched Pakistan's first ever counter trafficking training course for senior law enforcement officials in the country, including those from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the agency mandated to check human trafficking. "What we want to do with this training is really acquaint law enforcement with the issues involved in trafficking and how to address the problem and protect the victims," Mariam Khokhar, IOM programme officer for Western and Central Asia, told IRIN from the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. With some 40 participants, the three-day course in Islamabad is focusing on a comprehensive, integrated approach to trafficking; rapid information exchange; active operational cooperation; enforcement of legislation; combating corruption; methods of assistance for the victims; partnership with civil society and international organisations; the importance of women and gender mainstreaming in law enforcement activities; and stepping up the fight against fraudulent documents. Khokhar noted that people often didn't have a sense of what trafficking in persons was and that there was much confusion between trafficking in persons and the smuggling of migrants. "The terms are often used interchangeably," she said, emphasizing the need to foster an attitude that facilitated agencies working together rather than one agency trying to address the issue on its own. "There is a need for all the agencies to come together to put in place a mechanism for information exchange," she maintained, adding that there was nothing in place in terms of shelter or the protection of victims, including special health care needs, such as psycho-social counselling. "If law enforcement could come together with civil society to put in place a network, this could cover some of the various aspects," the IOM official asserted. And while Pakistan, a source, transit and destination country for human trafficking, introduced the Prevention and Control of Human Trafficking Ordinance in 2002 designed to criminalise and stamp out the trade, it has yet to be successfully implemented in the country's provinces. "There have been cases registered under this law. We're not clear whether they were human trafficking incidents or human smuggling, because these concepts are not clear to law enforcement and government officials." According to the IOM, given the clandestine nature of human trafficking - and the porous nature of Pakistan's borders, particularly with Afghanistan and Iran - there are no reliable figures or estimates on the number of people being trafficked in Pakistan each year - particularly as the definitions of trafficking and smuggling have been used interchangeably. In a parallel effort to this week's training effort, the IOM is also conducting a quantitative and qualitative analysis of trafficking in Pakistan, scheduled for completion at the end of October. "The idea is that the capacity building and survey will work together," she said. The workshops will familiarise law enforcement officials with the new counter trafficking law and provide them with the skills needed to recognise, apprehend and prosecute traffickers, and to address the needs of the victims.