Partnership delivers training on trafficking

THE International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has delivered training on trafficking in persons to the judiciary in East New Britain, in partnership with the Papua New Guinea Centre for Judicial Excellence (PNGCJE).
The two-day training, held in Kokopo, was part of a three-year IOM project to address human trafficking funded by the US government.
Sixteen members of the judiciary participated in the training, which aimed to strengthen capacity of participants to identify cases of human trafficking, refer victims to specialised support services and prosecute human traffickers.
Acting resident judge Justice Elizabeth Suelip thanked the IOM and the PNGCJE for their collaboration on the valuable training opportunity.
“The world experiences a large amount of human trafficking,” she said.
“The trafficking of people is real and it’s happening right here in Papua New Guinea.
“At this training we hope we are better prepared to deal with these issues.”
The IOM training curriculum, on the prosecution of trafficking in persons for the judges and prosecutors in PNG, was developed in coordination with PNGCJE, with the objective of raising awareness of trafficking in persons (TIP) in the country and of enhancing the capacity of the PNG judiciary to successfully recognise and prosecute TIP cases in line with PNG anti-trafficking legislation.
Trafficking in persons, often referred to as “modern day slavery” is a serious crime affecting millions of men, women and child victims globally each year.
Trafficking involves the recruitment and harbouring of men, women, and children for purposes of exploitation including, sexual exploitation, forced labour, forced begging, illegal adoption, domestic servitude and forced marriage.