IOM trains law enforcement officers on counter-trafficking

By Passanna Gunasekera
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) organized a series of training workshops on counter-trafficking for law enforcement officers under a project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to strengthen national efforts in addressing trafficking issues. To date over 300 law enforcement officers have been trained in identifying, tracking and prosecuting cases of trafficking in Sri Lanka during workshops held in Colombo, Kalutara, Galle, Anuradhapura, Badulla, Ampara and Kurunegala.

Following an assessment on the process of identifying and prosecuting cases of trafficking in Sri Lanka, IOM in consultation with stakeholders -- the Sri Lanka Police Department, the Attorney General’s Department and the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment -- developed a curriculum for the training.

An international consultant, engaged by IOM, trained 50 police trainers from the Police Department representing all the districts. These trainers will continue to support institutional training of the police systematically. IOM is assisting the police in incorporating the training curriculum on trafficking into their existing training programme to ensure sustainability of training.

The project targets to train a total of 500 law enforcement officers including police and immigration officers by July 2008.
Other activities under this initiative include: setting up a database to track trafficking cases, enhancing collaboration and coordination among government and nongovernmental organizations, and developing a policy document on prevention of trafficking.