Panama City – On December 12 and 13, 2022, The International Organization for Migration (IOM) held a regional Technical Exchange of good practices to combat Trafficking in Persons between Panama, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica with the objective of strengthening the knowledge of government officials on mechanisms to be implemented at land borders to prevent and combat this crime with a focus on the victims.

Trafficking in persons is a chronic social affliction in the Caribbean and challenges migration governance at the global, regional, and national levels. In that sense, it is essential for the countries of the region to prevent, combat, and eradicate trafficking in persons, being global agreements such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration central components in this fight.

During the exchange, more than 50 representatives from Jamaica, Haiti, Panama, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic participated. These are countries that have developed and strengthened legislation and government institutions to combat this crime mainly because of the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, and have adapted to the new modalities of communication and recruitment of victims that evolve every day.

"The relevance of this crime, the behaviour it has in the region and the complexity that characterizes it make the strengthening of cooperation between countries a key role in its prevention and prosecution," said Alicia Sangro, Programme Coordinator in IOM Dominican Republic.

"Panama's experience not only represents an important source of information to define and strengthen strategies with other actors involved, but it also helps us identify good practices that can be shared among the countries of the region, create synergies and continue developing more robust systems to combat transnational organized crime," she added.

IOM stipulates that to complement these efforts, raising awareness of the risks and addressing individual and collective vulnerabilities is required. This could be implemented through communication for development (C4D) strategies, helping communities that have been impacted by these campaigns to acquire full knowledge and empowerment around the prevention of trafficking in persons. Furthermore, the establishment of communication channels and an operational intelligence-sharing network can substantially improve the fight against trafficking at the regional level.

This exchange takes place within the framework of the multi-country border security programme (MCBS) funded by the European Union and aimed at improving regional security and combating trafficking in personas in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica through the improvement of information exchange and control of their borders.

For more information:

Zinnia Martínez / Communication IOM Dominican Republic E-: OIMRDComunicacion@iom.int / Phone: +1 809 688 8174