Panama’s Office of the Ombudsperson and the International Organization for Migration developed a four-days-long process in which government personnel actively participated in workshops on human rights and protection mechanisms.

Through different activities, topics such as migrant smuggling, trafficking in persons, the Mechanisms for the Protection of Human Rights at the national and international level, and the current context of migration in Panama were addressed.

Various delegates of the regional directorates of the Ombudsperson's Office participated, as well as representatives of the National Migration Service, who explained the current situation of migrant smuggling, national legislation and sanctions, and how Panama is combating this crime through the Assistance to Migrant Smuggling Victims Unit (UATIM for its Spanish acronym).

During the activities that took place from June 20 to 22, 2023, participants learned techniques for public speaking, locution, tools to carry out workshops with different types of audiences, self-care of caregivers and how improvisation serves as a tool for creativity. Likewise, the Think Twice (Piénsalo 2 Veces) nation-wide campaign, which IOM has been carrying out since 2021, was presented.

The main objective of this campaign is to prevent trafficking in personas and guarantee access to truthful and reliable information so that migrants know where to turn in the event of violation of their rights during the migration cycle.

This capacity building process is part of the technical support that IOM has been providing to the Ombudsperson's Office in Panama, to have more and better tools to face the new challenges involved in the protection of human rights in a society that is globalized in constant mobility.

The activity was carried out through the Western Hemisphere Program (WHP), which is implemented by IOM and funded by the US Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM).

For more information, contact IOM Panama's communications via iompanama@iom.int