WUNRN
22
Jul 2008
Afghanistan: IOM Engages Religious
Leaders to Combat Human Trafficking & Welcomes New Counter Trafficking Law
IOM and the Afghan Ministry of
Hajj and Endowment are today holding a first-ever roundtable with religious
leaders to discuss human trafficking in Afghanistan in the context of Islam.
"Given
the significant role that religious leaders play in communities and the country
as a whole, an effective counter trafficking programme requires their
cooperation, particularly in rural areas," says IOM Afghanistan Chief of
Mission Robbie Thomson.
A total of
40 clerics from Kabul and 20 other provinces will take part in today's event in
Kabul, which follows the introduction of Afghanistan's first counter
trafficking law last week.
Roundtable
participants will be encouraged to raise awareness of human trafficking issues
among vulnerable groups in their respective communities through discussion and
prayer.
IOM is
currently also implementing a nationwide counter trafficking information
campaign targeting schoolchildren through to teacher training. In the past year
the project has trained 35 teachers as master trainers. These have helped to
train a further 1,500 teachers, disseminating trafficking information to some
200,000 students in every Afghan province.
Last week
Afghanistan enacted new counter-trafficking legislation designed to crack down
on traffickers. Presidential Decree Number 52 on Combating Kidnapping and Human
Trafficking entered into force on 14 July.
IOM provided
technical assistance in drafting the new law as part of a counter trafficking
capacity building programme for Afghan law enforcement agencies funded by the
US Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
(G/TIP) and Italy.
"Counter-trafficking
law enforcement used to have legislative constraints, but with the passing of
the new law, trafficking in persons is legally defined and recognized as a
distinct crime for the first time in Afghan history," says Thomson.
Afghanistan
faces serious problems as a country of origin, transit and destination for
human trafficking. But national counter-trafficking efforts have up to now been
very limited in terms of prevention, protection of victims and prosecution of
traffickers.
IOM now
plans to work with the Afghan government and other partners to disseminate
information about the new law and create a momentum among stakeholders to
expand counter-trafficking initiatives.
In
Afghanistan, IOM works closely with government counterparts, in line with the
Afghan National Development Strategy (ANDS), focusing on technical cooperation
and capacity building.
IOM
programmes also provide emergency relief to vulnerable displaced families,
facilitate long-term return and reintegration to and within Afghanistan,
stabilize migrant communities for sustainable development in the context of
long periods of mass population displacement, and strengthen the capacity of
Afghan government institutions to manage migration.
For
further information, please contact Nigina Mamadjonova at IOM Kabul, Tel + 93
(0) 700 066041, Email: nmamadjonova@iom.int
or Katsui Kaya, Tel +93 (0) 700 18596. Email: kkaya@iom.int