Labé, Guinea, 19 July 2023 – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) launch a series of training courses on the human security approach and protection mechanisms against trafficking in persons, with the first workshop being held in Labé. As Ms Ana Fonseca, IOM Chief of Mission in Guinea, pointed out on the launch day: “The aim of this workshop is to raise awareness and inform communities about the evolution and trends of trafficking in persons in our country, while encouraging all actors involved to scale up their efforts to strengthen prevention, protection and partnership in the fight against this scourge in Guinea.”

This initiative is part of the fight against trafficking in persons month, which International Day is celebrated on July 30. The training cycle, which began on Wednesday, will cover key topics such as identifying vulnerable people, the distinction between trafficking, smuggling and gender-based violence (GBV), interview and listening techniques, the legal and institutional framework for combating trafficking in persons, and a presentation of protection mechanism tools that have been developed.

In her speech, Ms Aïssatou Barry, Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Women’s Promotion, Childhood, and Vulnerable People, highlighted the importance of this training, particularly for victim support: “Faced with this sad reality, a real synergy of action needs to be created between all actors to optimize actions and sustain the results. […] At the end of this training session, I am convinced that you will have tools that can help you identify and refer victims for care.” The UN Human Rights Representative, Aimé Kaloko N’Tumba, agreed, saying: “It is our moral duty to reach out to them and offer them the protection and assistance they desperately need… It is essential that victims of trafficking are identified, protected, and supported throughout their recovery process.”

Elhadj Boubacar Tounkara, Chief of Staff of the Governorate of Labé, stressed the State’s commitment to combating trafficking in persons: “It is necessary to promote human rights and individual freedoms, to ensure access to basic social services and strengthen civic engagement and social cohesion. This is why the Guinean Government is committed to promoting the human security approach as a reference framework for protecting the rights and interests of vulnerable people, including women and children who are victims of trafficking.”

The Chairman of the National Committee for Combating Trafficking in Persons and Similar Practices, Mr Aboubacr Sidiki Camara, also stressed the importance of the theme and commitment of agency directors to the fight, adding: “This series of training sessions is part of this active involvement of actors in the field.”

This series of training sessions is being organized as part of the project “Using the human security approach to empower and protect individuals against trafficking in persons in Guinea” (Utiliser l’approche de la sécurité humaine pour autonomiser et protéger les individus contre la traite des personnes en Guinée). Launched in March 2023 and funded by the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security, which in turn is largely funded by Japan, this 15-month joint programme supports the Guinean Government and targeted communities in the regions of Conakry, Kankan, Labé, Mamou and N’Zérékoré.

The initiative aims to address the challenges associated with the contextual human insecurities that fuel the supply of and demand for trafficking in persons. It aims to improve protection and assistance to people vulnerable to trafficking, empower migrants and community members to protect themselves against the risks of trafficking, and conduct a comparative analysis of the Guinean protection system against trafficking compared to regional and international protection systems.

The project’s concrete actions include strengthening and disseminating the community-based approach to combating trafficking in persons, through an analysis of the national legislative framework with provisions in the regional and international conventions and treaties ratified by Guinea in this area, the training of more than 100 actors to improve victim protection, awareness-raising among 500 community leaders and members to improve resilience, setting-up of a regional webinar for more than 50 participants from UN agencies, and the appointment of 20 migrant ambassadors to assist potential victims.

The programme is based on a collaboration between IOM, OHCHR and various Guinean Government agencies, including the Ministry of Security and Civil Protection, OPROGEM, the Ministry of Women’s Promotion, Childhood, and Vulnerable People, the Ministry of Social Action, the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, the High Command of the National Gendarmerie, and the National Committee for the Fight against Trafficking in Persons and Similar Practices.

The implementation of this project runs until June 2024, with the hope of leading to a more effective and resilient fight against trafficking in persons in Guinea.

***

For more information, please contact:

Lorraine NDAYIRUKIYE, Project Officer – lndayirukiye@iom.int.