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Comoros accedes to Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons  

Moroni, 23 July 2020 - The Union of the Comoros has today become the 179th State Party to the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (the Protocol).

Comoros has been a State Party to the associated United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (the Convention) since 2003. 

As guardian of the Convention and its supplementary Protocols, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) commends the Government of the Union of Comoros and welcomes the country's commitment - within the framework of the Convention and Protocol - to prevent, suppress and prosecute trafficking in persons while protecting and supporting victims of this heinous crime.

This commitment also paves the way for enhanced international cooperation on countering trafficking in persons, moving towards ending impunity and promoting the protection of victims of this crime in Eastern Africa and beyond.   

The Convention, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2000, is the main international instrument in the fight against transnational organized crime. It entered into force on 29 September 2003 and is supplemented by three Protocols which target specific areas and manifestations of organized crime.

Apart from the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air and the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, their Parts and Components and Ammunition, the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, is the first global legally binding instrument with an agreed definition on trafficking in persons.

The intention behind this definition is to align national approaches in establishing domestic criminal offences that would support efficient international cooperation in investigating and prosecuting trafficking in persons cases.

A further and important objective of the Protocol is to protect and assist the victims of trafficking in persons with full respect for their human rights. 

States that ratify or accede to the Convention and Protocols commit themselves to taking a series of measures against transnational organized crime.

These include the creation of domestic criminal offences, the adoption of new and sweeping frameworks for extradition, mutual legal assistance and law enforcement cooperation, and the promotion of training and technical assistance for building or upgrading the necessary capacity of national authorities. 

At the request of the Government of the Union of Comoros and within the framework of the UNODC regional project on Enhancing Effective and Victim-centred Criminal Justice Responses to Trafficking in Persons in Eastern Africa, funded by the U.S. Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, UNODC has been assisting and advising the Government throughout the accession process.

In September 2018, UNODC convened Member States of the Eastern Africa region, including Comoros, for a Workshop on Pre-Accession/Ratification to the Convention and Protocols at UNODC headquarters in Vienna. Following the Vienna workshop, in December 2019, Comoros also participated in the Senior Officials Meeting on the Benefits of a Regional Plan of Action to Counter Trafficking in Persons in Eastern Africa convened by UNODC in Nairobi. 

In addition, as part of the same regional project, UNODC has also been delivering a series of virtual training sessions to the Government of Comoros on the legal obligations of the Convention and Protocol to be incorporated into national policy and legislation.

UNODC will now be working extensively with the Government to support and assist with the drafting and incorporation of the provisions of the Protocol into comprehensive and effective national legislation, including amendment of the Penal Code, and the development of policies and a national Plan of Action. 

About the regional project: Enhancing Effective and Victim-centred Criminal Justice Responses to Trafficking in Persons in Eastern Africa

This UNODC regional project is funded by the U.S. Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. It is implemented within the framework of the UNODC Regional Programme for Eastern Africa (2016-2021) and its regional Countering Transnational Organized Crime and Illicit Trafficking Programme. 

The project has two primary objectives:

  1. To enhance the legal, policy and coordination frameworks of Member States in Eastern Africa to prevent, suppress and prosecute Trafficking in Persons, while effectively protecting and supporting victims of trafficking; and
  2. To enhance regional cooperation and coordination to counter Trafficking in Persons in Eastern Africa in terms of the Convention and Protocol – ideally through a regional Plan of Action to Counter Trafficking in Persons in Eastern Africa.

More information

Mr. Johan Kruger, Head of Transnational Organized Crime, Illicit Trafficking and Terrorism Programmes, UNODC Regional Office for Eastern Africa: johan.kruger@un.org