United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

 

12 October 2014 - A workshop on Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling was held by UNODC Iran, with the participation of international experts, national practitioners and judges, academia, the Embassies of Italy and Norway on 23 - 24 September 2014 in Tehran.

 

The agenda and subjects of discussions revolved around the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) , with a review of the best international practices in countering trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling.

 

An interesting opening from the Iranian side, while UNTOC is presently under the review for ratification by the Iranian Parliament, included open support of government participants for ratification and implementation of UNTOC and its three protocols as the international instrument which provides States Parties with the means to fight the organized crime networks and specifically tackle the phenomenon of the trafficking in persons.

 

UNODC Iran briefed the participants on its interventions with the State Parties to UNTOC, adding that due to the international nature of the problem of human trafficking and migrant smuggling, a transnational solution and the involvement of different jurisdictions are required to tackle this challenge.

 

Participants were also briefed on the UNODC-launched first global database of human trafficking cases. The Human Trafficking Case Law Database enables users to take experiences and court decisions from other countries into account when dealing with human trafficking issues, to consult on practices involving different jurisdictions, and to broaden their knowledge of human trafficking crimes.

 

UNODC also manages the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children , launched in 2010 by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The Trust Fund supports the provision of on-the-ground humanitarian, legal and financial aid to victims of trafficking.

 

The international experts participating in the meeting provided briefings on how UNTOC and its protocols could effectively assist Member States in tackling the phenomenon of human trafficking and migrant smuggling, as well as the best international and regional practices. A case study on migrant smuggling to Italy from North Africa and Syria and its repercussions were presented.

 

The event provided an opportunity for a number of Iranian practitioners and decision makers to learn about and discuss the frameworks provided by the existing international instruments to combat human trafficking and smuggling of migrants.

It also opened a window of opportunity for UNODC and international senior experts to openly exchange experiences with national counterparts while listening to stakeholders on how the present national laws and regulations apply measures against the indicated challenges, as well as the gaps in the existing laws that could hamper appropriate preventive responses to the crimes of human trafficking and migrant smuggling.