United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Liaison and Partnership Office (LPO) in Brazil

GLO.ACT supports the MERCOSUR Institute of Public Policies on Human Rights

Buenos Aires, Argentina - 25 June 2019 - The Global Action against Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants ( GLO.ACT) supported the MERCOSUR Institute of Public Policies on Human Rights (IPPDH) in carrying

out research on   Migration, Social and Political Rights against Trafficking in Persons at the borders of MERCOSUR: the case of the cities of the "Triple Border".  The results of the investigation were disseminated at a seminar held at IPPDH's headquarters in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 11 June 2019. IPPDH is a regional organization, created in 2009, that provides technical cooperation and assistance in the formulation, design, implementation and delivery of public policies on human rights to the members of the South American trade bloc, and associated countries. [1]  Migration has been an important area of interest for the institute since its creation and, more recently, the topics of refuge, statelessness and human trafficking.

The researchaimed at contributing to governmental efforts to promote and protect human rights of migrants in the cities of the MERCOSUR border: Puerto Iguazú (Argentina), Foz do Iguazú (Brazil) and Ciudad del Este (Paraguay). Focus was placed on migrant's access to social rights and the public policies implemented by States to prevent and combat the crime of trafficking in persons and provide assistance to victims. The investigation´s head consultant, Dr. Anahí González, presented the main results, including the challenges to migrantsˈ human rights, the invisibility and naturalization of the phenomenon of trafficking in persons, the need for a human rights approach versus a security approach when regarding human mobility, the development of local capacities and a greater articulation with the national, provincial or state instances, as well as the regional integration among the local instances of Puerto Iguazú, Foz de Iguazú and Ciudad del Este.

Participants included representatives of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Argentinaˈs Attorney General's Office for Trafficking and Exploitation of Persons (PROTEX), as well as representatives belonging to the academic field (Gino Germani Research Institute of the University of Buenos Aires and the University of Lanús). Mr. Javier Palummo, Director of Research and Information Management of the Institute of Public Policies in Human Rights of MERCOSUR (IPPDH) opened the event providing information on IPPDH´s role in relation to migrantsˈ rights and trafficking in persons and highlighted the relevance of the research as well as the importance of the partnership with UNODC and GLO.ACT.

During a question and answer session aspects such as humanitarian visa and immigration regularization via the Mercosur Agreement, the role of non-governmental organizations at the triple border, challenges to collecting data, importance of prevention when combating the crime of trafficking in persons, including access to rights, labor/productive markets, the role of the media in preventing the crime of trafficking in persons were addressed. UNICEF referred to the importance of measures to protect children and adolescents, child exploitation and possible police complicities in cases of trafficking. Likewise, the economic assistance devices for victims of trafficking, prevention campaigns and corporate responsibility were discussed.

The Global Action to Prevent and Address Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants (GLO.ACT) is a four-year (2015-2019), €11 million joint initiative by the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The project is being implemented in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). GLO.ACT aims to provide assistance to governmental authorities and civil society organizations across 13 strategically selected countries: Belarus, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao PDR, Mali, Morocco, Nepal, Niger, Pakistan, South Africa, Ukraine. GLO.ACT works with the 13 countries to plan and implement strategic national counter-trafficking and counter smuggling efforts through a prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnerships approach. It supports the development of more effective responses to trafficking and smuggling, including providing assistance to victims of trafficking and vulnerable migrants through the strengthening of identification, referral, and direct support mechanisms.

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For more information, please contact:

Ms. Fernanda Patricia Fuentes Munoz

National Project Officer

Liaison and Partnership Office in Brazil

fernanda.fuentes@unodc.org

https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/glo-act/

Email: glo.act@un.org

Twitter: @glo_act 

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