Bujumbura – The International Organization for Migration (IOM), in partnership with the Judicial Police of Burundi and with support from the Government of Netherlands, last week (26-30/11) trained judicial police officers in investigating trafficking in persons and assisting victims.

The training, held in the capital city Bujumbura, covered both international and national legal frameworks, investigation techniques (including both financial and proactive investigations) as well as evaluation of risks. Participants also were trained on victim identification, referral, protection and assistance.

UNICEF facilitated the session on child protection and assistance while Bridges to Justice Burundi provided a module on the rights of suspects.

Burundi is primarily “a source country” for trafficked persons, where adults and children are coerced into forced labour, domestic servitude, prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation throughout the region and elsewhere in the world.

Internally, children and adults are also trafficked for forced labour and sexual exploitation.

“Trafficking is a crime that preys on vulnerability. In Burundi, factors including poverty, displacement, unemployment and climate change all contribute to opportunities for traffickers to exploit extremely vulnerable people,” said AJ Morgen, IOM Burundi Chief of Mission.

Morgen added, “The work of the Judicial Police is essential to effectively fight against trafficking, not only to dismantle international criminal networks, but also to identify and refer victims. IOM is extremely grateful for the ongoing strong collaboration with the Judicial Police of Burundi. We look forward to continuing our partnership in the future to prevent and suppress trafficking in persons.”

Emile Manisha, General Commissioner of the Judicial Police, said “Almost every country in the world is affected by this crime against humanity. Trafficking can be a lucrative enterprise and those responsible are often linked to organized criminality.”

He added: “The National Police of Burundi is working hard daily to fight against this scourge. This training will assist officers of the Judicial Police to reinforce their capacities to in turn support the Government of Burundi in their efforts to effectively fight against trafficking in persons.”

The training sessions were carried out as part of a larger project to support the Government of Burundi and civil society partners to tackle human trafficking.

For further information, please contact Niamh McEvoy at IOM Burundi, Tel: +257 75400339, Email: nmcevoy@iom.int