Tuesday 17 September 2002

Press Briefing Notes
Tuesday 17 September 2002
Spokesperson: Jean Philippe Chauzy

BELGIUM - European Conference on Preventing and Combating Trafficking
PERU - Information Campaign
REPUBLIC OF CONGO- Repatriation and Reintegration of Ex-combatants from the DRC





BELGIUM - European Conference on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings - Tomorrow the world's largest ever counter trafficking
conference will open at the European Parliament in Brussels. It comes at a time when the international community is confronted with a dramatic increase in the phenomena of trafficking in human beings, in particular women and children bought and sold for sexual and other forms of exploitation.

The three-day conference, organised by IOM, the European Commission and the European Parliament, will bring together over 1,000 officials and experts from the European Union (EU), Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

At the top of their agenda is the challenge posed by the planned expansion of the EU to the East after 2004. Trafficking in human beings from the CEE and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to the European Union and other third countries, notably the USA, represents a growing threat, both in terms of scale and complexity.

The conference will focus on three key areas: Prevention of Trafficking in Human Beings; Protection of and Assistance to Victims; and Police and Judicial Co- operation. It will take stock of trends in human trafficking in the EU and work to develop new policies to respond to a challenge that risks undermining the EU's fundamental values of freedom, security and justice.

Speakers on the three different panel themes will include high-ranking representatives from the EU, EU Member States, EU Candidate Countries and relevant third countries as well as Members of the European Parliament, European Commission, National Parliaments, Europol, the Council of Europe, international agencies, NGOs and experts/researchers active in the counter-trafficking field.

Delegates will try to reach agreement on:
-Legislative action, including a review of the current situation and the identification of necessary further measures;
-Law enforcement and judicial co-operation in criminal matters;
-Co-operation between judicial and law enforcement bodies and private trans-national companies and national NGO's;
-Prevention of trafficking, including the role of cooperation, partnerships, research, information campaigns and information exchange;

-Protection of human rights and assistance to victims of trafficking, including re-establishment of human dignity, assisted return and re-integration.

IOM Head of Counter Trafficking Marco Gramegna believes that the complexity of the problem demands political and technical cooperation at every level. "The conference is an opportunity to exchange best counter-trafficking practices, to improve cooperation among the participating states and institutions, to strengthen the capacity and expertise of participants, to increase public awareness of the problem in the EU, to come up with ways to strengthen counter trafficking legislation, and to discuss new mechanisms to cope with the problem in Europe."

Although precise numbers of victims are impossible to assess, IOM estimates that annually, some 500,000 to 700,000 women and children are trafficked worldwide by criminal networks - creating a new global slave trade that generates billions of Euros in criminal profits. Over 100,000 a year come from CEE and CIS countries.

In many regions, including parts of the CEE and CIS, traffickers profit from non-existent or inadequate legislation and sanctions, insufficient and uncoordinated counter-trafficking responses and a lack of awareness amongst potential victims and the general public.

Many victims of trafficking are deceived as to the eventual reality of their situation. Even those who are aware in advance of the true intentions of the traffickers often take the risk because their living conditions and prospects of legal migration are so poor that they believe they have nothing to lose.

According to IOM's forthcoming World Migration Report, international migration is becoming increasingly feminised, with women comprising almost 50% of the estimated 185 million international migrants worldwide.

Amongst a range of initiatives taken to counter the trafficking phenomenon in the EU and Eastern Europe is the European Commission's STOP (Sexual Trafficking of Persons) Programme, which has launched a range of multi-disciplinary initiatives addressing the whole spectrum of counter-trafficking measures in Europe.

Another major milestone in the fight against trafficking in human beings was the signing in Palermo, Italy on December 15th 2000 by more than 120 nations of the new UN "Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, Supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Trans-national Organised Crime" and the "Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Trans-national Organised Crime."

The expansion of the EU to the East after 2004 will pose new challenges in terms of co-operation in the fields of border management, judicial and police co- operation and other prevention measures to effectively combat human trafficking. This could in turn provide an impetus for the harmonisation of an EU-wide approach to combating trafficking in human beings.

IOM supports EU Member States and the EU institutions in developing and implementing joint programmes designed to prevent and combat trafficking in human beings and the exploitation of migrants. For more information, please contact Chris Lom, Mobile:41.79.745.1232.

PERU - Counter Trafficking and Smuggling Information Campaign - The IOM office in Lima has enlisted the help of the Catholic Church to carry the message of the IOM information campaign against irregular migration and trafficking

During a meeting with the President of the Episcopal Conference, Monsignor Luis Bambarén, the Catholic Church agreed to display the IOM campaign posters and distribute leaflets and other material in all churches in Peru. The Church will also instruct all parishes to discuss the issue of trafficking and smuggling migration in sermons.

The IOM information campaign is informing potential migrants of the dangers of irregular migration and the risks associated with human trafficking with the message: Every year millions of men and women who decide to migrate illegally end up in the hands of traffickers and smugglers. They are exploited, robbed, raped and sometimes lose their lives. Don't travel with false documents - DON'T TAKE THE RISK - TRAVEL LEGALLY.

IOM's Regional Programme Officer, Manfred Ritter says this campaign aims to reach all potential migrants in Peru and Ecuador. "We want to inform all potential migrants that there are many risks involved in irregular migration. A television Public Service Announcement, billboards on the streets and buses are currently informing the public of the hazards of irregular migration, but working with the Catholic Church means our message will spread even further. This is very good news indeed! Our aim is for all potential migrants to know their rights and their responsibilities, if they choose to leave their country."

The campaign tools also include: leaflets simulating an airline ticket and a passport, large outdoor displays, banners on buses and trains, posters, and a picture story booklet. The "IOM Passport" is a small booklet containing information on procedures to travel legally, the risks that may be encountered when resorting to criminal networks to leave the country, the assistance available for those who fall into the hands of traffickers and smugglers, and vital contact numbers for embassies and consulates abroad.

The campaign will run until March 2003 and is being financed by the United States. For more information, please contact, Manfred Ritter, IOM Lima Tel: 51.1.221.7698 jritter@iom.int

REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO- Repatriation and Reintegration of Ex-combatants from the DRC IOM has signed an agreement with the Governments of the Republic of the Congo (RoC) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to help in the voluntary return and reintegration of some 4,000 former combatants from the Forces Armées Zairoises (FAZ), the Forces Armées Congolaises (FAC), and their families.

IOM will organise the first returns of small groups of ex-FAZ/FAC members and dependants in the coming weeks. Upon arrival in Kinshasa, all returnees will benefit from reintegration support provided by the programme, jointly funded and run, by IOM and the UNDP.

A Joint Technical Committee, made up of officials from both governments, IOM and UNDP, will evaluate each file and guarantee, in writing and before the repatriation takes place, that each person returning voluntarily to the DRC is free to return and will not face any problems with the security forces or justice officials.

IOM plans to repatriate and reintegrate up to 120 ex FAZ/FAC members and their relatives within the first two months of the operation. The remainder will be repatriated next year, if appropriate funding can be secured.

Most former FAZ combatants and their families are currently living in and around Brazzaville. For over a year, some 300 have been camping on the grounds of DRC embassy in Brazzaville and have been asking for return and reintegration assistance to Kinshasa. For their part, the ex-FAC members have been steadily crossing the Obangui River into northern RoC for the last two years, and have become a source of insecurity in the region, especially as many are still armed. Almost 100,000 refugees from the DRC are currently living in this area, most under UNHCR protection

The first ex-FAZ members fled to neighbouring Brazzaville in May 1997, following the fall of the Mobutu regime. Soldiers who refused to join the newly formed Forces Armées Congolaises (FAC) joined them in August 1998. More combatants fled in November 2000 following a failed internal uprising in the FAC forces and in January 2001 following the assassination of president Kabila, while still others have abandoned their fighting positions in equatorial DRC to find refuge in northern RoC.

In 2001 IOM worked with the UNDP and the World Bank in the Republic of Congo to disarm, demobilise and reintegrate 7,249 former Congolese fighters. Reintegration support consisted in vocational training, job creation programme and/or micro-project set-up grants of up to USD$ 350 per person. Almost 11,000 weapons were collected and destroyed under this programme.

IOM and UNDP are discussing the possibility of a complementary programme of arms collection and destruction.

For more information, please call Maximo Halty, IOM Brazzaville on 00 242 68 67 36, email mhalty@iom.int