Muhammad Zamir Assadi:

Islamabad (INP) United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Country Office Pakistan with the implementing partner Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) launched a project Combatting Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants in Pakistan.

The scope of project is laid down for two years, a joint initiative by the Government of Canada and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and it reaffirms that combating human trafficking and migrant smuggling is of the highest importance for the Government of Pakistan, Government of Canada, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime as a whole.

This project is financially supported by the Government of Canada through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

This project is a coordinated response to trafficking in persons and the smuggling of migrants and aims to strengthen the capacity of the Federal Investigation for its fight against Trafficking in persons (TIP) and Smuggling of Migrants (SOM).

“The support from the government of Canada through this project which we are launching today, will strengthen the national policies regarding TIP and SOM including the national capacity to assess and measure this phenomenon in Pakistan. It will strengthen the capacity of FIA and police to combat TIP and SOM; raise awareness amongst the risk group, public and relevant Pakistani authorities, and NGOs.

It will also build the capacity of the national authorities to protect and reintegrate victims of trafficking and vulnerable smuggled migrants, especially women and children”, said, Dr. Jeremy Milsom, Representative, UNODC Pakistan in his opening remarks.

In addressing the event, Her Excellency Wendy Gilmour, Canada’s High Commissioner to Pakistan stated “Canada commends Government of Pakistan’s commitment to fight human trafficking and migrant smuggling and we are pleased to work with UNODC as a partner in support of the Government of Pakistan’s efforts in these areas. Human trafficking is a crime, representing an assault on the fundamental human rights of its victims. Improved data gathering and analysis will assist in combatting trafficking and migrant smuggling, helping Pakistan address transnational crime and stop those who would prey on some of the world’s most vulnerable for their own gain. Canada will continue to work alongside Pakistan and other global partners in fighting trafficking and smuggling operations to support safe migration”.

The Project is launched with the roll out of two days training on data collection and management. The purpose of the training is to reinforce the importance of disaggregation of TIP and SOM data, its adequate collection, and the needs to understand the differences between TIP and SOM.

Speaking about the project, Dr. Sanaullah Abbasi, PSP, Director General FIA, said, “Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), with the support of UNODC and the Government of Canada will improve prosecution of traffickers, smugglers and protect and support victims and witnesses, while upholding the rule of law and in recognition of human rights. The project is aligned with FIA’s National Action Plan to combat TIP and SOM (2021 – 2025), which was developed by FIA with the assistance of UNODC”. Regarding the training, he also said, that, “The training helped participants understand the techniques to expand their knowledge on the type of data that should be collected, its usefulness, the need for gender-segregated data and characteristics of good data”.

The launching ceremony took place in the presence of the Senior representatives of the Federal Investigation Agency and the High Commission of Canada in Pakistan.