We hosted a webinar together with some members of our Anti-Human Trafficking Network on December 10 on the issue of migration in the face of increasing criminal activities in human trafficking, human smugglings and labour exploitation. The Anti-Human Trafficking Network was a support group for members of IBVM Loreto and Congregation of Jesus who have been supporting and protecting human trafficking victims and survivors in their countries and use to meet regularly to share information, best practices, challenges and find possibilities for advocating together.
The webinar was held to foster dialogue about the global efforts of IBVM and CJ in supporting and protecting refugees, migrants, and survivors of human trafficking. The speakers shared positive actions and strategies they are currently implementing to shield vulnerable individuals, especially migrants and refugees, from falling prey to human traffickers and smugglers. Towards the end, the participants identified areas where further reinforcement and action are needed to prevent exploitation and ensure stronger protection for those at risk.
The first speaker was Liliana Sorrentino, a Legal Officer with UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency). She spoke on the perspective of refugee protection and discussed how displacement exacerbates risks of trafficking and other serious abuses during smuggling. Liliana also shared current statistics with 122 million people forcibly displaced, 44 million of whom are refugees. The biggest concern was the number of children has doubled from the previous five years and that 40% of displaced persons are children.
Children, women and girls, people with disability, indigenous and gender diverse face a higher risk of being trafficked or exploited. Liliana also highlighted the fact that the more restrictive the border entry of other countries, the more vulnerable those who are forcibly displaced to smugglers and traffickers. This is something that we need to think about when border protection becomes a political issue especially in the global north countries.
Speakers from the IBVM/CJ network were:
- Jackline Wongela IBVM spoke on the situation of migrants and refugees in East Africa and the programs they ran in Kangemi.
- Nabanita Shome from Kolkata Mary Ward Social Service and Ancy Thomas CJ from Patna Province gave an overview of the situation of migrants in India and challenges faced by the people and governments to address the issue of human trafficking and bonded labour. They highlighted the importance of educating the people about the dangers and their rights.
- Sr. Imelda Poole IBVM and Sr. Judith Knabb CJ shared on the situation in the United Kingdom, Hungary and Albania. They shared that there are people who are trafficked are also now coming from China, the Philippines and Cameroon. Imelda highlighted that Albania that was previously a source country has become a destination country for these people. Both Judith and Imelda spoke about the programs they have to support and protect the survivors.
- Eva Rodrigues Diaz from Mary Ward Centre Toronto spoke about the radio program “End Human Trafficking: A Commitment for All,” a popular education strategy for the prevention of trafficking in Canada and Latin America. The programme also address the issue of misinformation and disinformation, providing information to people who maybe considering the journey to North America from Latin America through the Darién Gap.
- Marta Santos, who is also the current UN Province Representative for Spain represents us on the on the Alliance of NGOs on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. Marta shared her experience attending the Constructive Dialogue on Trafficking in Persons organised by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. She shared information about the Palermo Protocol Review Mechanism process and the Guides and online resources that NGOs can use to engage with the review.
Towards the end of the webinar, the panel of speakers responded to questions from the participants. Watch the recording of the webinar above.
