Colombo – IOM has organized a two-day residential workshop on combating human trafficking for a group of 35 state prosecutors from across Sri Lanka.

The US-funded workshop was designed to enhance the prosecutor's knowledge of counter-trafficking legislation and prosecution, and to support national efforts in prosecuting traffickers and protecting victims of trafficking.

"Training (prosecutors) to deal with (human) trafficking is of the utmost importance, as we consider it an offence as serious as money laundering or drug trafficking," said Acting Attorney General Priyashath Dep, who addressed the workshop.  

The workshop included modules on local and international law, criminal investigation and proceedings, international cooperation and the treatment of victims throughout the judicial process.

IOM has now trained over 500 Sri Lankan law enforcement officials and NGO workers in the areas of victim identification, protection and prosecution of traffickers through a series of nationwide workshops developed in close cooperation with the Sri Lanka Police Department, the Attorney General's Department and the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment.

Sri Lanka is a source and destination country for men and women trafficked for the purposes of involuntary servitude and commercial sexual exploitation, according to the US State Department's 2008 Trafficking in Persons (TiP) Report.

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For further information please contact: Anuradhi Navaratnam, IOM Colombo, Tel: +94.11.53325 300, E-mail: pnavaratnam@iom.int or Passanna Gunasekera, E-mail: pgunasekera@iom.int