Colombo – The Sri Lanka Judges Training Institute, in collaboration with IOM has organized a two-day residential programme on combating human trafficking for a group of 50 High Court judges and magistrates from across Sri Lanka.

The programme, which was funded by the United States Government Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons was designed to sensitize judges on general characteristics of human trafficking, national and international legislation related to trafficking and the protection of victims of trafficking.

According to Richard Danziger, Chief of Mission for IOM in Sri Lanka, "The training of judges and magistrates is a crucial element in combating human trafficking.  It is therefore gratifying to see the engagement of the judiciary in Sri Lanka and their desire to increase the number of prosecutions for this crime."

The programme included modules on local and international law, human rights, differences between trafficking and smuggling, and the provision of medical care for traumatized victims.

To date, IOM has also trained over 2,000 Sri Lankan law enforcement officers 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, the Immigration and Emigration Department and the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment.

For more information please contact: Anuradhi Navaratnam, IOM Colombo, Tel: +94.11.53325 300, E-mail: pnavaratnam@iom.int