ABUJA: The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has commemorated the 2021 World Day Against Trafficking in Persons with the launch of identification and reporting tools for victims of human trafficking in Nigeria.
The harmonised tools, according to the IOM Chief of Mission, Mr Frantz Celestine is an IOM’s project titled, “Facilitating Assistance to Trafficked Persons in Nigeria through a Victim Centered Approach,” meant to address the challenges with identification.
It was funded by the United Kingdom Home Office Modern Day Fund and intended to create standardized approach to victims identification, referral and protection in line with the National Referral Mechanism.
He said that it would be administered for victim identification and reporting by all relevant stakeholders across the country.
According to him, identification of trafficked persons remains a great challenge for law enforcement and other non-state actors due to the clandestine nature of the crime.
The inability to properly identify trafficked persons, he said increases their vulnerability to exploitation.
He added that this year’s theme, “Victims Voices Lead the Way,” highlights the importance of listening to and learning from the experiences of survivors of human trafficking.
Due to the severity and the multidimensional nature of human trafficking, he said that IOM counter trafficking work focuses on facilitating assistance and protection to trafficked persons to reduce their vulnerability.
He therefore urged all IOM partners on human trafficking to involve victims in their programmes so as to benefit from their experiences and knowledge to create human-based and Victim centered anti- trafficking interventions.
