Enhancing a Victim-Centered Approach:

Identification, Assistance and Protection of Trafficking Victims in the Asia-Pacific Region

3-6 April 2018 (Jeju-do, Korea)

I. Background

“Human trafficking takes many forms. Women and girls in particular are targeted again and again and again. We see brutal sexual exploitation, including forced prostitution, forced marriage and sexual slavery.  We see the appalling trade in human organs. Let us also remember that modern manifestations of servitude may touch and even implicate us all. 

Global supply-chains have transformed many lives for the better – but not always without costs.  In some situations - clothes, food, smartphones, jewelry and other consumer goods may bear, wittingly or unwittingly, the traces of exploitation.  Gleaming new skyscrapers may owe some of their shine to the sweat of bonded laborers. Human trafficking thrives where the rule of law is weak or nonexistent.  Situations of armed conflict are especially virulent breeding grounds for human trafficking.”

UN Secretary General António Guterres

Trafficking involves the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harbouring or receiving a person through the use of force, coercion or other means, for the purpose of exploitation. Virtually every country in the world is affected by trafficking for sexual exploitation, forced labour, servitude, and removal of organs  as a country of origin, transit or destination.  Every year, thousands of men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers, in their home countries and abroad.

While estimates of the number of persons trafficked vary, ILO research indicates that an estimated 20.9 million persons, around 3 out of every 1,000 people globally, are subjected to forced labour. Even this staggering figure is largely considered a conservative estimate given the clandestine nature of the crime, and the strict methodology applied. The Asia-Pacific region records by far the highest rates of human trafficking in the world. The same ILO report as mentioned above, estimates that some 11.7 million people from the region are in conditions of forced labour at any given point in time. UNODC’s 2012 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons  demonstrated that, while human trafficking is truly a global phenomenon, it most commonly occurs intra-regionally, with each region and sub-region experiencing unique and geographically-characterized patterns for origins and destinations.

The Republic of Korea is a member of the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime (Bali Process). Since 2002, the Bali Process has effectively raised regional awareness of the consequences of people smuggling, trafficking in persons and related transnational crimes, and has developed and implemented strategies and practical cooperation in response. This voluntary forum includes 45 participating countries, as well as IOM, UNHCR and UNODC. The core objectives of the Bali Process are to combat people smuggling and trafficking in persons by developing more effective cooperation and information sharing between Bali Process members and other relevant organizations; to raise public awareness and educate vulnerable populations about the crime of people smuggling and trafficking in persons; to build capacity across Member States and facilitate the sharing and implementation of best practices; and to advance the 2011 Bali Process Regional Cooperation Framework as a means of adopting a comprehensive and holistic approach towards combating people smuggling and trafficking in persons.

The Regional Support Office of the Bali Process (RSO) was established in 2012 to operationalize the Bali Process’ Regional Cooperation Framework (RCF), in order to reduce irregular migration in the Asia-Pacific region. Drawing on the engagement created among the Bali Process Member States on issues related to counter trafficking, the RSO supports practical cooperation on refugee protection and international migration, including human trafficking and smuggling. Its activities are supported by the knowledge, expertise, and experience of Member States and international organisations, including IOM and the UNHCR.

CIFAL, in affiliation with UNITAR, has become a knowledge hub and platform for promoting city-to-city cooperation. Through this approach, CIFAL directs its capacity building efforts towards local actors. CIFAL Jeju / Jeju International Training Center (JITC) focuses on the thematic area of social inclusion, especially with regard to human trafficking issues which impact the capability of human beings to drive their own lives and decide their own futures. Cities in the Asia-Pacific region can substantially improve the situation by focusing and sharing experiences on the prevention of trafficking, prosecution of traffickers and the protection and reintegration of victims of trafficking. Therefore, this training aims at strengthening the role of local authorities and actors in the Asia-Pacific region to better identify and protect victims of trafficking.

II. Event objectives

The capacity building training workshop will:

● Demonstrate the linkages between human security and the victim-centered approach to addressing trafficking in persons;

●  Explain and apply standards and exchange good practices in identifying, assisting and protecting victims of trafficking;

● Analyze how anti-trafficking strategies, policies and frameworks can be adapted for local implementation and present inter-agency/governmental coordination methods; and

● Promote information sharing and exchange of best practices between central/provincial governments and NGOs/local actors.

III. Learning objectives

By the end of the training, participants will be able to:

● understand the basic concepts related to trafficking in persons and the difference between human trafficking and human smuggling, forced labour and other related exploitation;

● have increased awareness on of human security and human trafficking, especially relating to women, children, and refuges refugees in the region;

●   be able to identify key challenges and recognize best practices and lessons learned to address human trafficking and, as well as policy measures for enhancing human security at the local level;

●  be able to identify key challenges, recognize and apply practical solutions to ensure that victims of trafficking are protected based on identified needs;

●  be able to apply presented tools and methods in their responsibilities;

● apply UNITAR-developed CityShare methodology[1] to rate and compare each other’s anti- trafficking policies, and make specific action plans for local implementation and follow-up on lessons learned (via city-to-city cooperation, awareness raising activities, inter-governmental coordination, and other practical implementation examples); and

● be able to build professional networks, exchange information and knowledge.

IV. Content and structure

The workshop contents are composed of the following:

● Module 1: Introducing the concepts and current trends in trafficking in persons

● Module 2: Identification of victims of trafficking

● Module 3: Global approach to addressing trafficking in persons

● Module 4: Refugees and trafficking in persons

● Module 5: Providing assistance to victims of trafficking

● Module 6: Prosecution

● Module 7: Prevention

● Module 8: Monitoring and Evaluation

● Module 9: Cityshare Methodology

V. Methodology

The training will be comprised of:

● lectures and presentations by experts

● practical exercises and group discussion

● UNITAR CityShare Methodology

● action plan presentation

● study visit

VI. Target audience

This training is open to local government officials and other related personnel from NGOs and institutions who directly work with the victims of trafficking in 11 Asia Pacific countries (Hong Kong, Mongolia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal).

VII. Event detail

VIII. Requirements

Selected applicants are required to:

● submit necessary documents on time, i.e., registration form etc.

● complete and submit pre-training readings and assignments, i.e. case studies etc.

● actively participate in the training program

● be fluent in written and spoken English

IX. Application and deadline

Send the following 7 documents to cifaljeju.jitc.1@gmail.com by

18 February (Sunday) – ordinary passport holders

28 February (Wednesday) – official passport holders who have visa waver to South Korea

             ●  Download forms or guidelines from http://cifaljeju.org/

1. Application

2. Case study description (see guidelines)

3. Letter of nomination

4. Letter of commitment

5. Acknowledgement, waiver and release of liability

6. Consent to collection, usage and disclosure of personal information

 ●  Curriculum vitae (CV) – form of your own

            ※ Late application will not be accepted.

X. Note

● Application without required documents will NOT be considered.

● Participation is subject to approval of the application by UNITAR CIFAL Jeju/JITC.

● Selected applicants will be notified individually.

XI. Assistance with travel expenses

● UNITAR CIFAL Jeju/JITC provides a LIMITED financial assistance with the airfare to Jeju-do, Republic of Korea.

● Local expenses (transportation, accommodation and meals) during the workshop will be covered by UNITAR CIFAL Jeju/JITC.

● All other expenses (local transportation in their country, visa fee) are the responsibility of the participants.