IOM is today hosting a two-day workshop in Beijing for senior
Chinese consular and immigration officials to strengthen victim
identification procedures and introduce safe and voluntary
repatriation mechanisms for victims of human trafficking.

The workshop, which is being attended by over 40 officials from
the Chinese Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Public Security, Human
Resources and Social Security, and Commerce, is part of IOM's
"Capacity Building for Migration Management (CBMM) in China"
project and is being facilitated by experts from IOM, the United
Kingdom and Belgium.

IOM Director General William Swing, speaking at the opening of
the workshop, said: "By combining Chinese and European expertise,
we can facilitate the sharing of information on respective systems,
promote mutual understanding, and take another step towards
enhancing international cooperation to combat human
trafficking."

The training was convened to support the implementation of the
Chinese "National Plan of Action (NPA) on Combating Trafficking of
Women and Children (2008-2012)" and to provide training for Chinese
immigration officials following the recently signed "Protocol to
Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially
Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention
Against Transnational Organized Crime."

Counsellor Qi Xiaoxia, Counsellor for the International
Conferences and Organizations Department, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, also speaking at the opening of the event, highlighted
China's appreciation the CBMM project's achievements, including
work to protect the rights and interests of migrants, legal
analysis of European Union (EU) and Chinese migration laws, efforts
to combat irregular migration, and the inspection of labour
recruitment agencies.

The CBMM project is principally financed by the European
Commission, with co-funding from Italy and the United
Kingdom.  It is co-implemented by IOM and the International
Labour Organization (ILO), in close partnership with the Chinese
Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Human Resources and Social Security,
and Public Security.

The project seeks to promote cooperation between China and the
EU in the field of migration through the exchange of expertise,
information and personnel. The project includes raising awareness
of the risks associated with irregular migration.

For more information, please contact:

Kieran Best

IOM Beijing

Tel: +86 10 8532 5303

E-mail: "mailto:kgormanbest@iom.int">kgormanbest@iom.int