More than 50 frontline officials from relevant Dominican Government
agencies will today begin a four-day training to become Child
Protection Officers as part of ongoing efforts to improve the
inter-agency approach to the protection of child migrants and
victims of trafficking.

As a follow up to the training of Child Protection Officers
(OPIs by the Spanish acronym) in fall of 2010, the General
Directorate of Migration (DGM) and IOM have coordinated with the
Government of Mexico to put into practice the Mexican model for the
protection of child migrants in the Dominican Republic. 

This year's OPI training will concentrate on creating a corps of
child protection officers within the three government agencies that
have the greatest degree of contact with migrant children: the
General Directorate of Migration (DGM), the National Council for
Children and Adolescents (CONANI) and the Specialized Border
Security Corps (CESFRONT). 

The majority of the participants come from the four main border
crossing points with Haiti (Dajabón, Elias Piña,
Jimaní and Pedernales), and have been identified by their
superiors as frontline officers capable of putting into practice
the OPI methodology.

The OPI training contains modules on emotional literacy,
communication with children and adolescents, gender considerations,
care for victims of abuse, detection of victims of trafficking and
persons in need of international protection, and the rights of
children. 

Additional workshops have been included in the course to examine
the Mexican child protection model, to share the challenges faced
by the Dominican authorities in responding to the phenomena of
child migration and child victims of trafficking, and the
development of inter-agencies procedures in order to improve the
State response.

"Our counterparts in the Dominican Government have maintained
constant pressure to ensure the wellbeing of migrant children in
the country," explains IOM Santo Domingo Chief of Mission Cy
Winter. "The authorities face many challenges, providing medical
and social services, investigating crimes against children, and
finding durable migration solutions. Many of these challenges have
been dealt with successfully by the participating Mexican
officials. The OPI model is a vital piece of the strategy."

Following the 12 January earthquake in Haiti, CONANI oversaw
assistance provided to the more than 400 unaccompanied migrant
children displaced by the earthquake in need of protection from the
Dominican State. 

Of the 234 children currently in the care of CONANI's temporary
shelters, 45 are Haitian nationals.

In 2011 IOM has worked with DGM, CONANI and the prosecution to
provide family tracing, return and reintegration assistance to 23
Haitian child victims of trafficking, including a large group of
children trafficked for forced begging rescued by the DGM in a
February 2011 raid.

These experiences, as well as the continued arrival of migrant
children into the Dominican territory have led IOM and the
Dominican authorities to identify the need for an inter-agency
approach to child protection, which will be greatly aided by the
strengthening of the OPI corps. 

This meeting has been made possible though support from the U.S.
Department of State and the United Kingdom's Foreign and
Commonwealth Office.

For more information, please contact:

Zoë Stopak-Behr

IOM Santo Domingo

Tel: (809) 481-2671

E-mail: "mailto:zstopak-behr@iom.int">zstopak-behr@iom.int