China - A workshop being held this week for police from China’s southwestern border provinces sets out to strengthen the country’s response to human trafficking.

The workshop, co-organized by IOM and the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, will help over 30 police officers from Yunnan Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to gain practical knowledge and skills on international legal frameworks, victim identification and interviewing techniques.

The workshop is designed to support the implementation of the Chinese National Plan of Action on Combating Trafficking of Women and Children (2008-2012). It will look at procedures for the voluntary return of cross-border victims of trafficking to their countries of origin, as well as the special considerations needed for protecting child victims.

Bordering Viet Nam, Laos and Myanmar, Yunnan Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region have witnessed high rates of cross-border migration in recent years. The Ministry of Public Security has recognized that a key challenge faced by these regions is the trafficking of women from neighbouring countries, as well as child trafficking within the regions.

“This workshop is designed to help frontline police officers to identify and protect victims of trafficking, so that victims can access the help and services that they are entitled to,” said IOM Beijing Head of Office Par Liljert.

Workshop participants will also receive IOM manuals, in Chinese, on child trafficking and direct assistance. The workshop is part of IOM’s ongoing capacity building programme in the People’s Republic of China supported by the US State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM).

For more information, please contact 

Kieran Best
IOM Beijing
Tel. +86 10 5979 9695 Ext. 203
Email: kgormanbest@iom.int