Costa Rica - Clues for better investigative techniques, how to improve judicial resolutions and sentencing of human trafficking cases, and comparing legislative and prosecutorial best practices, are the focus of a new e-course launched by IOM in Costa Rica.

In 2009 the IOM office in San José launched the first e-course for government officials and NGO staff to raise awareness of counter-trafficking in the region.  So far more than 500 students from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua have improved their knowledge of human trafficking and how to improve institutional responses.

This latest edition of the e-course, “Criminal Prosecution of Human Trafficking: E-course for Judges, Prosecutors and Police” features eight thematic modules, including multimedia resources, and it can be accessed on-line or using a DVD installed on local servers.

E-training has proven to be very successful in overcoming some of the limitations faced by all institutions in the region. These include excessive centralization of training processes, high costs of ordinary trainings, difficulty in reaching a significant number of institutional staff, and coping with staff turnover.

Robert Paiva, IOM Regional Director for Central America, North America and the Caribbean, said: “The objective of this e-learning course is to strengthen the technical and methodological capacities of institutions and organizations, to increase educational processes at institutional level and to contribute to better understanding and public response against this crime.”

“This type of training, with its versatility, dynamism and easy access, is a valuable tool for institutions, which can expand their field of action, while respecting geographical locations and diversities,” he added.

The training will be launched in other countries of the region in the coming months.

The course was developed by IOM in the framework of the Regional Conference on Migration (RCM), with funding from the US Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM).

For more information, please contact

Ana Hidalgo
IOM San Jose
Email: ahidalgo@iom.int