“It is crucial now to commence implementing strategies to enhance our capabilities and capacities in border management to address the issue of human trafficking.”
This was the statement of Permanent Secretary of Defence, Manasa Lesuma to participants of the “Empowering Fijian Civil Society in Countering Trafficking in Human Beings” training workshop at Holiday Inn in Suva.
“With the increase in migrants to our country carrying out employment within our workforce and investing in our economy, it is imperative that we must equip our labour and immigration officials to properly understand and identify possible cases of human trafficking within our labour force,” Mr Lesuma said.
The one-day training event was organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and was attended by officials from the Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Defence as well as civil society organizations (CSO).
IOM consultant Tevita Tupou said the nature of human trafficking in Fiji required a whole of Government approach together with civil society organizations to address the issue.
“The most common forms of human trafficking in the country includes sex trafficking, migrant smuggling and exploitation of worker’s rights and we need to work together to understand the victims, and not just the perpetrators,” he said.
