PNTL and Migration Service receive training on trafficking in persons investigation process
A training program, for 26 officers of the PNTL and the Migration Service, on the investigation of trafficking in persons, promoted by the National Police Development Program (TLPDP), will take place between August 8th and 12th, at the Police Training Centre, in Dili.
The Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães, officially opened the event and reiterated that "the 8th Constitutional Government is committed and pledged to gather all necessary efforts to prevent and fight trafficking in persons and to protect and support the victims".
The training programme on investigating trafficking in persons aims to provide participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to increase their expertise in the key areas for investigating trafficking in persons and supporting victims.
The programme is supported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Alfela, the ALOLA Foundation and the Embassy of the European Union.
Last week, on the occasion of the celebration of the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, the Government of Timor-Leste, in partnership with IOM, made the official launch of the Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines for Victim Identification and Referral Mechanism to fight trafficking in persons cases, which provides a set of mechanisms to increase the national capacity to identify, protect and support victims of trafficking in persons in Timor-Leste.
The Government has led several initiatives in this area, such as the preparation of a national plan against trafficking in persons, the strengthening of institutional capacity and border management, and the preparation of an Integrated Criminal Information Management System.
Furthermore, in June 2021, the Commission for the Fight against Trafficking in Persons was created, with the mission of coordinating, at the national level, the actions of different entities responsible for the prevention and fight against trafficking in persons, as well as guaranteeing cooperation with foreign entities in this matter and monitoring the application of the provisions of international conventions that Timor-Leste has signed.
In 2009, Timor-Leste has completed the process of accession to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and the Additional Protocol to this Convention, concerning the prevention, suppression and punishment of trafficking in persons, especially women and children. This international instrument aims to prevent and fight trafficking in persons, protect and assist the victims of such trafficking while fully respecting their human rights, and promote cooperation among the States Parties to achieve these objectives.
In 2017, the Law on the Prevention and Fight Against Trafficking in Persons (Law No. 3/2017 of January 25) was approved by the National Parliament, which, in addition to measures aimed at preventing and fighting trafficking in persons and protecting and assisting its victims, also introduced the fourth amendment to the Criminal Code, to broaden the concept of the crime of trafficking in persons, protect its witnesses, provide for the punishability of legal persons and set the regime of loss of the respective benefits in favour of the State.
