PH TEAM SWITZERLAND PARTICIPATES IN WORKSHOP TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING
The Philippine Embassy in Berne, Consulate General and Overseas Labor Office in Geneva participated in the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Regional Workshop on Trafficking in Persons, held from March 16 to 20 in Vienna, Austria.
Ambassador Leslie Baja led “Philippines Team Switzerland” and joined all Philippine Foreign Service Posts (FSPs) in Europe in a pledge of commitment to work towards the elimination and prevention of human trafficking.
Ambassador Baja (3rd from right) leads PH Team Switzerland in signing the pledge of commitment to combat human trafficking.
The five-day Workshop provided the participants with greater understanding on the concept of trafficking in persons, and the international and Philippine legal frameworks to combat human trafficking. Sessions were also held on procedures for victim identification and psychosocial counselling, and the link between gender and trafficking. Issues on illegal recruitment, human smuggling, and the use of fraudulent documents in trafficking were likewise discussed.
Resource speakers from various government agencies and international organizations shared to knowledge to the participants. The speakers were from the Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE).
This is the fourth and final Regional Workshop for Philippine FSPs organized by the DFA, spearheaded by the DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (OUMWA). ###
