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(WNN/IOM) Guatemala: The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has started a series of refresher trainings on the prosecution of human trafficking cases for some 600 Guatemalan judges.

The trainings, organized in coordination with the Judicial Branch and the Secretariat against Sexual Violence, Exploitation and Trafficking in Persons of the Vice President’s Office are funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM).

A first group of 124 judges this week discussed topics including relevant international and national counter-trafficking legislation, national best practices, the role of evidence and the use of victims as witnesses.

Guatemala is a country of origin, transit and destination for victims of trafficking.  Boys, girls, teenagers, women and men are all victims. Sexual and labour exploitation, illicit adoptions, child pornography and sex tourism are the most common forms of human trafficking in Guatemala.

According to a study released by the country’s Human Rights Office, between 2000 and October 2011, the Attorney General’s Office recorded 2,073 victims of trafficking, of which 434 were identified in 2011.

USAID also supports a broader IOM programme in Guatemala aimed at reintegrating returnees, including victims of trafficking, which provides vocational training, income generation, health, education and counselling.

PRM also supports a broader IOM regional programme Protection and Assistance to Vulnerable Migrants in Mesoamerica, which provides direct assistance to vulnerable migrants including victims of trafficking, technical cooperation to governments, and facilitates dialogue and exchange of best practices at the local, national, regional and intraregional levels.  The project also includes similar training for judges in all Central American countries.

Another USAID-funded IOM initiative launched in 2010, the Guatemalan Repatriates Project, provides essential reintegration support to returnees in order to achieve durable social and economic reintegration into society. It includes a special component to provide protection to victims of trafficking among the returning population.

IOM Guatemala is also overseeing the creation of a USAID- and PRM-funded shelter, which will provide protection and direct assistance to girls, teenagers and women victims of trafficking.

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