Bolivia chairs the Regional Forum to Combat Migrant Trafficking

The ceremony was attended by Foreign Minister Celinda Sousa. The Head of the International Organization for Migration's Office in Argentina, Gabriela Fernandez, and the Executive Director of the Commission to Combat Human Trafficking, Gustavo Vera.

After thanking other countries for their support for Bolivia to lead the platform with the mission of strengthening this structure and expressing the work of the ten States Parties, Sosa stressed that they will work jointly and effectively against this global crime.

He paraphrased President Luis Arce, who warned that if the region did not unite “it will be complicated” to confront these transnational crimes, and called for “civilizational change to build a better world.”

The Minister also announced that in March the State Department will begin implementing the Consular Assistance Protocol to Care for Victims of Trafficking and Smuggling.

For her part, Lima presented the action agenda that Bolivia will face at the head of the platform that will be created in July 2023.

Among these tasks is to strengthen this regional structure with the aim of coordinating support between countries through the Technical Secretariat.

Likewise, it considered it necessary to establish a regulatory framework to work for the benefit of the weakest and most vulnerable groups of victims of trafficking and smuggling.

The Chief Justice noted that Bolivia could become a link between the member states of the Andean Community (CAN) and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) to define common actions.

“The platform is an important tool for implementing policies to combat these crimes, which leave a deep imprint not only on the victims and their closest environments, but on our communities,” he said.

Lima considered that “we must all be committed to combating this serious crime.”

According to the head of the International Organization for Migration in Argentina, 63% of victims of human trafficking are women and girls, and the most common method is forced labor, along with sexual exploitation.

The Regional Platform to Combat Human Trafficking and Illegal Migrant Smuggling is a cooperation and coordination space consisting of Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

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