IOM and the Government of Ethiopia National Anti-Trafficking and Smuggling Taskforce wound-up a two workshop, on “The Review of the National Plan of Action against Trafficking in Persons (TiP) and Smuggling of Migrants (SoM) and Harmonization of the National and Regional Taskforce Structures,” on 1^st April 2016 in Addis Ababa.

This event represents one of the many joint efforts between the Government of Ethiopia and IOM to enhance the multi-stakeholder coordination in migration management and counter-trafficking initiatives in Ethiopia.

The workshop brought together more than 90 participants, the majority of whom represented Government officials from the country’s nine regions and two city administrations, drawn from the line ministries and regional bureaus with anti-trafficking and smuggling mandates (Ministries of Education, Foreign Affairs, Health, Justice, Labour and Social Affairs, and Women and Children Affairs, Federal and Regional Micro and Small Enterprise Development Agencies (Fe/ReMSEDA)). Participants were also drawn from other concerned government bodies, such as the Youth and Women federations. The donor and UN community was also represented.

This workshop was designed to review the implementation-to-date of the five-year National Plan of Action against TiP and SoM that coordinates anti-TiP and SoM efforts at national and regional levels. Furthermore, the participants also discussed the harmonization of the Anti-TiP Taskforce structure down to the regional levels in order to ensure coherence and effectiveness of anti-TiP initiatives throughout the country. The two days also served as a much-needed platform for regional taskforces to exchange best practices and discuss challenges encountered in implementing their respective plans of action against TiP and SoM.

After recounting the recent achievements of the Government of Ethiopia in the fight against TiP, H.E. Ato Getachew Ambaye, Minister of Justice for the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, said, “the [establishment of the] National Anti-Tip and SoM Taskforce made solid achievements at the outset. However, considering the large magnitude of the problem, there are still major tasks which lay ahead of us to prevent TiP and SoM, especially in migration-prone areas, where there is still a lot to be done to create a society who says “no” to smugglers. The role of community conversations is vital in this regard. We also need to strengthen the capacity of law enforcement agencies to combat smugglers and traffickers to prevent TiP and SoM.”

On her side, H.E. Madame Chantal Hebberecht, Ambassador of the European Union to Ethiopia stressed the urgent need to protect Ethiopian migrants, especially unaccompanied or separated migrant children, not only through prevention work, but also through effective protection all along the migratory route and upon arrival at destination. She also expressed EU’s support to the recent establishment of a National Coordination Mechanism on Migration in the country that would “contribute to making life a little better for those who have suffered so greatly”.

Ms. Maureen Achieng, IOM Chief of Mission and Representative to the African Union, UNECA and IGAD acknowledged the tremendous efforts the Government of Ethiopia has put into strengthening the Ethiopian legal framework on migration issues as evidenced by the recently-endorsed anti-TiP and regular labour migration proclamations. She went on to underline the critical role the newly-instituted National Coordination Mechanism (NCM) will play in ensuring a whole-of-government approach in responding to the complexities presented by the twin phenomena of trafficking in migrants and smuggling in human beings that Ethiopia continues to experience.

The two days’ workshop also clearly explained the functioning of the National Coordination Mechanism on Migration and discussed so that it can fulfil its role as a key tool for the Government of Ethiopia to support its efforts to better manage migration for the benefit of all.

The organization of this workshop was made possible through the general contribution of the European Union and Inter-Governmental Authority on Development through two projects, implemented by IOM.

For further information, please contact Alemayehu Seifeselassie at IOM Ethiopia, Tel: +251.11. 6611117 (Ext. 455), Mobile: +251.91.163-9082, Email: salemayehu@iom.int