The countries of the Regional Coalition against Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling (CORETT) identified over 1,300 victims of human trafficking in 2018

 
Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama
12 December, 2019

 

The plenary meeting of the Regional Coalition against Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling (CORETT) was held November 19-21 in the Dominican Republic, with participation from representatives of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Belize, and the Dominican Republic.  

 

On this occasion, IOM presented CORETT with the results of the technical assistance it provided this year, to improve the collection, analysis, and exchange of statistical data on human trafficking in the countries of the Coalition. IOM worked hand in hand with national commissions against human trafficking to collect and analyze data on victims of human trafficking, assistance, and prosecution, among other things. Thanks to this work, CORETT now has a system for monitoring regional and national trends, enabling it to develop and implement evidence-based assistance strategies. 

 

Out of this came a Regional factsheet summarizing the primary trends from the year 2018. The nine countries identified 1,306 victims of human trafficking, of which 49% were children and adolescents under 18 years of age and 45% were adult women. 48% of the victims identified were of Mexican nationality, and it was also found that sexual exploitation accounted for 65% of cases, followed by labor exploitation (17%).  

 

Regarding actions taken in the region in 2018, 1,546 victims of this crime were assisted, 946 reports were received, and 240 people were sentenced. Additionally, prevention activities reached over 4,5 million people. The regional infographic can be found here  

 

The vice minister of External Relations for Consular and Migration Affairs in the Dominican Republic, Marjorie Espinosa, emphasized the valuable regional coordination space that CORETT represents, which “has served as a platform for each of the countries represented to channel their initiatives, challenges, and joint approach to the crimes of human trafficking and migrant smuggling.”  

 

The objective of CORETT is the adoption and promotion of strategic actions to combat human trafficking and migrant smuggling, as well as to improve assistance to victims in the countries of the region. As part of CORETT’s efforts to achieve this goal, three strategies developed with technical assistance from IOM were presented during this meeting. These are:   

 

  • Regional Strategy for Preventing Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling for the adoption and promotion of standards, policies, and regional processes to combat and prevent these crimes.  

  • Visibility and Communication Strategy for publicizing the work of the Regional Coalition.  

  • Regional Resource Mobilization Strategy for implementing these strategies and thus supporting their prevention focuses. 

 

Efforts like this are part of the Strengthening the Regional Coalition Project of the IOM Development Fund (IDF) and the Regional Migration Program: Mesoamerica-The Caribbean, which is financed by the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration of the Department of State of the United States. In addition to IOM, representatives of the General Secretariat of SICA, UNODC, Lawyers Without Borders, and Save the Children attended the meeting.