More than 70 representatives of Brazilian local, state and federal governments, civil society and the scientific community participated in the "training on migration, trafficking in human beings and assistance to people vulnerable to exploitation" held at the Federal University of Roraima (UFRR), Boa Vista on 27 and 28 April.
At the opening, the Deputy-Rector of UFRR, Américo Lyra, welcomed the participants and stressed the strategic and geographic importance of the state of Roraima as a border region with Venezuela and Guyana; The Director of the Federal Department of Justice Policy, David Pires, explained about the need to strengthen the network of local actors to ensure protection of the rights of the most vulnerable to exploitation, such as children, adolescents, women and migrants; ICMPD National Project Officer, Daya Hayakawa, talked about the MT Brazil Project and presented the role of international organizations as partners of the Brazilian government and the civil society in implementing projects and disseminating knowledge in country.
The training was facilitated by renowned specialists who shared their expertise and moderated high-level debates among the participants. The training team was composed of government officials, university professors, ICMPD researchers, one UNODC Officer and a local NGO. The course was coordinated by the ICMPD external consultant, Cintia Yoshihara.
The Coordinator of the National Immigration Council, Luiz Alberto dos Santos, presented the module on concepts and legal framework of migration, putting into perspective the international role of Brazil as a migrants sender and receiver. He also stressed the joint efforts of the federal government and civil society in guaranteeing the migrants’ human rights, regardless of their destination of choice. The expert on trafficking in persons, Federal Police Chief, Lucicleia Rollemberg presented the technical aspects of trafficking in persons and related crimes, raising awareness to this phenomenon and providing the audience with the necessary concepts to help actors identify cases and better assist victims. In this occasion, she introduced to the public the federal government’s approach to tackling the issue.
Participants showed enthusiastic interest in the training and shared their particular experiences on the topic. Among the presents were representatives of the Government of Venezuela, who contributed to the discussion by bringing along points of view from across the border.
Four more training sessions are foreseen this year. The next one in the series will be held in the city of Rio Branco, federal state of Acre, in August.