Press Releases
Tanzanian participates in Trafficking in Persons programme in the U.S.
February 26, 2007
The U.S. Department of State has selected Joseph Konyo to participate in a three-week multi-regional project on ‘Combating Trafficking in Persons.’ The program begins in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, March 1, 2007 and ends in New York City on Thursday, March 22, 2007.
According to a press release from the U.S. Embassy, Konyo, Tanzania’s Trafficking in Persons Coordinator, and an officer in the Ministry of Public Safety & Security’s Department of Criminal Investigation, will join 23 participants from other countries in this programme.
The program addresses the three aspects of trafficking in persons: prevention, protection of victims and prosecution of traffickers. The U.S. Embassy statement said Konyo will participate in exploring U.S. policy initiatives to protect and assist victims of trafficking, including providing social and economic reintegration. Konyo will also learn of methods and best practices to combat trafficking in persons, including public education efforts and prosecution of traffickers and enforcement strategies.
The group in this programme will also examine local, national and international efforts to combat trafficking; and foster international cooperation to counter this scourge.
Participants will meet and hold discussions with key federal and local government agencies in a number of locations. They will tour the Philadelphia airport where they will look at immigration procedures and law enforcement strategies for identifying victims and traffickers. They will also accompany El Paso police officers on a ride-along of a routine border patrol.
To better understand victim protection issues, participants will visit shelters and interact with victims of human trafficking. They will explore public-private initiatives that address victim’s needs as well as essential intervention services provided to at-risk communities, such as immigrants, indigenous and youth, that are especially vulnerable to crimes such as human trafficking.
Konyo’s fellow participants in this project to combat trafficking in persons come from Kenya, Botswana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Madagascar, Libya, Albania, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Jamaica, Kosovo, Kuwait, Lebanon, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Philippines, Romania, Sri Lanka, Ukraine and Yemen.
This multi-regional U.S. project of the International Visitor programme aims to develop and strengthen professional and personal ties between key foreign officials and Americans and American institutions. These people-to-people programmes enable international visitors to better understand American culture and society, and to contribute to American knowledge of foreign cultures.
This is only one of several programs the U.S. Government provides as direct assistance to Tanzania. In the fiscal year ending September 30, 2006, the U.S. Government provided over $410 million (over 534 billion Tanzanian shillings) in direct assistance and through multilateral organizations to Tanzania.