Libyan Judiciary Prepares to Combat Human Trafficking

GENEVA, Switzerland, April 5, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- IOM, in partnership with the Libyan Ministry of Justice and the Institute of High Court Judges, has completed a series counter-trafficking workshops attended by 102 judges and prosecutors in the Libyan capital Tripoli.

The five workshops, funded by the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) in the Office of Near Eastern Affairs at the US Department of State, analysed the crime of trafficking in persons and the need to put in place laws to combat trafficking, protect victims and prosecute traffickers. The trainees, who came from all over Libya, will train colleagues when they return home.

Every year hundreds of irregular migrants from sub-Saharan Africa are believed to fall prey to human traffickers in Libya. While some are en route to Europe, many are simply looking for work in the North African country.

At present Libya has no specific anti-trafficking laws and the country is in the process of reviewing all its laws. But government legal experts suggest that some provisions in the current Libyan penal code could be used as an interim measure until new counter-trafficking laws are introduced.

IOM has been asked by the Libyan government to assist it with expertise in counter trafficking and other areas of migration management.

The workshops culminated in an inter-ministerial meeting attended by senior government officials from the Ministries of Interior, Foreign Affairs, Labour, Justice, Health and Social Affairs.