IOM scales up efforts to support JMO’s medico- legal contributions to eradicate human trafficking

Group picture of the participants and the team at the training program on 30 March 2023

Training Program on Identification and Medico-Legal Management of Victims of Human Trafficking on 30 March 2023

With the recent novel and evolving trends and heightened cases of human trafficking in Sri Lanka, it is indeed a timely intervention to strengthen the knowledge and influence on the role of the Judicial Medical Officers (JMO) on acting against human trafficking in Sri Lanka.

Thus, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in coordination with the National Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force (NAHTTF) spearheaded by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and College of Forensic pathologists Sri Lanka organised and conducted an intensive one-day training program entitled “Identification and Medico-Legal Management of Victims of Human Trafficking” for a group of JMOs from various districts island wide on 30 March 2023 in Colombo.

The aim was to create awareness and disseminate crucial medico-legal information pertaining to human trafficking among 43 JMOs with a specific focus on the medical factors and legal provisions on human trafficking and on current trends such as trafficking for organ removal and sexual exploitation & forced prostitution.

The program covered a wide array of topics, including different forms and elements of human trafficking, the indicators to identifying adult and child victims of trafficking, the current legal framework and means of reporting cases to the responsible authorities.

The Chief Judicial Medical Officer Dr. Ajith Tennakoon, Additional Solicitor General and President’s Counsel, Attorney’s Department Haripriya Jayasundara and IOM officials contributed to the training sessions.

IOM envisages that the practical knowledge acquired during the training program will enable the identification and reporting of cases, facilitate the dismantling of criminal networks, save lives and benefit the society at whole.

The counter trafficking interventions of the IOM are implemented by the IOM under a project entitled ‘Strengthening Government and CSO Capacity to Combat Trafficking in Persons and Create Greater Impact’ (IMPACT), with funding support from the United States Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP).

The project also aims to strengthen national and local/community level capacities and scale up community-driven responses to effectively combat and respond to TIP and contribute to the effective implementation of the National Strategic Action Plan (NSAP 2021-2025) to monitor and combat human trafficking.