Luxor –The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Egypt, in cooperation with the ‘National Coordinating Committee for Combatting and Preventing Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Persons (NCCPIM&TIP), has successfully completed a series of five trainings, concluding the second phase of the “Trainings for National Councils Staff on Responding to Victims of Human Trafficking” programme.

The fifth and last training of the programme was attended by 22 participants from the National Council for Childhood & Motherhood, the National Council for Women, and the National Council for Human Rights representing Upper Egypt governorates of Aswan, Asyut, El Minya, El Wadi El Gedeed, Luxor, Qena, and Sohag.

Altogether, the programme trained 115 professionals from the three National Councils from all 27 governorates of Egypt on the identification and protection of victims of trafficking and vulnerable groups, this included case workers, lawyers, psychologists, and the managers of the 27 child protection committees nationwide. The trainings were conducted in Cairo, Alexandria, Ismailia and Luxor.

The programme was closed in Luxor by the heads of both entities, Laurent De Boeck, Chief of the IOM Mission to the Arab Republic of Egypt and Ambassador Naela Gabr, Chairperson of NCCPIM&TiP. During her closing remarks, H.E Ambassador Naela Gabr pointed out that having the trainings around different governorates covers more areas in the country and allows for a fair dissemination of knowledge, and also demonstrates that this series of trainings is significantly important, as the National Councils’ roles are crucial, and is a starting point in reaching bigger achievements [in this portfolio].

H.E. Mr. Laurent De Boeck stated that: “It makes IOM proud to end 2021 on this positive note with training over 100 frontliners [from the National Councils] whose roles are very challenging yet essential to protecting victims and reducing the exposure, of those at-risk, to the crime of human trafficking, and who can pass on real hope to the most vulnerable".

The trainings covered sessions on the definition, forms, and legal framework of trafficking, its consequences on the victims of trafficking, case management, referral mechanism, and the provision of protection services and psychosocial support.

The training programme was funded through the generous support offered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark under the project “Strengthening the Sphere of Protection for Victims of Trafficking and Vulnerable Migrants in Egypt While Preventing Irregular Migration and Human Trafficking (SPHERE ll)”, and by the European Union under the project “Regional Development and Protection Programme (RDPP)”.

The training contributes to the achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically Goal 3 "Good Health and Wellbeing”, Goal 8 “Decent Work and Economic Growth”, Goal 10 “Reduced Inequalities”. The training comes in line with the objectives of the Global Compact for Migration (GCM), Objective 10 “Prevent, combat and eradicate trafficking in persons in the context of international migration” and Objective 7 “Address and reduce vulnerabilities in migration”.

 For further information, please contact Omar Awwad at IOM Egypt, Tel: +20 101 2428 527 Email: osawwad@iom.int