The Malta Independent 13 February 2025, Thursday
View E-Paper

American experts to train Maltese officials to better combat human trafficking

Saturday, 18 January 2025, 12:06 Last update: about 25 days ago

American experts within the field of anti-human trafficking will come to Malta to provide training to Maltese officials who are implementing the national strategy and action plan against human trafficking, both of which were launched last year.

This was announced by the Parliamentary Secretary for Equality and Reforms, Rebecca Buttigieg, during a press conference which marked the closing of a cooperation programme between the Human Rights Directorate within the Parliamentary Secretariat and experts from the Council of Europe and the European Commission. The European experts had assisted in the research and drafting of the national strategy and action plan against human trafficking.

ADVERTISEMENT

PS Buttigieg stated that the implementation of the national strategy is already yielding results in cases that have been investigated by the police. She said that these results will continue to be strengthened with the implementation of the Labour Migration Policy that is currently in a public consultation stage.

While thanking the experts who helped in the drafting of the national strategy against human trafficking, Buttigieg iterated that the government's policy in this area focuses, at its core, to fight against rings of organised crime and provide protection and assistance to victims.

The Parliamentary Secretary also shared that the government is committed to prioritize the protection of human rights in this area since "human trafficking is the greatest disrespect and insult to the dignity of the victims of this crime."

During this conference between Maltese and European experts, several workshops were conducted, in which evaluations and discussions were shared. All points were noted down for the establishment of mechanisms that could contribute towards the effective implementation of the strategy and action plan.

The conference was addressed by the Executive Secretary of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, Petya Nestorova, officials from the European Commission, amongst others.


  • don't miss