By: Fatoumata.J. Camara
The National Agency Against Trafficking in Persons (NAATIP) on Thursday held a day-long capacity-building training for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) on trafficking in persons (TIP).
The training aimed to equip civil society organizations in identifying the cases of trafficking in persons and the referral mechanisms.
In her opening remarks, the Executive Directorof NAATIP, Isatou Daboe, acknowledged the pivotal role played by the CSOs in combating the issues of trafficking in person. She said that they had a series of trainings but the CSO’s training was exceptional. She spoke of CSOs in the Gambia as a mix of individuals who caredabout trafficking in person and victims of trafficking in person.
She states that dozens of CSOs are into trafficking but need further capability building to be able to help them understand the area in which they operate.
“Aside from capacity building and knowledge enhancement, this training and the expected outcomes are going to help the referral process when it comes to victims of trafficking,’’ Ms. Darboe explained.
According to her, they believe when the CSOs “understand the elements of trafficking in persons, know the immediate needs of victims, and know what services should be provided for victims, if they see a victim of TIP they will be able to identify if they are victims of irregular immigration, trafficking in person, gender-based violence or rape.’’
Jainaba Sillah, a participant representing Child Protection Alliance (CPA), explained that the training is important to her since CPA is an institution that is concerned with the issue of child protection and one of the issues that is affecting children in the Gambia knowingly or unknowingly is the issue of trafficking.
“This training will help enhance our ability to be able to identify cases of trafficking and to be able to make appropriate referrals,” she said.
