Canadians to Assist U.N. with Human Trafficking Guidebook

A UN training manual to help police around the world combat the scourge of human trafficking is being developed with the assistance of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).^[1] The manual will help teach law enforcement officers in 192 countries how to identify, interview, protect, and properly care for victims of human trafficking.^[2]

Canada has won much praise for its protection of human trafficking victims, an approach that includes community consultation with non-governmental entities (NGOs).^[3] "Partnerships with [NGOs] are absolutely key. Faith-based groups throughout the country have come together and are each able to provide a certain facet of what is required for that victim to recover from the trauma that they've experienced," said RCMP Cpl. Norm Massie.^[4]

Members of such NGOs applaud the idea of more training for police, since they are often the first people to encounter victims of human trafficking working in prostitution.^[5] The UN estimates that more than 700,000 people a year, mostly women and children, are victims of the crime.^[6]

We have discussed human trafficking at length on this blog, most recently here.

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^[1] Human trafficking police manual for UN developed in Canada, CBC News, March 5, 2007
^[2] Id.
^[3] Id.
^[4] Id
^[5] Id.
^[6] Id.