Somalia - On 18 November 2017, the Parliament of Puntland State of Somalia’s ratified a new Human Trafficking Legislative Framework, following three years of consultations between IOM, the UN Migration Agency, the Puntland Counter Trafficking Board (PCTB) and other stakeholders. The consultations were supported under a European Union (EU) funded project. Around 6,000 migrants transit through Puntland annually. Data gathered by the Regional Mixed Migration Secretariat shows that the Puntland State of Somalia is a transit point for mixed migration, including actual and potential victims of human trafficking. Trafficking victims include women, children, adolescents/youth and men. A majority of the actual and potential victims of human trafficking start their journey in Banadir region (South Central), with the main destinations being Europe (mainly Italy), Yemen, Gulf States (mainly Saudi Arabia), South Africa and Kenya. The commonly used routes are: South Central to Puntland to Yemen; South Central to Kenya/Ethiopia to Sudan to Libya/Egypt to Europe mainly Malta, Italy and Greece; and South Central to Kenya to the United Republic of Tanzania to Southern African countries on to South Africa. The new human trafficking framework provides coherent and consistent internationally recognized laws for prosecutors to use for court hearings and verdicts for cases regarding trafficking. The legal framework comprises the penal and criminal procedure codes and the new Puntland Trafficking in Persons law.  With the enaction of these laws, measures that need to be put in place to detect and prevent potential cases of human trafficking can be rolled out. These include creating structures to develop policies, plans and strategies to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in Persons. The consultations between the PCTB and IOM started in June 2014, when a consensus was reached on the fact that existing laws did not meet international standards, including the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Migrant Smuggling Protocol. As a result, the Board decided that the laws needed to be reviewed so as to provide a strong coherent framework to back sustainable and effective means to address irregular migration. Following the PCTB’s decision to review Puntland’s human trafficking and smuggling laws, IOM seconded a Human Trafficking Legal Expert to Puntland’s Office of the Attorney General to review and develop the framework as well as conduct training sessions, which were aimed at improving the capability and skills of prosecutors, police and immigration officers to adequately detect and respond to trafficking cases during their routine duties, and to enable prosecutors to implement anti-trafficking legislation in line with international standards. During the training, emphasis was placed on enhancing knowledge among prosecutors of the nature of human trafficking as a crime and violation of human rights. “Our experience is that the development of a strong legal framework acts as a backbone to deter smuggling and trafficking, and it goes hand in hand with implementation of activities to counter human smuggling and trafficking,” said Dyane Epstein, IOM Somalia Chief of Mission. "Trafficking in human beings and smuggling of people are transnational challenges that affect all the countries of the Horn of Africa and in particular Somalia", said Veronique Lorenzo, EU Ambassador to Somalia. "Regional frameworks such as the Khartoum Process and the Valletta Action Plan put the fight against human trafficking and smuggling at the centre of the cooperation and dialogue between the EU and its Horn of Africa partners. Supporting the drafting and implementation of legislative and institutional frameworks and training law enforcement and judicial authorities are among the key priorities for the EU related to counter human trafficking", she concluded. For more information, please contact Feisal Mohamud at IOM Somalia, Tel: +254721290074 Email: famuhamud@iom.int