Last week (02 & 03 December 2021) the RSO took part in the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise conducted by the United States Pacific Fleet along with the Bangladesh Navy.
On Thursday, 02 December, the RSO along with UNODC were able to dial in virtually to participate in a Subject Matter Expert Exchange on Maritime Challenges. Mr. William (Bill) Laidlaw – Programme Coordinator – delivered a presentation on People Smuggling and Human Trafficking by Sea and brought up the work that the RSO does to combat these crimes. Our colleagues at UNODC presented on the Global Maritime Crime Programme (GMCP) and how it can provide technical assistance to States.
On Friday, 03 December, the RSO dialed in again to deliver a table-top exercise portraying a potential encounter with a human trafficking vessel at sea during the Women, Peace and Security Subject Matter Expert Exchange. Mr. Laidlaw delivered and facilitated this table-top exercise for the participants from the Bangladesh and US navies who were in attendance. We hope that this table-top exercise gave participants the opportunity to discuss different responses and considerations for this scenario so that they will be able to better respond to incidents of human trafficking during their work.
The RSO would like to thank the navies of the United States and Bangladesh for the opportunity to take part in this CARAT exercise. We look forward to further cooperation so that we may all move closer towards our goal of combating the crimes of trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants.
