On Monday, 18 July and Wednesday, 20 July, the RSO delivered a virtual workshop on Addressing People Smuggling and Trafficking in Persons to 23 officials from the Malaysian Immigration Department.
The virtual workshop aimed to equip operational level officers who are responsible for managing travelers at borders with the knowledge and skills required to better detect and respond to incidents of people smuggling and trafficking in persons.
This workshop covered sessions on:
- Trafficking in Persons & Smuggling of Migrants
- Identification and Screening of Vulnerable Persons
- Victim-Centered Approaches
- People Smuggling by Air Trends and Best Practice Responses
- Key Considerations when Investigating People Smuggling and Trafficking in Persons
- International Cooperation
The RSO facilitated the first day of the workshop, introducing trafficking in persons and people smuggling and going over the differences between them. The RSO also conducted a variety of group exercises, including an analysis of case studies to determine the elements of each crime and a discussion on challenges regarding identification and screening faced by the Malaysian Immigration Department.
The second day of this workshop included presentations from the RSO, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Australian Border Force (ABF). Ms. Among Resi – Counter-Trafficking Program Officer at IOM – delivered the session on Victim-Centered Approaches in trafficking investigations, sharing her experiences in dealing with victims and lessons learned. Ms. Wendy MacDonald – ABF Inspector, First Secretary Airline Liaison – delivered the session on People Smuggling Trends by Air and Best Practice Responses, going over the Australian Airline Liaison Program and sharing current people smuggling trends in the aviation stream.
The RSO would like to thank Ms. Among Resi and Ms. Wendy MacDonald for sharing their expertise and experiences during this workshop. The RSO would also like to thank all participants in attendance for joining the workshop, taking part in group discussions and engaging with the facilitators.
The RSO looks forward to continuous engagement with the Malaysian Immigration Department to address the crimes of people smuggling, trafficking in persons and related transnational crime.
