As head of the National Taskforce on Trafficking in Persons (TIP), the Ministry of Labor with support from the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) has concluded a two-day stakeholders’ forum on the Review of the First National Action Plan on Human Trafficking in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County.
According to a Labor Ministry release, the National Action Plan which is a five-year agenda to guide the operations of the Taskforce was first drafted in 2013 and launched in 2014 by former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and is expected to come to an end in December, 2018.
The release said the stakeholders’ conference in Grand Bassa County which was held from May 31 to June 1, 2018 brought together authorities from the Ministries of Labor, Justice, Foreign Affairs, Gender and Social Protection, Health, the Liberia Immigration Service as well as, civil society organizations.
Issues surrounding the ongoing implementations, the successes and challenges of the Taskforce and the necessity of generating ideas in formulating a new agenda or reshipping and continuing with the existing agenda were cardinal during the meeting.
The release went on to say that the participants stressed the need for the Taskforce to be proactive and for national government to provide funding and logistics to enable it functions effectively. They further emphasized the need for robust awareness using appropriate medium that will be fundamental in fighting against human trafficking in the country.
The release further revealed that the deputy minister for Manpower, Planning and Development at Labor, Atty. Phil Tarpeh Dixon who served as proxy for Minister Moses Y. Kollie, chairman of the anti-trafficking Taskforce recommitted the Ministry’s efforts to ensuring a functional force and guaranteed the full implementation of the outcomes from the two-day gathering.
In the release, Deputy Minister Dixon said even though there are multiple challenges incurred by the current administration at the Ministry of Labor ranging from finances to logistics, the institution remains committed to fighting human trafficking in all forms and manners.
Also speaking at the close of the forum as the release said, the director of the TIP Secretariat at the Ministry, Mr. Adolphus Satiah, thanked the current administration for her support in recommencing active coordination meetings with partners; the meeting which he said has been dormant for nearly three years.
For her part, the country director of the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), Madam Teresa Mugadza reassured her origination’s partnership and support in buttressing government’s development efforts and the fight against trafficking in the country. The release concluded by indicating that the IDLO’s Boss further stressed that if the Taskforce must succeed, the issue of effective implementations and proper review of plans developed cannot be overemphasized.
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