Two University of Queensland researchers have spent a week in Islamabad training Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in preventing and suppressing trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling.
Professor Andreas Schloenhardt and law student Jarrod Jolly were invited by the FIA to conduct a one-week ‘train-the-trainers’ course for 13 of its senior investigators from June 4-8.
Pakistan is a significant source, transit and destination country for smuggled migrant and trafficked persons and also experiences significant levels of international trafficking, especially of women and children.
The training course, coordinated by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Country Office Pakistan, explored the levels and patterns of trafficking and smuggling in Pakistan, the investigation of offences, protection of victims, and Pakistan’s criminal justice response to these phenomena.
Professor Schloenhardt from UQ’s TC Beirne School of Law said the course aimed to equip investigators with the knowledge to effectively train their colleagues in these issues in the future.
“The training familiarised participants with domestic law and policy frameworks, international law, and best practice guidelines in the field,” Professor Schloenhardt said.
“The FIA participants showed great enthusiasm towards the program and made significant improvements in their investigative and interviewing skills, and in recognising the vulnerability of victims of trafficking in persons and smuggled migrants.”
Professor Schloenhardt and Mr Jolly developed the course after conducting four separate assessments of the legislative and law enforcement responses to trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants during visits to Pakistan in 2010 and 2011.
Professor Schloenhardt leads the UQ Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Working Group - a team of twenty research students that analyses and aims to expose the reality of, and responses to, this type of crime in Australia.
The team continuously monitors national and international developments in this field.
Its work with international agencies includes participation in last year’s United Nation’s Working Group on Trafficking in Persons where they contributed to a forum which discussed the design of awareness campaigns to highlight these crimes to the public.
Media: Professor Andreas Schloenhardt, +61 7 336 5619 or School of Law's marketing professional Melissa Reynolds, +61 7 3365 2523 and m.reynolds@law.uq.edu.au).
