IOM Trains Rwanda’s Law Enforcement Officers To Address Human Trafficking

Kigali – The International Organization for Migration (IOM), in collaboration with the Government of Rwanda, conducted a Training of Trainers (TOT) for 33 law enforcement officers on identification, investigation and referral of victims of trafficking on 25-29 March. The training took place in Musanze District.

The officers were selected from the Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration (DGIE), Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), Rwanda National Police (RNP) and the National Public Prosecution Authority (NPPA).

The training was meant to strengthen the capacity of law enforcement agencies on identification of victims of trafficking as well as investigation of human trafficking related cases. The training curricula was developed through close discussions with the Law Enforcement Agencies in Rwanda and is based on the IOM Training Needs Assessment 2018.

The training is part of a project entitled “Improving Knowledge, Enforcement and Coordination of Counter Trafficking ‘’ (2017-2019) funded by the United States Department of International Development (USAID).

IOM works with One UN partners and Rwanda’s Ministry of Justice on strengthening response to human trafficking.

“Intra-agency cooperation is the most vital component of a counter trafficking initiative and should reflect the geographical nature of the trafficking process in its investigations, cooperation and prosecution must stretch over origin, transit and destination states” stated Marcellino Ramkishun, Regional Thematic Specialist on Border Management at the IOM Regional Office for East and Horn of Africa.

Some key achievements from the project include: the establishment of a Technical Committee on Counter Trafficking which consists of representatives from all relevant Government agencies and which increases the coordination of the efforts to combat trafficking in the country; the first research on trafficking in persons conducted in Rwanda which will be published soon.

The research report will serve as a baseline and for informed and evidenced based programming in the future.

In 2018, the Government of Rwanda adopted and promulgated the country’s first ever counter trafficking law relating to the prevention, suppression and punishment of trafficking in persons and exploitation.

IOM continues to actively support the Government of Rwanda in all its migration related efforts.