IOM Egypt Marks World Day against Trafficking in Persons with Community Event on Ending Child Labour

Cairo - Marking World Day against Trafficking in Persons, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Egypt has organized a community event yesterday Saturday 31 July 2021 with a focus on ending child labour. The event was attended by 165 of participants, including migrants and Scouts.

The aim of the event was raising awareness of migrant communities on trafficking in persons, distributing booklets on relevant information on migrants’ rights, Egypt’s laws which protect victims, and access to national resources to seek assistance and mitigate exposure to and risk of exploitation.

Child labour is one of the most frequent forms of trafficking involving children. Other forms that mainly target children include forced begging, sexual exploitation and forced domestic work.

“IOM reiterates its solidarity with all victims of child labour and all first responders who provide protection. It is only by working together that we can put an end to such horrible abuse and exploitation.  This year, IOM celebrates the World Day against Trafficking with a focus on ending child labor; such events remind us of the importance of empowerment of communities in combatting this crime in all its forms” said Laurent de Boeck, IOM Chief of Mission to the Arab Republic of Egypt.

Ali Abdelrahman representing the Eritrean community stated that “We were very happy to interact with each other in this event. It has been 3 years that some of our community members have not gone out of their homes. Many people did not know about the COVID-19 vaccination and were worried about it. Today, we were able to understand the difference between several vaccines and the importance of getting vaccinated. About human trafficking, we suffer from risks of smuggling and child labour. Through this event, we were able to gain awareness about these global crimes.”

Ladies from ‘Rawad El Rahma’, Eritrean Community Based Organization, representing Eritrean community have mentioned that they liked Yoga so much and said it was a wonderful activity. They would like to have more sports activities, including swimming as they have not been to a pool since they came to Egypt 3 years ago.

Amal, a Sudanese community leader, mentioned that they enjoyed the day where they knew about counter trafficking, nutrition, and practiced Yoga. She quoted “The children were very happy to the extend they refuse to leave the place as they do not hang out often. The day was very special in which there were competitions and prizes for children. We would like to thank IOM for giving us this opportunity”.

Through games and interactive sessions, the event included awareness raising on trafficking in persons, mental health and psychosocial support, nutrition, and fitness. In addition, information sessions on positive parenting, and child protection was provided for parents. This included preventative measures to stay safe both online and offline for children. The ‘National Council for Childhood and Motherhood’ (NCCM) and ‘Holol for Development and Consulting’ presented their services and provided their brochures for further migrant assistance.

The event was organized with the generous support of the below:

1. The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands through the COMPASS programme
2. The European Union through Regional Response to COVID-19 in North African Countries and the Regional Development and Protection Programme (RDPP)
3. Japanese Supplementary Budget through Empowering Women, Migrants and Host Communities in Egypt to Cope with the Impacts of Covid-19 through Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Services,
4. The Government of Finland through Fostering Health and Protection to Vulnerable Migrants Transiting through Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen
5. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark through Strengthening the Sphere of Protection for Victims of Trafficking and Vulnerable Migrants in Egypt While Preventing Irregular Migration and Human Trafficking (SPHERE ll), respectively