EL PAcCTO and EU-Bolivia join forces to fight against human trafficking

The EL PAcCTO programme, funded by the European Union and managed by FIIAPP and Expertise France with the support of IILA and Camões, has carried out technical assistance for the creation of a Specialized Multidisciplinary Team (EME) on human trafficking in Bolivia. This activity has been coordinated with the project that FIIAPP is implementing in Bolivia on the fight against drug trafficking and related crimes, EU-Bolivia.

The EME consists of an operational team of investigators from the Bolivian Police, Public Ministry and the Financial Investigations Unit, and of an Inter-institutional Coordination Committee formed by the Ministry of Justice and Institutional Transparency, the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Judicial Council and the operational team.  

This EME aims to strengthen inter-institutional coordination and improve the capacity for interdiction in the fight against the offence of human trafficking.  

It should also be noted that the National Police of Bolivia is part of the formal network of experts in human smuggling and trafficking between Latin America and the European Union, which is promoted by EL PAcCTO. As part of this network the National Police has taken part on meetings at Europol headquarters, as well as in various regional workshops, in this case together with the Public Prosecutor’s Office. 

The activity ended with the signing of a pre-agreement. Soon, the official signing of EME constitution will be completed, giving way to the first activity that will support and strengthen  Bolivian public institutions against trafficking offences.  

This technical assistance is an example of coordination between FIIAPP projects and programmes that aim to improve the impact of their actions and take advantage of economies of scale by improving the rational and ethical use of economic resources.