Training for Dominican and Haitian institutions to detect forgeries and combat trafficking

The MCBS-EU cooperation project, funded by the European Union in the Caribbean and managed by FIIAPP is also supported by the Delegation of the European Union in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The project recently conducted a training initiative entitled “Detection of forged travel documents at the border, and immigration laws of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, from a perspective of prevention of human trafficking”. The workshop was aimed primarily at staff from the Institutions responsible for border inspection and control in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.  

One of the main objectives of the course is to broaden both the theoretical and practical knowledge of participants regarding the detection of forged documents and the communication between border control officials and immigration services when detecting them.  

Human trafficking for sexual or labour exploitation is of growing concern, affecting highly vulnerable people, since the victims of sexual exploitation are mainly young women and girls. Traffickers use the lure of lucrative work opportunities to attract women and girls from across the region, taking advantage of risk factors inherent to their gender, including interpersonal violence.  

Forged travel documents are used in migrant smuggling, human trafficking, drug trafficking and the mobility of criminals. Coupled with the lack of physical borders, the use of forged documentation is a major challenge in the region when it comes to the fight against organised crime and human trafficking.