Carol Palmer (right), permanent secretary in the Ministry of Justice, and chairperson of the national task force on trafficking in persons, addresses members at a special training session in the area of direct assistance to victims of trafficking.

A TWO-DAY conference to sensitise local organisations on the challenges of human trafficking opened yesterday at the Family Life Ministries in St. Andrew.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) is conducting the sessions which come two years after a U.S. State Department report cited growing trafficking of humans in Jamaica.

Cissy Muller, an IOM representative based in Washington, D.C., said her team will share its expertise with local agencies on dealing with the intricacies of human trafficking.

"This training is focusing specifically on direct assistance," Ms. Muller said. "The people who have gathered will not only learn what are the basic concepts of trafficking; they'll learn things like what does the victim look like, and what is the potential profile of a victim."

Approach by government

Ms. Muller said the IOM was approached by the Jamaican government to lead the conference which is being attended by local groups such as the Child Development Agency and the Centre for Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse.

The IOM was established in 1951. It has helped to monitor human trafficking around the world, including Europe and south east Asia where the problem is rampant.

In 2005, the State Department placed Jamaica on tier three of its human trafficking watch list. Tier three is the lowest ranking. Last year, the country was placed at tier two. Government has made several attempts to address the problem. In December 2006, the Trafficking in Persons Act was passed in Parliament.