The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) has supported IOM in rolling out the first of six trainings on counter-trafficking, smuggling, and human rights of migrants, returnees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees. The trainings aim to enhance the capacity of Somali authorities from Mogadishu, Garowe, Bossaso and Hargeisa to respond to in-flows of refugees, returnees, and migrants from Yemen.
The first training, conducted in Bossaso from 19 to 21 December 2016, was attended by officials from the Puntland Counter Trafficking Board (PCTB) based in Bossaso and Garowe. The Board comprises 22 government officials from nine ministries in the Puntland State of Somalia.
During the training, participants also reviewed PCTB’s Bossaso referral mechanism for victims of trafficking and smuggled people.
Speaking during the training, the Director General at Puntland’s Ministry of Information, Communication, Heritage and Culture, Mowlid Abukar, said, “This training is essential because cases of human trafficking and smuggling are on the increase in Puntland, especially in Bossaso town, mainly because it is a busy town that is home to a mixed group of people. A number of Bossaso residents come mostly from Ethiopia and South Central Somalia, seeking to cross into Yemen from the Port of Bossaso.”
This training is part of a USD 10 million project that will benefit almost 20,000 people, who have fled to Somalia from war-torn Yemen. The project is being implemented by the IOM and UNHCR, in close coordination with the Somalia Task Force on the Yemen Situation, and respective regional and local authorities.
