10 October 2014 - The Philippine Embassy, under its Gender and Development (GAD) program and in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), conducted the Training on Anti-Trafficking and Victim Identification from September 26 to 27 at the Padova Hotel, Beirut. 

The one-day training began with a re-echo session on September 26 on the Anti-Trafficking Training conducted by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in Ankara, Turkey in April 2014 for Assistance-To-Nationals (ATN) officers of Philippine Embassy and Consulates all over the Middle East and Africa, conducted by the Embassy’s head of the consular and ATN Section, Consul Dennis John Briones, and ATN and Legal Officer Junaid Ali.

The full day session on September 27 dealt with concepts that aim to strengthen the participants’ ability to conduct victim identification and familiarization with Trafficking in Persons (TIP) cases under the Lebanese context and the type of assistance provided by IOM through its Action to Protect and Assist Exploited and Vulnerable Migrant Workers in the Middle East and North Africa (PAVE) program. On hand to provide information and expertise were representatives from IOM-Beirut and the Internal Security Forces (Lebanese police), which is one of the main Lebanese government law enforcement agencies that implement the anti-trafficking law of Lebanon. 

The 22 officers and staff of the Embassy, Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) actively participated in the discussions and role-playing to enhance their skills and knowledge in identifying victims of trafficking, handling trafficking cases and providing assistance to victims. END