Strengthening Institutions to Combat Trafficking in Persons in Costa Rica

From May 14th to May 21st, workshops and meetings were held in San José, Costa Rica, as part of a project aiming at strengthening institutions in their struggle against the trafficking of people, especially children.

The workshop on the development of the training kit for the police sector highlighted respect for the fundamental rights of minors in contact with the law, both victims and witnesses.

 The project manager and the project coordinator took part in a meeting with the consultant of the project, the assistant prosecutor at the FACTRA (Fiscalía Adjunta contra la Trata de Personas y el Tráfico Ilícito de Inmigrantes) and the Director of the department charged with fighting organised crime. The latter discussed the steps that shoud be taken to achieve the harmonisation and the analysis of trafficking cases gathered by prosecutors over the years from different regions of the country.

Finally, a meeting allowed the team to reflect on the accomplished progress made so far in the making of the training kit aiming at strengthening the competences of the judges. The identification of cases, the application of national and international standards, non-victimisation and the struggle against impunity were central concerns in the making of the training kit.