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The Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) conducted a Training Workshop for Diplomatic and Consular Personnel on Identifying and Investigating Human Trafficking Cases at the Consulate General’s Conference Room on 12-13 April 2018.

“In our duty to serve, protect the rights, and promote welfare and interests of our nationals, members of the consular corps have the first-hand opportunity to interview and hear out their respective concerns and circumstances,” Consul General Antonio A. Morales said in opening remarks. ‘We as front-line officials play a key role in uncovering trafficking cases.”

Also attending the opening of the workshop were Ms. Nenette Motus, IOM Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific based in Manila, Mr. Pär Liljert, Chief of Mission of the IOM Liaison Office in Beijing, and Ms Nurul Qoiriah, Head of the IOM Sub-Office in Hong Kong.

The training workshop was divided into nine thematic sessions, which drew the participation of 40 representatives of consulates general in Hong Kong as well as from the Philippine Embassy in Beijing and the Philippine Consulates of Macau and Chongqing.

Experts and resource persons from IOM, other Consulates and the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Office of the Undersecretary on Migrant Workers’ Affairs shared their knowledge, skills and experience on anti-trafficking workshop. 

The two-day training workshop, which was co-moderated by Deputy Consul General Roderico C. Atienza and Richard Fairbrother of the IOM-Beijing, aimed to strengthen collaboration among the consular corps in Hong Kong and other diplomatic missions abroad in identifying, addressing, and investigating TIP cases. 

The workshop served as kind of a milestone for the consular corps in Hong Kong, especially in light of the Hong Kong government’s launch last month of an action plan to combat trafficking. Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung will chair the interdepartmental steering committee overseeing the implementation of the plan.

Participants expressed hopes the training workshop would enable the members of consular corps to execute its duties and responsibilities more effectively and expand areas of cooperation among Consulates in Hong Kong, including opening the door for more collaboration with the IOM Sub-Office or other Consulates on similar or other initiatives. 

Philippine Consul General Antonio A. Morales (6th from left, seated) and IOM officials, Mr. Pär Liljert, Chief of Mission, IOM Liaison Office in Beijing (5TH from left, seated) and Ms. Nenette Motus, IOM Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific (7th from left, seated) pose for a photo with all the participants of the training workshop. Also in the photo are Deputy Consul General Roderico C. Atienza (5th from right, seated); Labor Attaché Jalilo O. Dela Torre (4th from left, seated), DFA-OUMWA Executive Director John G. Reyes (3rd from left, seated) Ms. Darlene R. Pajarito, Asst. Prosecutor, Makati City & former IACAT Executive Director (4th from right, seated).

 

Mr. Pär Liljert, the Chief of Mission of the IMO Liaison Office in Beijing (rightmost) leads the opening session of the Training Workshop for Diplomatic and Consular Personnel on Identifying and Investigating Human Trafficking Cases on12 April 2018. Mr. Liljert, together with Dr. Nenette Motus, IOM Regional Director for the Asia Pacific (2nd from right); Consul General Antonio A. Morales (3nd from right), and Deputy Consul General Roderico C. Atienza (leftmost) open the first day of the workshop

 

Participants listen to the speakers and engage each other during the two-day training workshop for diplomatic and consular personnel on 12-13 April 2018. Top: Participants listen to Mr. Richard Fairbrother’s summary of Session 5 of the training workshop. Middle right: Mr. Christopher Pater of the U.S. Consulate General discusses the Department of Homeland Security’s approach on human trafficking and smuggling issues on Day 1 of the training. Middle right: Consul Eugene Jang Joonsung of the Korean Consulate shares his country’s best practices and experience on anti-trafficking. Bottom left: Vice Consul Ira Micheline Valdez of Macau PCG and Atty. Angelica Navarrete of DFA-OUMWA discuss their respective presentations before their session on Day 2. Bottom right: Deputy Consul General Roderico C. Atienza engages the participants in sharing their respective experiences on anti-trafficking.