The United Nations System in Costa Rica (SNU) in collaboration with the National Coalition against the Smuggling of Migrants and Trafficking in Persons (CONATT) of Costa Rica facilitated the first technical exchange between the Immediate Response Team (ERI) of Costa Rica and the Identification and Attention Unit (UIA) of Panama to identify synergies and improve the coordination in the identification and assistance of victims of trafficking in persons.

In Central America and the Caribbean, including Costa Rica and Panama, the detection of victims fell by 36%, highlighting the need to strengthen detection and response mechanisms in the region, especially in a context where trafficking dynamics have shifted to less visible areas due to pandemic restrictions.

It is therefore essential to strengthen the operational capacity of the response teams of Costa Rica (ERI) and Panama (UIA) to ensure a rapid and effective response to the identification of victims and their access to protection services, from a gender and human rights approach, to ensure that the specific needs of all victims, particularly women and girls, are addressed.

The event was attended by 48 people, personnel from the Ministry of Security, National Migration Service, Ombudsman's Office of Panama, Attorney General's Office, National Secretariat for Children, Adolescence and Family, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Labor of Panama, Ministry of Women, Prosecutor's Office, Public Prosecutor's Office of Panama, IOM Panama, Professional Migration Police of Costa Rica, Ministry of Public Security, Attorney General's Office of the Republic of Costa Rica, Judicial Investigation Agency, General Directorate of Migration and Alien Affairs, Ministry of Labor and Social Security, National Women's Institute and National Children's Board. 

Sylvie Bertrand, UNODC Regional Representative for Central America and the Caribbean, highlighted “This Binational Meeting provides us with the opportunity to continue building partnerships between agencies and between both countries, in order to strengthen the commitment of local and national authorities to work in coordination in the identification, protection and effective assistance of potential victims of human trafficking and smuggled migrants, and prosecution of those responsible based on the standards in the convention against organized crime and its protocols”.

One of the immediate results of this meeting is the development of a roadmap for technical cooperation to improve binational coordination between the two countries and identify synergies and joint efforts. Likewise, Wendy Fuentes, Manager of the Management of Human Trafficking and Smuggling of Migrants, highlighted: “These spaces allow to reflect and expand knowledge of investigation, prosecution and judicialization of the crimes of human trafficking and smuggling of migrants, addressing a highly important issue in Costa Rica and Panama related to the need for intervention in the prevention of human trafficking and the exploitation of people in situations of human mobility at the regional level”.

This activity was carried out within the Joint Program “Costa Rica against Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants” implemented by IOM, UNODC and UN Women, United Nations agencies that coordinate this initiative together with the National Coalition against Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants in Costa Rica. This program is funded by the Multilateral Trust Fund (MMPTF), which supports the Costa Rican government in the implementation of the Pact for Safe and Regular Migration, contributing to the achievement of Goals 7, 9, 10, 11 and 15, as well as Goals 5, 10 and 16 of the SDGs.