Recife - The Latin American Human Rights Institute (Iclei) and the government of Pèrnambuco are offering a course to train teachers and volunteers in ways to prevent human traffic. The event will run from today through Wednesday (27) in the Museum of the Northeastern Man.

The idea is to qualify information multipliers in communities to warn about the problem, which mostly affects women and children. The participants will become acquainted with the recently released Code of Conduct for Human Traffic.

According to Diana Segov, who represents the Iclei, an international organization composed of various municipal governments for the defense of human rights, besides providing information it is necessary to implement government policies to promote better opportunties for employment and income. She said that the groups that are most vulnerable to this illegal practice are young, poorly educated women who are inveigled by false promises of work and marriage abroad.

Pernambuco was the first Brazilian state to implant an administrative organ to combat human traffic. The service, which has been in operation for a year, has already received 60 toll-free telephone calls denouncing the practice of this type of crime. The accusations were turned over to the Public Interest Defender's Office and the Federal Police.

Agência Brasil
Reporter: Márcia Wonghon
Translator: David Silberstein
10/25/2004