Officials from the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office), the U.S.Embassy in Lima, the Republic of Peru, including members of the Multisectoral Commission against Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants, along with implementing partners, the International Labor Organization, and the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative,convened in Lima for the final Annual Dialogue of the U.S.-Peru Child Protection Compact (CPC) Partnership.
The CPC Partnership is a jointly developed, multi-year plan to strengthen Peru’s capacity to combat child trafficking that has focused on three main objectives: 1) enhance investigationsthrough a victim-centered approach and increase effective prosecution and conviction of child traffickers, 2) improve ability to identify and provide comprehensive, specialized services to child trafficking victims, and 3) expand efforts to prevent child trafficking through community-based mechanisms.
Since 2017, the TIP Office has invested more than $9.8 million in foreign assistance funds through the Partnership. Peruvian authorities have contributed resources to operate six specialized shelters for child victims of trafficking, increased the number of specialized police and prosecutorpositions, and funded public investment projects in Cusco and Loreto to enhance the capacity ofregional governments to combat child trafficking. Implementing partners helped open thespecialized shelters for child trafficking victims, dramatically improving protection services for child survivors. The Ministry of Health approved the first-ever protocol for providing mental health services to child trafficking victims, and the Government of Peru approved the National Policy against Trafficking in Persons in 2021, marking a significant policy advancement to combat this crime.
Dialogue participants reflected on the accomplishments achieved over seven years of collaborationthrough the CPC Partnership. Government stakeholders and implementing partners discussed the past year’s successes and challenges in fulfilling the CPC Partnership’s objectives, as well assustainability plans as the CPC Partnership comes to an end. U.S. officials expressed optimism for the long-term sustainability of the CPC Partnership’s achievements and expressed hope thatPeruvian authorities would sustain investments after the formal partnership concludes in November. The United States will remain a steadfast ally in combating child trafficking in Peru.
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