On 29 September 2015, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in collaboration with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), conducted a training on migration and refugee issues for Tanzanian media in Mtwara. Twenty five journalists from different media houses in Mtwara and Lindi attended the training, which aimed at enhancing Tanzanian journalists’ capacity to effectively report on migration and refugee stories, as well as human trafficking and smuggling.

Over the course of three days, the training focused on how to distinguish different categories of migrants and report accurately on their specific situation, as well as on ethical issues to take into consideration when publishing personal stories of vulnerable migrants. The training also facilitated the formulation of recommendations as to ways in which media houses, IOM and UNHCR can effectively work together to provide accurate and up-to-date information on migration and refugees issues.

According to the US Trafficking in Person Report 2015, Tanzania is a source, transit and destination country for victims of forced labour and sex trafficking, with the exploitation of young girls in domestic servitude being the largest human trafficking problem. Cases of child trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation are also on the rise along the Kenya-Tanzania border. Victims of human trafficking in Tanzania are usually children, often girls, separated from their families with the promise of employment or of receiving an education, only to end up being exploited for financial gain. Tanzania also experiences mixed migratory flows, mainly from Horn of Africa and Great Lakes Regions, en route to South Africa. These flows include regular and irregular migrants who come in as asylum seekers, refugees, unaccompanied migrant children, smuggled migrants, stranded migrants in addition to victims of trafficking.

The training comes at an important time as the Anti Trafficking in Persons Regulations and the updated National Anti-Trafficking Action Plan (2015-2017) were recently launched on 21 August 2015. The high-level launching event was a celebration of Tanzania reaching a major milestone by adopting the legal provisions necessary to translate the Anti Trafficking in Persons Act 2008 into concrete measures on the ground. IOM’s work on combating trafficking in persons in Tanzania and assisting vulnerable migrants is carried out in close collaboration with the Government of Tanzania and UN partner agencies, under the auspices of the United Nations Development Assistance Plan (UNDAP 2011-2016).