—Calls for regional collaboration and unity across Africa to combat human trafficking and ritual abuse
IPNEWS: On November 4-5, 2025, Hon. Joseph Boye Cooper, Deputy Executive Director for Operations at the Liberia Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Commission (LRRRC), is participating in a joint thematic meeting of the Khartoum, Rabat, and Niamey Processes. This meeting focuses on enhancing prevention, protection, and prosecution frameworks to combat migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings along African and European routes.
The meeting, funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the International Center for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), aims to address the urgent issues surrounding these transnational crimes. Participants will deepen their understanding of the complex links between smuggling and trafficking, examining the modus operandi of criminal networks and the vulnerabilities they exploit. This collaborative effort underscores the commitment to combat these pressing challenges and protect vulnerable individuals affected by these crimes.
primary focus of the Meeting is to deepen Insights, enhance understanding of smuggling-trafficking links, including criminal networks’ methods and exploited vulnerabilities, Promote the Prevention and Protection, by Establish enhanced frameworks that complement prosecution and law enforcement efforts.
Other focus of the meeting includes Strengthen Cross-Border Cooperation, develop strategies for early warning systems, awareness campaigns, and safe migration pathways, Harmonize Victim Protection: Improve access to trauma-informed support services through coordinated referral mechanisms. and Identify Capacity Development Needs: Ensure effective investigation and prosecution of transnational criminal networks.
the conference is expected to shared understanding that protecting victims is central to reducing victimization risks and dismantling criminal networks, identify cross-border opportunities and peer-to-peer capacity-building initiatives to address challenges in preventing smuggling and trafficking and set of recommendations to scale up prevention, strengthen victim protection, and enhance prosecution responses along African and European migratory routes.
