By SAMMY JULIAN
Manila News Bureau Chief
MANILA – Iloilo City is hosting the second leg of the 2014 Civil Society Organizations (CSO) Summit.
The gathering will focus on cyber trafficking and the youth’s vulnerability, as well as initiatives to curb online child exploitation.
The two-day Summit begins today and will be attended by various anti-human trafficking stakeholders.
It is spearheaded by the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), in partnership with global human rights organization International Justice Mission (IJM) and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The Netherlands is a strong partner of the Philippine government and civil society in anti-human trafficking efforts.
“The Netherlands Embassy shares the goals of these three non-government organizations in anti-human trafficking efforts in the Philippines,” said Joop Scheffers, charge d’affaires of the Embassy of The Netherlands. “The goal of this leg of the summit is to bring together civil society members, technological companies, and student leaders who can work together in combating the exploitation of children.”
For his part, Justice Undersecretary Jose Vicente Salazar, who is in charge of IACAT, said the Philippine government is optimistic of its odds in the fight against trafficking of human beings, particularly children, because of the emerging partnerships with civil society, non-government and faith-based organizations as well as intensified foreign efforts.
According to Salazar, such partnerships provide the opportunity to “approach the problem with a scalpel instead of an axe.”
“(This) allows us to come up with new methods to bring this crime from the shadows into the light,” Salazar said.
The theme of the second leg of the CSO Summit is #UsingTech2EndChildTrafficking.
The first leg of the CSO Summit was held in August in Manila and focused on labor trafficking, specifically of overseas Filipino workers.
The final leg will be held in Davao next month and will center on the women’s sector./PN
http://panaynewsphilippines.com/2014/10/09/iloilo-leg-of-summit-vs-human-trafficking-starts/
