The executive director of Citizen participationFátima Lorenzo, considered this Friday that there has been confusion in relation to what is established in a bill on the human trafficking and what it indicates about the migrant smuggling.
“What this reform proposal does is give a human rights perspective to the issue of trafficking”Lorenzo told the journalists during his participation in the presentation of the priorities of the Judiciary for 2023.
He specified that the project seeks to dignify the treatment that should be given to victims of trafficking who, according to investigations by Citizen participationwomen, girls and boys are the main affected in the country.
“In other words, that they are not victimized, but that a process of accompaniment is carried out because, in general, these are people who were first brought to that situation in a kind of rapture; they usually have them in conditions where they cannot communicate with other people and who have a vulnerability very big,” he added.
On December 22, 2022, the Executive Branch deposited before the Senate a bill that would modernize the current legislation on the human trafficking and the migrant smuggling. The current law (the number 137-03) has been described as outdated and that it does not adapt to the new times and to the new ways in which victims of trafficking can be recruited.
The report on the human trafficking of 2022 that issued the United States Department of State He criticized that in the Dominican Republic the legislation still establishes as a requirement the proof of force, fraud and coercion of victims of sex trafficking under 18 years of age.
The current project was prepared by various institutions including the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Women and the Attorney General’s Office. Civil society entities were also consulted to contribute to the process, such as Citizen participation.
One of the main points of confusion is that it is believed that people who are the object of migrant smuggling will benefit from care and reinsertion programs, and from the principle of non-refoulement, which are intended for victims of human trafficking. When the document makes a difference about who is who and what corresponds.
![[object HTMLTextAreaElement]](https://resources.diariolibre.com/images/2023/02/11/un-hombre-con-un-microfono-6015a591.jpg "Citizen Participation talks about human trafficking")
“I think there is ignorance of the law, I think they have thrown some balls to generate… You know that the whole issue that has to do with migration is very sensitive. Without having read the law, judgments are being issued“, he added.
Lawrence called on people to read the bill that will be submitted to public hearings so that anyone can give their opinion and recommend what they think should be changed.
