BRASILIA, Feb 27- The Brazilian Minister of Justice, Jose Eduardo Cardozo announced today the reinforcement of actions and laws to fight human trafficking in the country.
Accompanied by the secretaries of Policies for Women, Eleonora Menicucci de Oliveira, and Human Rights, Maria do Rosario, Cardozo stressed at a press conference the federal government’s decision to expand the centers of attention to this type of crime in border towns.
This is the start of the Second Plan for Confronting these violations, establishing greater coordination among agencies involved in this fight, he said. He said that Congress was asked to expedite the process for approval of a new law to toughen sanctions against the illegal movement of children, sexual exploitation and slave laboUr, among others.
Cardozo said the current legislation condemns trafficking, but only that related to sexual exploitation, so it will be needed an extension of this policy to ensure the prosecution of criminals engaged in illegal trafficking of minors and other people with other purposes. He also announced an increased cooperation with international organizations related to this crime and the implementation of a national campaign to publicize the ways and means used by traffickers.
Meanwhile Menicucci de Oliveira said that in the last 12 months they were able to rescue 40 women, due to complaints through the program ‘Call 180’, which operates 24 hours.
BERNAMA
