THE Jamaica Office of the National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons (ONRTIP) launched its online resource library on Wednesday.

The library seeks to provide anti-trafficking stakeholders with relevant and practical knowledge about human trafficking, as well as provide access to relevant research and data derived from local and international sources.

It is a free, open-access library, which is available to practitioners, policymakers, researchers, educators, students, and the general public to improve knowledge of trafficking in persons (TIP) and the anti-trafficking response in Jamaica and globally, thereby building the capacity of anti-trafficking stakeholders.

The resource library provides a comprehensive database of research on TIP; trafficking research methods and ethics; anti-trafficking manuals, guidelines and tools; reports and resources from national rapporteurs; and equivalent mechanisms outside Jamaica as well as laws and policies governing TIP.

It also provides referral information for survivors of human trafficking to access service providers, among them the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Intellectual Property Vice Squad (Jamaica Constabulary Force), Office of the Children’s Advocate, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and Passport Immigration and Citizenship Agency.

The resource library is developed by ONRTIP, in collaboration with specialists in anti-human trafficking initiatives, global advisory firm, The Warnath Group.

In his address at the launch, deputy prime minister and Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang commended the ONRTIP and The Warnath Group for the initiative, which he said is aimed at sensitising, educating and providing a base for research and collaboration among local and international anti-trafficking stakeholders.

“Knowledge is the most powerful tool that we can use to fight this horrible crime. The more the wider society understands the challenges and the nature of the crime, and has access to reliable and credible information, the more likely we are to overcome it… and reduce incidence of this crime,” he said.

The resource library was officially launched by National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons and Children’s Advocate of Jamaica Diahann Gordon Harrison, who noted that only one per cent of human trafficking victims are rescued, and that the perpetrators of this crime amass profits of up to US$150 billion.

“Our vision is that this library will be collectively ours [to] explore and exploit this rich mine of anti-trafficking material in a bid to understanding the phenomenon of human trafficking, while at the same time harnessing strategies that enable us to contribute to the fight against this horrible crime and human rights violation,” she said.

The Online Resource Library can be accessed at jamaicanationalrapporteur.wordpress.com/