In a ceremony held at the headquarters of the Ombudsman’s Office of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between FIAP and the Ombudsman’s Office. This agreement formalizes the beginning of a strategic technical cooperation aimed at strengthening actions for prevention, protection, access to justice and institutional coordination within the framework of the project Support for the prevention of human trafficking, smuggling of migrants and related crimes financed by the European Union.

During the event, Agustín Fernández, director of FIAP’s Justice and Rule of Law Area, highlighted the importance of this agreement as part of a comprehensive and inter-institutional approach in the fight against these crimes: “this Memorandum marks the beginning of a collaborative work with the Ombudsman’s Office, a key institution in the protection of victims’ rights. We are committed to capacity building, prevention from the territory and technical support to public institutions”.

For his part, the Ombudsman, Pedro Francisco Callisaya Aro, expressed his commitment to the development of a joint activity plan within the framework of the project implemented by FIAP with funding from the European Union. He emphasized that this joint work will strengthen two priority areas for the institution: the effective protection of victims and the development of prevention strategies. He also recalled that the Ombudsman’s Office has an Ombudsman Plan for Populations in Situations of Vulnerability 2024-2028, which includes a specific component on human trafficking and smuggling of migrants, as well as a Border Plan aimed at guaranteeing human rights in border areas, where FIAP will also focus much of its collaboration with the Ombudsman’s Office.