U.S. - Latvia Cooperation

There are several anti-trafficking projects funded by the U.S. government in Latvia:

On April 14 and 15, 2008, lecturers from Latvian universities and colleges attended a training course "Human Trafficking: A Social and Legal Problem in Latvia and Worldwide" sponsored by the Government of the U.S. Click here for additional information on the course program.

From April 23 to 27 specialists from the U.S. Department of Justice visited Latvia to conduct training sessions for judges and law enforcement specialists on prosecution of human trafficking cases.

Establishing regional anti-trafficking working groups in Riga, Liepaja, and Daugavpils bringing together different law-enforcement agencies, social workers, and other parties. The project is carried out by International Organization for Adolescents (IOFA), in conjunction with the Council of Youth Health Centers of Latvia (LJVCP), and other non-governmental organizations.
Prevention of Human Trafficking and Rehabilitation of Trafficking Victims is a project carried out by the Resource Center for Women Marta.
Within a regional project carried out by International Organization for Migration (IOM) training on trafficking issues will be provided to specialists at law enforcement agencies, social workers, educators, prosecutors, and judges.
Establishing university partnership between Dominican University and Attistiba School of Social Work and Social Pedagogic to introduce issues related to human trafficking into curriculum for students of social work.
Training for judges in Riga and other regions of Latvia will be carried out by the Judicial Training Center.

Anti-trafficking Conference, sponsored and arranged in conjunction with Dominican University and School of Social Work and Social Pedagogic Attistiba, took place from December 1 to 3 at the Latvian Police Academy. The conference brought together Latvian Prosecutors, Judges, Police, Border Guards, and Social Workers and their international partners from the U.S., Sweden, and Finland.

The Lilya 4-Ever project, co-sponsored by the Swedish Embassy and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), conveyed the anti-trafficking message to over 10, 000 students.
Providing the Ministry of Interior of Latvia with anti-trafficking brochures "Be Smart Be Safe" for training purposes and use in anti-trafficking campaigns.