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Close Window Consul General Simkin addresses participants and Chief Justice Honorable Ganguly and Mr. Karunasagar at the inauguration.
Consul General Simkin addresses participants and Chief Justice Honorable Ganguly and Mr. Karunasagar at the inauguration.
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Consul General Simkin addresses participants and Chief Justice Honorable Ganguly and Mr. Karunasagar at the inauguration.
Consul General Simkin addresses participants and Chief Justice Honorable Ganguly and Mr. Karunasagar at the inauguration.

First of its kind Anti-Human Trafficking Workshop Involving NGO’s, Judicial and Police Officers Held at Judicial Academy

The U.S. Consulate General in Chennai and Tamil Nadu State Judicial Academy conducted a groundbreaking two day workshop for judges and law enforcement officers in Tamil Nadu on December 6 and 7, 2008 on “Handling Victims of Human Trafficking.”  The objective of the workshop was to prevent the re-victimization of victims of trafficking by the judicial system and highlight how civil society organizations, law enforcement and the judiciary must work together to resolve trafficking cases and assist victims of trafficking.  Alumni of U.S. government professional development and exchange programs (for more information please go to http://exchanges.state.gov/) from NGOs, the judiciary and law enforcement were featured speakers at the workshop, including The Honorable Justice K. Chandru, Judge of Madras High Court; Mr. Sylendra Babu, Inspector General of Police; Dr. Sunita Krishnan, General Secretary, PRAJWALA, Hyderabad; Ms. Geeta Ramaseshan, Advocate and Special Prosecutor, High Court of Madras; and Ms. Isabelle Richardson, Executive Secretary, Madras Christian Council of Social Service, Chennai.

The program commenced with a formal inauguration of the workshop by the Chief Justice of Madras High Court, Mr. A.K. Ganguly, Consul General of the United States in Chennai, Mr. Andrew T. Simkin and Mr. Karunasagar, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Central Bureau of Investigation, Crime and Investigation Department. Justice Ganguly emphasized that the problem of human trafficking is very critical and that the modus operandi of traffickers and terrorists are similar.  Consul General Simkin highlighted the U.S. Government’s initiatives to combat human trafficking, both in the United States and internationally.  Since 2001, the U.S. has committed more than $500 million to anti-trafficking efforts around the world.  The U.S. Government has more projects in India than anywhere else in the world – this workshop being one of them.