Ecuador - The IOM office in Ecuador is this week launching the Llama Y Vive or “Call and Live” regional information campaign.

The campaign aims to raise awareness about human trafficking amongst potential victims and the general public and to promote telephone hotlines where victims can call for protection and assistance.

Llama y Vive, created following a partnership between IOM, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the Ricky Martin Foundation is also underway in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Peru.

In Ecuador, IOM is also working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Institute for Childhood and Family (INNFA, by its Spanish acronym), with funding from USAID.

A message from world famous pop star Ricky Martin is at the centre of the campaign.  Television and radio public service announcements, posters and other printed material will carry Ricky Martin’s message to potential victims and the general public.  The TV and radio spots will be broadcast by local, national and regional media through October 2007.

The new campaign will complement a national campaign against human trafficking and migrant smuggling managed by INNFA, which also promotes the national assistance hotline.

Although there is a paucity of research and concrete statistics on human trafficking in Ecuador, the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that more 5,000 girls and adolescents have been trafficked for sexual exploitation.  Cases of labour exploitation, begging and organ extraction have also been reported.  The majority of the victims hail from small towns and are transported to larger urban areas.

The Ecuadorian Government has declared the fight against human trafficking as a national priority and has taken important steps to combat this crime in the past two years.