Ulaanbaatar – IOM research shows that young people aged 14 to 24 are most vulnerable to human-trafficking in Mongolia, with approximately young girls and women aged 14 to 18 accounting for 35 percent of identified human trafficking victims between 2018 and 2020. 

The lack of awareness on human trafficking, its causes, and prevention methods amongst school-aged children, teachers, and other school personnel contribute to an increased risk of human trafficking among this age group.  

Within this regard, IOM is implementing the "School debate project to raise awareness on human trafficking among Mongolia’s high school students and their teachers" project to enhance students’ understanding on human trafficking.  

Through the project IOM, in cooperation with the Karl Popper Debate Society, has established 50 debate clubs in high schools in areas facing the highest rates of trafficking – Dornogovi and Umnugovi provinces, Darkhan city, and the capital city of Ulaanbaatar.

Over 1,000 students and 100 teachers will be trained on the definitions and trends of human trafficking, identifying signs of trafficking, and referring victims to appropriate services. Students will also receive trainings on debate techniques, boosting their critical thinking and public speaking abilities, and participate in a National Debate Competition on the issue of human-trafficking on 10-14 June 2022. 

The school debates, implemented with support from the Government of the Netherlands under the “Strengthening Mongolia’s Efforts to Prevent and Respond to Human Trafficking” project, will contribute to an increased awareness of causes of human trafficking, victim identification and referral methods, and an increased sensitivity of interacting with victims of trafficking among high school students and their teachers.  

See more information on IOM’s Strengthening Mongolia’s Efforts to Prevent and Respond to Human Trafficking project. 

For more information please contact Erkhembayar Munkhbayar, Communication Consultant at IOM Mongolia, at emunkhbayar@iom.int, Tel: +976 70143100