20 April 2009

The Conference of Law-Enforcement Organs Commenced in Kyiv

On April 2 2009 the 5th international conference titled "The International Perspectives on Law Enforcement Cooperation in Combating Trafficking in Human Beings” commenced. The 3-day conference was organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Mission in Ukraine and the Ministry of Interior of Ukraine, with financial support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and the Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Over 140 law-enforcement experts from more than 25 countries, including Thailand, Turkey, USA, member-states of the European Union, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia, and Israel participated in the event. The agenda of the Conference covered the following topics: a legal definition of trafficking in persons for labor exploitation and main features of this crime; international mechanisms of current information exchange; as well as an elaboration of operational recommendations for governments of member-states in order to improve counter trafficking measures.

At the end of the conference, a set of recommendations for the governments was presented to improve mechanisms of combating labour trafficking, which is one of most profitable crimes globally. The recommendations were presented by an international expert on Counter-Trafficking in the U.K., Paul Holmes.

According to Mr. Holmes, a retired Scotland Yard expert, the recommendations can be divided into the following seven categories: legislative framework, structural recommendations, victims as witnesses, pro-active specialist response, proactive multi-agency cooperation, trans-national cooperation, and training.

One of the structural recommendations is to create a Task Force approach, comprising specially trained operational activity officers, intelligence personnel, investigators, border guards and prosecutors, working in unison on a specific mandate to combat labour trafficking.

Mr. Holmes also recommends developing Memoranda of Understanding to facilitate the operation of this collaborative structure.

Following the conference, the participants will discuss the recommendations for approximately two weeks in their own countries. Their revised recommendations will be compiled by IOM.

“It is extremely important that we have this opportunity to exchange information and share experience in combating labour trafficking, as well as to create the framework for mutual cooperation,” stated Paul Holmes. “Our next task is to outline the necessary steps that must be taken to succeed in this matter.”

Trafficking in persons is one of the most dangerous types of the international crime business and has become a serious human rights challenge. According to the United Nations specialists’ research, this type of crime is the third most profitable crime after narcotics and weapon smuggling. The illegal activity of traffickers has a strong impact on increasing a social tension. It also impedes the improvement of the national economy and endangers the implementation of positive changes towards the development of a democratic rule-of-law state.

According to Anh Nguyen, Counter-Trafficking Coordinator at IOM Mission in Ukraine, “Trafficking in human beings is one of the most complex problems that has long gone beyond the boundaries of individual states and takes a leading position in the field of international crime. Countering trafficking-related crimes, unfortunately, has become vitally important for Ukraine. Investigation and prosecution of trafficking-related crimes is especially complicated because victims are unwilling to resort to law enforcement agencies and witness in court. Under these circumstances, operational law enforcement cooperation, as well as the coordination of law enforcement agencies in the field, has become exceedingly important. International Organization for Migration makes a special effort to promote the dialogue between the law enforcement practitioners of different states, implement practical initiatives in resolving problems that appear in investigation of this type of crime, as well as improve international cooperation in combating trafficking in human beings.”

The participants of the press conference included: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Denmark to Ukraine H.E. Mr. Uffe Andersson Balslev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Sweden to Ukraine, H.E. Mr. Stefan Gullgren, IOM Senior Programme Coordinator Daiva Vilkelyte, international expert on Counter-Trafficking in the U.K. Paul Holmes, and Deputy Minister of Interior, Volodymyr Yevdokimov.

"Last year the Internal Affairs Agencies disclosed 322 cases of human trafficking (53 of those are cases of labour exploitation, - Volodymyr Yevdokimov says. - 264 persons were brought to criminal responsibility. 342 victims of human trafficking were identified and returned to Ukraine, including 37 minors."

“The Danish government is proud and happy to support and sponsor this work,” stated H.E. Mr. Uffe Balslev. “We have a special Danish programme that aims to contribute to national and regional responses to trafficking in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, engaging both governments and non-government actors. We believe in such a cooperative approach, and we see that is actually working well in Ukraine.”

According to the official statistics of the Ministry of Interior of Ukraine, in 2008 the Internal Affairs Agencies disclosed 322 cases of human trafficking (53 of those are cases of labor exploitation) and eliminated 18 organized criminal groups. 264 persons were brought to criminal responsibility. 342 victims of human trafficking were identified and returned to Ukraine, including 37 minors.

H.E. Mr. Balslev also added that in the period from 2005 to 2008 the Neighborhood programme of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs donated some 5-6 million dollars to combating trafficking of human beings and in support for the victims of trafficking in Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova. According to Mr. Balslev, “The focus of the conference will be law enforcement, that is closer international cooperation and sharing experience and best practices. It will at the same time strengthen the credibility and visibility of the law enforcement effort and thus increase the trust of ordinary people that the law enforcement agencies are taking this effort seriously.”

H.E. Mr. Balslev also added that last summer the Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller visited Kyiv and took a strong interest in the counter-trafficking programme. He commented that the results of the programme have been very positive with regard to prevention, protection, and prosecution.”The Foreing Minister decided to support the counter-trafficking programme in the 3 countries.

Ambassador of Sweden to Ukraine H.E. Mr. Stefan Gullgren, made the following remarks:
"Sweden is proud to have been a long-term supporter of the IOM's efforts against trafficking. We can see the positive results, but more needs to be done. We need deeper international co-operation and better co-ordination, both internally between our national authorities and between countries, in order to be successful in our fight against trafficking. The criminals already co-operate closely across the borders. They are well coordinated. We need to do the same, and be better and more effective than them, if we are to combat them successfully. In addition to these measures, we need prevention. With more transparent rules and regulations for legal labour migration, we will remove some of the incentives for trafficking. Sweden has adopted national legislation to facilitate legal labour immigration. We hope that it will be a useful tool not only to satisfy our long-term need for labour in certain sectors, but also to contribute to the fight against labour trafficking."

The conference in Kyiv became a logical continuation of the series of international expert meetings in the sphere of combating human trafficking. The previous conferences were conducted in Minsk in 2003, in Kyiv in 2004, in Chisinau in 2005, and in Minsk in 2007. Following each of those conferences, a set of recommendations was developed. So far, the total of almost 500 people have participated in the conferences.

In recent years many people have become victims of enslavement. IOM estimated that over 100,000 Ukrainians have been trafficked for different purposes since 1991. Since 2000 the IOM Ukraine has assisted 5,500 individuals who have been trafficked to more than 55 countries all over the world.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is an inter-governmental organization that promotes humane and right-based approaches to migration and development, facilitating and regulating migration and countering trafficking in human beings.

The IOM was established in 1951 an today it includes 122 member states, 18 states with observer status, and over 280 field locations. IOM Mission in Ukraine started operations in 1996. More information about IOM is located at www.iom.int