Strengthening Organizational and Legal Mechanisms of Combating Human Trafficking focus of OSCE-supported roundtable

National anti-trafficking state agencies, civil society organizations and international experts gathered in Tashkent on 26 November 2019 for a round-table discussion on good practices and challenges in national frameworks to combat trafficking in human beings.

The round-table was co-organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the National Anti-trafficking Commission, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s Regional Office in Central Asia and the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan. It focused on the draft anti-trafficking legislation, as well as the implementation of the Presidential Decree on Additional Measures to Strengthen Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking and Forced Labour.

“In accordance with the Strategy of Action in the five priority areas of development of the Republic of Uzbekistan, a number of effective measures have been taken to identify, protect and socially rehabilitate victims of trafficking and to provide multifaceted forms of assistance to citizens who have been victims of such crimes. We continue to improve anti-trafficking legislation to address the evolving crime of human trafficking,” said Colonel Ulugbek Gainazarov, Executive Secretary of the National Anti-trafficking Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

“It is of essence that at the heart of all anti-trafficking legislation is the identification, protection, assistance and sustainable reintegration of victims and survivors. The effective implementation of these measures builds the foundation for trust and co-operation with law enforcement to prosecute traffickers, and for victims to receive justice without re-traumatization,” said Tatiana Kotlyarenko, ODIHR Anti-trafficking adviser.

International experts such as Per-Anders Sunesson, Swedish Ambassador at Large, Heracles Moskoff, Greek National Anti-trafficking Rapporteur, Kevin Hyland, Irish Member of the Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings at the Council of Europe, and Dmytro Kaplun from the Ukrainian Ministry of Social Policy presented national best practices and contributed to the dialogue with Uzbek colleagues.

John MacGregor, Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, congratulated “all the public servants in Uzbekistan – and so many other allies and partners that are doing invaluable work to counteract human trafficking — and who stand up for the rights and interests of victims in a gender and child sensitive approach”.

The organized round-table is part of the OSCE long-standing commitment to counteract human trafficking and support the Republic of Uzbekistan in fulfilling its commitments in the anti-trafficking area.