Mechanisms to assist victims of human trafficking in Ukraine focus of OSCE meeting

KYIV, 2 June 2011 – The role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in providing assistance to trafficked persons was the topic of an OSCE conference that started in Kyiv today.

The two-day event, jointly organized by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine (PCU) and the country’s Ministry for Family, Youth and Sports, brought together Ukrainian NGO representatives with extensive experience in assisting trafficked persons to discuss their further role in the development of the state-led National Referral Mechanism as well as models of interaction and co-operation between governmental and non-governmental organizations in the identification and rehabilitation of victims of human trafficking. 

Two National Referral Mechanism models are currently being piloted in Chernivtsi and Donetsk regions, and the conference will develop recommendations for the multiplication of the most effective model across the country.

“The development of the National Referral Mechanism is one of the key tasks of the OSCE Action Plan on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings. We are assisting the Ukrainian government to ensure that civil society activists participate in the development and implementation of this mechanism in Ukraine,” said Ambassador Lubomir Kopaj, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine.

The event is organized within the PCU-implemented project “Development of National Referral Mechanism in Ukraine” funded by Australia, Denmark, Ireland, and Liechtenstein.