OSCE-supported human trafficking awareness course to strengthen law enforcement capacities

TASHKENT, 20 October 2010 - Building the capacity of national law enforcement personnel to tackle human trafficking is the focus of a three-day OSCE-supported workshop that opened in Tashkent today.

The workshop organized by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan and supported by the Uzbek authorities uses modern interactive methods to increase effectiveness in counteracting human trafficking and raising public awareness of the issue. Fifteen representatives from Uzbekistan's Customs Committee dealing with customs control will participate in the event.

Under the guidance of an international criminal justice expert trainer, participants will discuss their experience of working on human trafficking matters. The training course will be based on good practices in counter-trafficking and an approach centered around human rights protection.

"To effectively address the challenge of human trafficking, all parties involved should work together, and be firmly committed to the "victim first" approach. The comprehensive workshop which will focus on victim identification procedures, interviewing, and referral mechanisms, will contribute to this," said Ambassador Istvan Venczel, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan.