...

OSCE cooperates with Turkmenistan in combating human trafficking

Turkmenistan Materials 22 December 2012 12:51 (UTC +04:00)
The OSCE conducted a workshop on combating human trafficking in Ashgabat, the OSCE’s Ashgabat office said today.
OSCE cooperates with Turkmenistan in combating human trafficking

Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Dec. 22 / Trend H. Hasanov /

The OSCE conducted a workshop on combating human trafficking in Ashgabat, the OSCE's Ashgabat office said today.

Criminal-justice officials and members of the judiciary met to discuss protection of victims of human trafficking through a national referral mechanism.

Organized by the Centre in Ashgabat, in co-operation with the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Office of Prosecutor-General of Turkmenistan, the two-day event brought together participants, including representatives of the Prosecutor-General's Office, the Interior Ministry, the Supreme Court, the State Migration Service, the State Border Service, the National Security Ministry and the Bar Association.

"Human trafficking represents a human rights violation on a massive scale," Begoña Piñeiro Costas, Human Dimension Officer at the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat, said. "Victims need and are entitled to protection, the sort of protection that they can get through an effective national referral mechanism."

"Reinforcing commitments on protection of the rights of trafficked persons undertaken by OSCE participating States also requires functioning national referral mechanisms," Mariana Katzarova, ODIHR Senior Advisor on Anti-Trafficking Issues, who moderated the course, added.

The course focused on the tools outlined in ODIHR's handbook on national referral mechanisms, including victim identification and referral for assistance; principles and methods for interviewing trafficked and vulnerable individuals, including child victims; the duty to conduct an effective investigation; the role of criminal-justice officials in protecting victims and witnesses; and the need for institutional co-operation.

"Close collaboration between law enforcement and civil society is essential to the fight against trafficking," Colonel Gerald Tatzgern, Head of the Anti-Trafficking Unit at the Criminal Intelligence Service in Austria said. "A trafficking victim who is given appropriate assistance and protection through such a joint effort is more likely to co-operate with an investigation."

Tags:
Latest

Latest