WUNRN
Website OSCE Secretariat
- Office of the Special Representative & Co-ordinator for Combating
Trafficking in Human Beings: http://www.osce.org/cthb/
OSCE
- The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
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AZERBAIJAN - APA - http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=46606
OSCE Representative proposes creating a self
reporting function as the National Rapporteur on combating trafficking in
Azerbaijan- EXCLUSIVE
07 Apr 2008
Baku.
Tamara Grigorieva-APA. OSCE Special Representative on Combating Trafficking Eva
Biaudet interviewed by APA
-What are
the main reasons of trafficking?
-Human
trafficking is a crime usually committed for the purpose of sexual or labour
exploitation, often in an organized form. Desperate human situations, such as
domestic violence and abuse, extreme poverty, discrimination against women and
minorities make people vulnerable to exploitation. Frail states with
corruption, and weak rule of law make easy environments for organized crime and
human trafficking. Discriminatory attitudes in society and ignorance enhance
the demand of trafficking and exploitation.
-Who are
usually the victims of human trafficking?
-Women and
children mostly. Children under the age of 18 make up almost half of the estimated
victims. But there is a lot we do not know because this crime is so hidden. We
do know that most victims of trafficking in human beings are never identified
or helped and that traffickers usually can operate without big risks of
prosecution. There seems to be no limits of the imagination of how a person can
be lured into exploitation or the ways of controlling another one in an
exploitative situation. The trafficker uses the vulnerability of a person
offering him or her hope in a difficult situation. Women and girls are tricked
into and exploited in prostitution and domestic service. Children are also
exploited in agriculture, mining, fishing or for begging and petty crime. Men
are trafficked, for example, to construction sites, and into agriculture and
restaurants.
- How
does OSCE cooperate with Azerbaijan in combating human trafficking in the
country?
-The OSCE
always works against trafficking in a comprehensive way with the 3 Ps:
prevention of the crime, protection of the victims and prosecution of the
traffickers. It is important to remind ourselves that this is a crime against
the human being that is trafficked and the consequences for him or her needs to
be considered also when you plan how to deal with the criminal proceedings. We
also know from experience that the victim is able to help the investigations if
she feels secure and has got time to recover. Research shows that the trauma on
the victim is similar to the trauma of torture victims. The violence and the
psychological threats and complete insecurity that a victim experiences can
easily be called torture. The OSCE in Baku is working closely supporting the
authorities in cooperation with NGOs and other International organizations.
There is one particular project I want to mention on law students providing
free legal assistance to trafficking victims. It is a very important and
demanding task. Apart from helping the victims it actually trains the coming
lawyers and judges in recognizing trafficking. The knowledge gap is still much
too big concerning judges, prosecutors, police, social and health workers –
well everywhere.
The OSCE has
a well-recognized expertise in supporting and providing assistance to the
participating States in the implementation of their anti-trafficking
commitments. We also try to remind them of their common commitments in the OSCE
Action Plan and decisions taken in many ministerial councils. Our most
important short time goal is concretely that every OSCE country establishes a
self reporting function, which is open for analysis and political debate, to
improve anti trafficking strategies and better allocation of resources.
-What is
the form of OSCE’s cooperation with Azerbaijan in combating trafficking?
-In the
field of prevention, the OSCE office in Baku has financed a series of six
television programs broadcasted in ITV last January. These programs talked
about the risks and consequences and were followed by live talk-shows. We
definitely need to talk about that trafficking exists. It is very easy just to
close our eyes and pretend we live in a better world. But this can be about
somebody you love, very close. The OSCE just finished a project in which 18
practicing women lawyers were trained on the peculiarities of victim’s
protection and civil claims or compensation proceedings. These lawyers
participated at court hearings where they were able to apply their knowledge in
practice. A further training seminar for 20-25 prosecutors, advocates and
members of the judiciary is being planned soon. Another example the OSCE working
is helping people in vulnerable situations with providing them with skills to
improve their life conditions and future opportunities. An example is the
support provided to recent two-month intensive English language and computer
training course for children, predominantly girls, in two orphanages. We have a
good cooperation with other international organisations and NGOs too. It is
important to avoid duplication because there is a lot to do anyway. At the
moment we work in a joint project on child protection with UNICEF, the Ministry
of the Interior and the NGO Alliance for Children’s Rights. We want to reduce
the number of minors detained in police cells and prisons and establish a Child
Rights Legal Clinic, which can work with children’s rights cases. We are also
working together with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the
International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) to assist the
implementation of a comprehensive anti-trafficking response in Azerbaijan. We
launched it last year and it will run until the end of 2008. The goal is to
assist the revision of the National Action Plan together with the NGOs.
- Is the
organisation going to give any grants to Azerbaijan for combating trafficking?
-OSCE is not
a donor organization. However, the OSCE Office in Baku continuously supports
the anti-trafficking initiatives of the government and civil society. Sometimes
donors ask us for advice in finding good projects and NGOs working against
trafficking.
- How do
you value the situation of human trafficking in Azerbaijan?
-The biggest
challenge, as in many other countries, is the lack of identification of
victims. Low threshold services for victims, adequate protection and a general
awareness of the violence and force victims have encountered makes it easier
and less stigmatized to be a ‘victim of trafficking’. Trafficking, sexual
violence and even domestic violence against women are still many times taboo
and not discussed. The victim can feel as a criminal herself and blames herself.
It is important that everybody understands that the victim needs help and the
criminals needs to be prosecuted.
-
How do you value the level of fighting against trafficking in Azerbaijan?
-Official
statistics provided by the Ministry of Interior indicates on improving results
in this field. In 2006-2007 the government increased investigations,
prosecutions, and convictions of traffickers. Moreover, opening of a shelter
and a hot-line are other examples of improvements. However, there are a lot of
remaining work, such as creating a self reporting function as the National
Rapporteur, training of judiciary and a system of referral mechanisms to
coordinate the identification of victims between authorities and NGOs.
- The
international organisations in their reports say that Azerbaijan is a country
for human trafficking transit. What must be done to solve this problem?
-Sometimes
we forget that victims of human trafficking are victims and exploited also
during the transit of their trafficking journey. We hear about persons, even
children, who have been in transit for more than a year. Fighting trafficking
means diminishing the vulnerability of persons and addressing the demand. It
also means training for authorities, at borders or in law enforcement but also
health workers to recognize indicators which might tell about a person being a
victim of trafficking. Support to NGOs to have access to irregular migrants
will help identification of victims among them. Low threshold help can also be
decisive and information where to get this help from.
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