Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic - 23 February 2018 -The Global against Action Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants ( GLO.ACT) organized a conference on 12 January 2018 to conclude a nationwide awareness raising campaign entitled "100 Days against Trafficking in Persons". Local government authorities in partnership with civil society organizations implemented the awareness raising campaign across all seven regions of the Kyrgyz Republic.
In terms of context, the Kyrgyz Republic is a source and transit country for trafficking in persons (TIP). Typically, people from rural areas are trafficked to Turkey and United Arab Emirates for sexual exploitation and to Russia and Kazakhstan for labour exploitation. The Kyrgyz government recently endorsed a government programme and an Action Plan for 2017-2020 in its fight against TIP. This programme and action plan serve as a legal framework for all government stakeholders and other relevant partners to join efforts and mobilize resources in the fight against TIP. However, until recently its implementation at local level remained a complex issue, primarily due to lack of coordination and weak engagement of local government authorities and civil society organizations working in the regions.
To ensure greater ownership and engagement, the "100 Days against TIP" campaign was conceived. The campaign, running from 31 July to 20 November 2017, was jointly delivered by seven local government authorities in partnership with over 15 civil society organizations also working in the regions. GLO.ACT supported the delivery of the awareness raising campaign in all seven regions in partnership with IOM and the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe ( OSCE).
More specifically, the role of GLO.ACT's National Project Officer, Ms. Madina Sarieva, in the nationwide campaign was to coordinate the organization of campaign events in all seven regions jointly with local government authorities and civil society organizations. This included the development of a media plan, the development of a campaign logo and the participation at launches and other events in all regions. It also meant that she provided information on TIP developments at the central level, including changes in the TIP law and the endorsement of the government programme against TIP and its associated action plan. She also represented UNODC and GLO.ACT at the local level by providing information on project aims and contribution to the "100 days against TIP" campaign.
The campaign covered a broad range of public events organized by each region and over 10,000 people participated in press conferences, regional launch events, live TV programmes, live radio phone-in shows, forum theatres, round table discussions, bicycle marathons and dance and song contests. Significantly, there was considerable youth engagement in all of the events. In addition, outreach meetings and free legal consultations were provided on the risks of human trafficking and migrant smuggling to populations in rural areas. These are groups of people who traditionally have a much harder time to access this type of information.
In order to highlight the importance of this joint initiative, GLO.ACT facilitated the organization of a closing conference. The aim of the conference was to ensure that experiences on the delivery, implementation and impact of the campaign could be shared amongst all key stakeholders; this included a discussion on some of the challenges certain regions faced as well as the development of recommendations. A key recommendation was to have a nationwide "100 Days against TIP" campaign run on an annual basis.
The closing conference was attended by the Chairperson of the State Migration Service under the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, deputy governors from the seven regions, 15 representatives of civil society organizations, the European Union and IOM.
In her opening speech, Ms. Charlotte Adriaen, Head of Cooperation of the European Union Delegation to the Kyrgyz Republic, highlighted that cooperation between government authorities and civil society at regional level is key for an effective and durable response to both trafficking in human beings and migrant smuggling. She went on to say, "The joint delivery of this nationwide 100 days against TIP campaign by local government authorities and civil society organizations with support of a project such as GLO.ACT are a very good example of what is needed."
Highlighting the importance of the coordinating role of the local government authorities, Mr. Yrysbek Yzabekov, Deputy Governor of Jalalabad, also pointed out that joint planning with civil society organizations, including the mobilization of available resources, were key for the successful delivery of the campaign. Mr. Almazbek Asanbaev, Deputy Chairperson of the State Migration Service under the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, concluded the event by awarding all deputy governors, press-secretaries and civil society organizations with Letters of Appreciation on behalf of the government and GLO.ACT on the successful delivery of "100 Days against TIP" campaign.
Finally, to capture some of the impact the "100 Days against TIP" campaign had and to showcase it as a best practice example of how an effective partnership between local government authorities and civil society can make a difference in the fight against TIP and SOM, GLO.ACT is now facilitating the production of a publication and video reel on the successful delivery of the nationwide campaign. Once these are available, they will be uploaded on the GLO.ACT website under the resource section.
The Global Action to Prevent and Address Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants (GLO.ACT) is a four-year (2015-2019), €11 million joint initiative by the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The project is being implemented in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). GLO.ACT aims to provide assistance to governmental authorities and civil society organizations across 13 strategically selected countries: Belarus, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao PDR, Mali, Morocco, Nepal, Niger, Pakistan, South Africa, Ukraine. GLO.ACT works with the 13 countries to plan and implement strategic national counter-trafficking and counter smuggling efforts through a prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnerships approach. It supports the development of more effective responses to trafficking and smuggling, including providing assistance to victims of trafficking and vulnerable migrants through the strengthening of identification, referral, and direct support mechanisms.
100 Days Against TIP Reports
100 Days against TIP (in Kyrgyz)
Kyrgyz Republic (2018)
100 Days against TIP (in Russian)
Kyrgyz Republic (2018)
GLO.ACT Kyrgyz Republic - 100 Days Against Trafficking in Persons (in Russian)
July to November 2017
Kyrgyz Republic
For more information, please contact:
Madina Sarieva
madina.sarieva@un.org
www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/glo-act/
Email: glo.act@un.org
Twitter: @glo_act