As a guardian of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and its supplementary protocols to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (TIP Protocol) and Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air (SOM Protocol), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) plays a crucial role in supporting State Parties’ efforts in addressing organized crime through strengthening legal frameworks, developing and implementing national policies and strategies, providing technical assistance, training and capacity-building to competent authorities, as well as facilitating and strengthening international and regional cooperation which is an important and integral aspect of the fight against transnational nature of the organized crime.
To develop inter-regional cooperation and ensure best practices exchange between Europe and Central Asia, UNODC facilitated a study visit of the anti-trafficking in persons practitioners from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan to Lisbon, Portugal from 4 to 8 December 2023, arranging a wide range of meetings with key actors in the counter-trafficking field, including Criminal Police, the Office of the National Rapporteur against Trafficking in Persons, the Observatory on Trafficking in Persons, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and local NGO working in the counter-trafficking field. The Central Asian delegation was warmly welcomed by Mr. Luis Neves, the Director National of Criminal Police and his Deputy, Mr. Joao Melo.
Within the 4-day study visit, the Uzbek and Turkmen delegations represented by 7 dedicated officials from the Senate, Prosecutor General’s Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs enjoyed the opportunity to learn about the Portuguese and the European Union practice of combating trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants, including the legal and institutional frameworks, the data collection, counter-trafficking coordination and monitoring mechanisms, investigations and investigation techniques, the National Referral Mechanism and assistance for victims of trafficking, as well as shared information with the Portuguese counterparts on national practices of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in combating trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants.
Dr. Reda Sirgediene, UNODC Regional Adviser for Central Asia on Countering Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants who headed the delegation made an overview of the overall situation in the Central Asian region and UNODC interventions aimed at supporting the Central Asian states in addressing the crimes of trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants.
The activity was implemented with financial support from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).
