Trafficking in persons remains one of the most serious and at the same time wide-spread crimes that violate human rights. Representing the most vulnerable group for trafficking, children constitute 35% of all identified victims as reflected in the 2022 UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons.
To enhance the capacity of the Turkmen law enforcement and judiciary in detection and investigation of crimes associated with trafficking in children, UNODC, jointly with the Prosecutor General’s Office of Turkmenistan, held a two-day workshop in Ashgabat on 30-31 May 2024.
The workshop contributed to the enhancement of knowledge and skills of 20 practitioners, representing the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Migration Service and the Supreme Court.
Dr. Reda Sirgediene, UNODC Regional Adviser for Combating Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants, highlighted the specifics of detection and investigation of domestic and international trafficking in children crimes, child victims’ interviewing techniques and international cooperation, along with the main international legal instruments and standards on combating trafficking in children.
Ms. Maria Biela Alonso, Expert on Combating Trafficking in Persons and Gender Affairs from the Spanish National Police, familiarized Turkmen practitioners with the best European practices related to child victims’ identification, profiling, referral and protection at borders.
Senior prosecutors, Mr. Amanmurat Kerimov, Mr. Resul Hudayberdiyev and Mr. Ovez Berdiyev, reviewed the existing national legal framework regulating the criminal justice response to trafficking in persons, the national procedures of international cooperation in investigation of trafficking in persons crimes and victim identification and referral. Judge of the Supreme Court, Ms. Gyzylgul Yegenmamedova, delivered a presentation on adjudication of trafficking in children cases.
The workshop was concluded with impactful discussions of real-life cases and outlined the interest in further capacity-building interventions for Turkmen practitioners to ensure timely and appropriate response to trafficking in persons crimes.
The workshop was organized under the UNODC Global Programme “UNODC Action against Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling” with the financial support from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).
