Trafficking in persons is the acquisition of people by improper means such as force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them.
Virtually every country in the world is affected by these crimes, including Uzbekistan. To support the country to target criminals who exploit desperate people and to protect and assist victims of trafficking, from 24-28 February 2020, UNODC conducted a scoping mission to identify training needs of the country’s law enforcement bodies.
During the five-day mission a series of meetings was held with relevant national counterparts, including the General Prosecutor’s Office, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Higher Judicial Council, Tashkent State University of Law, international organizations and civil society.
Discussions focused on the ongoing efforts of the Government of Uzbekistan to ensure safe travel and labor migration of its citizens and prevention of trafficking through awareness raising among youth, women and vulnerable groups of population. Key stakeholders emphasized the importance of strengthening national anti-TIP training programs to create a robust system of prevention of this type of organized crime, investigation of cases and prosecution of perpetrators.
For this purpose, the mission team also met with representatives of relevant training institutions for law enforcement and the justice sector, including the Academy of the Ministry of Interior, the Academy of the General Prosecutor’s Office and the Higher School of Judges.
Information received during the mission will contribute to the development of a training concept for law enforcement personnel within the framework of a capacity development project funded by the Government of the United States through the US Department of State's Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).
The project aims at assisting Uzbekistan in its efforts to strengthen the criminal justice response to trafficking in persons and effectively investigate and prosecute TIP cases using a victim-centered approach in line international human rights standards.
As guardian of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), UNODC assists States in their efforts to implement the UNTOC’s Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons (Trafficking in Persons Protocol). Uzbekistan ratified the UNTOC in 2003 and its Trafficking in Persons Protocol in 2008.
In July 2019, Uzbekistan transformed the Interagency Anti-TIP Commission into a National Commission on Combating Trafficking in Persons and Forced Labour. A Roadmap for implementation of the anti-TIP policy in the country was endorsed, based on which a work plan for 2020 was developed together with UNODC and other international partners.
