Minsk, Belarus, 7 June 2019 - Belarus is facing a growing number of cases of Trafficking in Persons (TIP) for the purpose of forced and child labour. Since 2005 some 145 cases of TIP for forced labour involving 636 victims were identified in the country, including 80 per cent for external trafficking. To build capacities of Belarusian law enforcement officers to detect and investigate this form of transnational crime UNODC, under the framework of the Global Action to address Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants ( GLO.ACT) held a three-and-a-half-day training course from 5 to 7 June in Minsk. Organised by GLO.ACT with support from the International Training Centre on Migration and Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings (ITC) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), the course hosted 14 males and five females from central and regional branches of the Department for Drugs Control and Human Trafficking, the Department to Combat Organized Crime and Corruption and the Department of Citizenship and Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus.
In opening the course Mr. Tsaun, deputy head of the Department for Drugs Control and Human Trafficking of the Ministry of Internal Affairs underlined that, "The legal framework in Belarus is not catching up with newly emerging forms of TIP for forced labour. For example, cases of TIP for forced organised begging are picking up in Belarus. Unfortunately, we do not have much practical experience in addressing this emerging trend and welcome this training course hoping that it will help equip our law enforcement officers with in-depth understanding of the issue."
Delivered by Ms Jana Costachi, an international expert, UNODC and national experts of Belarus the course was built around three thematic topics, including international legal framework as regards TIP, Smuggling of Migrants (SOM), forced and child labour; identification and referral of victims of forced and child labour; and international cooperation in detection, rehabilitation and reintegration of victims. It was delivered through a combination of expert presentations, group discussions and experience sharing among participants.
Ms. Elena Nyanenkova, GLO.ACT Belarus consultant, opened the substantive part of the training by presenting UNODC TIP and SOM Protocols and latest global and regional trends in TIP for forced labour as reported in UNODC 2018 Trafficking in Persons Report. This followed by a detailed discussion of forced and child labour' definitions, various forms, methods of recruitment and indicators of forced labour.
On day 2 the topics covered included identification of victims of forced and child labour, forced begging, peculiarities of identification and documenting of cases of forced labour in the Republic of Belarus. On the last day participants learned about assistance and rehabilitation of victims of forced and child labour at victims' crisis centre run by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Belarus.
To enhance local ownership and sustainability of GLO.ACT results, the programme of the training was designed in close cooperation with the ITC and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The latter also ensured participation of local experts who represented the criminal police, INTERPOL, and the Investigative Committee.
At the end of the training all participants received State recognised Certificates of Professional Development and GLO.ACT certificates of training completion.
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.
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For more information, please contact:
UNODC Vienna: Elena Nyanenkova nyanenkova-lowry@un.org
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/glo-act/
Email: glo.act@un.org
Twitter: @glo_act
