UNODC and BOMCA Partner to Train Kyrgyzstan’s Border Guards on Victim-Centred Investigation of Trafficking in Persons

Covid-19 and various other factors posed unprecedented challenges to effective border controls. The permeability of borders aids criminal organisations, both regionally and internationally. Traffickers use violence, fraudulent employment agencies, and fake promises of education and job opportunities to trick, coerce and deceive their victims. They falsify different kind of legal documents and use conventional means of transport to enter countries, leaving no room for trapped victims to escape.

 

“Often, a border guard is the only law enforcement officer a victim of trafficking in persons may ever come in contact with and the key to rescuing these victims. However, little can be done without a proper border control mechanism, knowledge in investigation and identification of victims of human trafficking, inter-agency cooperation and coordination measures across borders. We identified a need to strengthen the investigation capacity of border services and other law enforcement to prevent trafficking in persons. Therefore, we conducted the first joint training in partnership with the EU-funded Border Management Programme in Central Asia”, says Dr. Reda Sirgediene, UNODC Regional Adviser for Central Asia on Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants.

 

The workshop looked into the United Nations and European legal instruments for countering trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants as well as novel methods to investigate transnational organized crime, profiling and identification techniques of victims of trafficking. The workshop put an emphasis on case studies and practical exercises to transform knowledge into practice. 

One of the primary training documents was the UNODC Toolkit to Combat Trafficking in Persons. The toolkit reviews provisions of the Trafficking in Persons Protocol and the Smuggling of Migrants Protocol relevant to cross-border measures and offers examples of promising practices that can make it more difficult for traffickers to move people across borders.

 

 “With the guidance and mechanisms provided by UNODC, our law enforcement officers and border guards are better equipped to investigate and prosecute cases of human trafficking, dismantle the criminal networks behind this crime, trace the illegal proceeds and protect and assist victims”, stated Marlis Djumabaev, Head of the Criminal Police Unit of the Ministry of Interior of the Kyrgyz Republic,

As a result of discussions and analysis of existing practices, a pocket-size handbook will be developed as a supporting tool for officers in addressing cases of trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants.

 

As the guardian of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and its complementary Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, UNODC supports the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic in its efforts to strengthen the criminal justice response to trafficking in persons.

The joint training was supported by the United States Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (JTIP). With JTIP support UNODC is working to institutionalise victim-centred investigations and prosecutions of trafficking in persons cases, ensuring necessary assistance to TIP victims in the Kyrgyz Republic.

 

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For all inquiries, contact Vasilina Brazhko (Ms.)

Communication and PR Specialist at

UNODC Criminal Justice and PVE Programmes in Central Asia

& UNODC ROCA at

+996775987817 WhatsApp/Cell phone

vasilina.brazhko[at]un.org