UNODC Delivers Anti-Human Trafficking Training to Consular Officers of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Trafficking in persons is a serious offence and a grave violation of fundamental rights enshrined in international law. Over the last few years, the numbers of trafficking in persons crimes have been gradually growing due to armed conflicts, climate change effects, global pandemic, and related factors.

To ensure comprehensive response to this serious crime, UNODC earnestly carries on rendering assistance to Member States in developing all-embracing response to trafficking in persons and promoting victim-centered and gender sensitive interventions ensuring adequate social support and care for victims of trafficking.

On 16 June 2022, 49 consular officers from diplomatic missions of the Republic of Uzbekistan around the world developed their knowledge on identification and referral of and assistance for victims of trafficking in persons at the training organized by UNODC in cooperation with the Sub-Commission on Combating Trafficking in Persons (SCTIP), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), under financial support by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. 

“You play a key role in revealing and preventing international trafficking in persons crimes and identifying, assisting, and protecting victims of such crimes. Often you are the first to identify victims of trafficking among the citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan abroad based on the information received from potential victims or their relatives, local authorities or civil society organizations, or applications to issue an identity or a travel document or a visa. In addition, trafficking in persons crimes are prevented and trafficking victims are rescued because of active actions of consular staff“, emphasized Dr. Reda Sirgediene, UNODC Regional Adviser on Countering Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants for Central Asia at her opening speech.

The key component of the training was to discuss the national referral mechanism system, procedures and principles of identification and referral of and assistance to trafficking victims, as well as the role of consuls in the mechanism. Furthermore, the participants developed their knowledge on the UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2020, counter-trafficking measures set out in the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, Supplementing the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime along with learning resources such as UNODC Knowledge Portals on Human Trafficking and Smuggling of Migrants, concepts of trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants, the U.S. Embassy’s capacity to leverage efforts of consular and law enforcement offices abroad to increase cooperation across agencies and governments in tackling trafficking in persons.

 

A moderator of the event, Mr. Shukhrat Makhmudov, Head of the Consular and Legal Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan noted: “For Uzbekistan, trafficking in persons is considered as one of the hideous crimes posing serious threat to prosperity, peace and security. Thus, the Government of Uzbekistan, with resolute determination, is introducing wide-ranging reforms and putting in tremendous efforts to eradicate trafficking in persons and forced labour in the country”. He explained the role of the MFA in the national referral mechanism and its interaction with other state and nonstate actors in identification, referral and assistance of trafficking victims through real-life cases.

“As trafficking in persons is a transnational crime, international cooperation is important in the fight against it. Therefore, foreign diplomatic corps contribute ensuring effective fight against this crime and timely identification and referral of our citizens who have been victims of trafficking abroad” said Mr. Narimon Rakhimov, Executive Secretary of the SCTIP, Head of Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

This training is part of a series of capacity-building and technical assistance activities implemented within the framework of the Roadmap on the further development of multidimensional cooperation between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 2022–2025 and the Plan of joint activities on countering trafficking in persons between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for 2022.