UNODC kicks off the first in 2023 a Multi-Stakeholder Coordination Meeting on Countering Trafficking in Persons in Uzbekistan

On 17 January 2023, UNODC held a Multi-Stakeholder Coordination Meeting on Countering Trafficking in Persons (TIP) in Uzbekistan. The event brought together the representatives from various state and non-state agencies, including the National Commission on Combating TIP and Forced Labour, Supreme Court, Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO), Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, U.S. Embassy in Uzbekistan, U.S. State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Winrock International in an online format. The meeting was dedicated to summarizing the outcomes of all activities carried out in 2022 and to mainstreaming the joint programmes planned in 2023 on preventing, combating TIP, and supporting TIP victims. 

Dr. Reda Sirgediene, UNODC Regional Adviser for Central Asia on Countering TIP and Smuggling of Migrants, at her opening speech, expressed gratitude to all partners for their cooperation, motivation and commitment in enhancing the capacity of Uzbekistan in tackling TIP and emphasised: “Regular coordination meetings has proved to be a very important initiative with an enormous potential to make a real difference, by bringing into a close alliance a diverse group of agencies that altogether cover protection, prevention and prosecution. It is a notable manifestation of successful partnership”.     

Jack Anderson, Director of the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Section at the U.S. Embassy in Uzbekistanwelcomed the participants and expressed appreciation for cooperation and encouraged to join the efforts to decrease the TIP crime through increasing the rate of investigation and prosecution. He noted: “Due investigation and prosecution of TIP crimes are very important factors that pave the way towards the eradication and suppression of TIP. To achieve this, collective and coordinated efforts are fundamental”. He noted that the U.S. Embassy had remained committed to support the national partners and the coordination network in this regard. 

Highlighting the progress in crime detection through cooperation with international partners, in particular with UNODC, Azizbek Nasretdinov, Representative of the Sub-Commission on Combating TIP, Officer of the Department for Combating TIP and Illegal Migration of the MIA of the Republic of Uzbekistan voiced the need for conducting more trainings on victim identification and referral, as well as investigation of TIP crimes for the officers of MIA, especially for the newcomers. To expand the impact of the trainings, he also suggested to provide trainings for Customs, Border Control, and State Security Service officers.  

Dr. Reda Sirgediene informed that UNODC had been in a process of elaboration of the TIPs handbook and further development of law enforcement and judiciary actors’ skills on investigation, prosecution, and adjudication of TIP cases, as well as on identification and referral of TIP victims. Also the update of the relevant common curricula on TIP at educational entities of law enforcement and judiciary, the consultations on criminalization of smuggling of migrants crimes and ratification of the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, expansion of the international police and judicial cooperation including the exchange of information and knowledge, holding of coordination meetings and evidence collection in international TIP cases, as well as awareness raising activities on TIP would be the UNODC Global Programme’s against TIP target of implementation.

The participants discussed the amendments and additions to the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On combating TIP"  and prospects of introducing a new article on smuggling of migrants, the opportunities to continue the partnership in trainings on identification and referral of TIP victims, awareness raising among the migrants on TIP for drug trafficking, and promoting setting up the transnational referral mechanism between Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries, review of available opportunities for vulnerable segments of society to commence small and medium-sized businesses and recommended measures to empower vulnerable segments of society to engage in entrepreneurship.

Following the meeting, the parties agreed to organise the events dedicated to specific topics, such as TIP in research, supply chain, mass media, etc. to expand the participants’ fields of expertise. 

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The multi-stakeholder counter-TIP coordination meetings initiative was launched in February 2022 as a platform to unite government authorities, donors, international and non-governmental organizations for more sustainable and efficient coordination of counter-TIP efforts. This initiative is organized within the framework of the UNODC Global Programme against TIP under the financial support of INL.

For further information please contact:        

Arifa Fatikhova  

Communications and External Relations Officer

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) 

Regional Office for Central Asia

Mobile: (+998 99) 825-05-43 | Email: arifa.fatikhova[at]un.org