In Ukraine, the ongoing war, combined with increasing insecurity and poverty levels, has made tens of millions of people inside the country - including 5 million internally displaced persons, as well as 8 million refugees in European countries - vulnerable to human trafficking.
Given the complexity of the crime, it is essential to develop clear and practical policies and procedures to guide the conduct of investigations and prosecutions related to human trafficking particularly in the context of the war. Law enforcement and criminal justice agencies play an essential role in identifying victims of trafficking, referring victims for protection services, and ensuring that justice is delivered by developing appropriate and timely criminal justice responses to address human trafficking.
In collaboration with the Office of the Prosecutor General and the Prosecutor's Training Centre of Ukraine, UNODC in Ukraine held a two-day training on ‘Identify cases and refer victims of trafficking in persons among Ukrainians on the move, addressing identified risks and immediate needs’ on 22 and 23 November 2023.
A team of national and international experts including from UNODC and the EU Advisory Mission in Ukraine (EUAM) delivered the training to 183 (23 in person,160 online participants) Ukrainian and Moldovan investigators and prosecutors. Discussion touched on the practical challenges and examples of how to carry out effective detection, investigation and prosecution during the war. The joint training approach was appreciated by participants as it also provided a platform for informal networking and strengthening coordination between investigators and prosecutors.
©UNODC
During the training, key tools and examples to strengthen the professional skills of prosecutors and investigators to address the current and emerging challenges of human trafficking and to protect the vulnerabilities of Ukrainians on the move were provided, including how to:
1. More effectively identify victims of trafficking among war-affected people in Ukraine, particularly for the purposes of forced crime and sexual exploitation, while at the same time fostering a law enforcement environment that is victim-centred.
2. Intensify the exchange of methods and best practices, including the exchange of information, to combat human trafficking between Ukrainian and Moldovan investigators, prosecutors.
3. Strengthen coordination agencies providing victim protection services, including NGOs and law enforcement officials. This is particularly pertinent as law enforcement officers are more likely to come into contact with victims of trafficking through indirect means, such as NGO referrals ore self-reporting by victims.
4. Encourage inter-agency investigative models and multi-disciplinary task forces to identify and respond to trafficking cases.
5. Build capacity to undertake proactive or intelligence-led policing - rather than simply responding to reports of crime. The aim of a proactive approach is to investigate, arrest and prosecute traffickers without having to rely on the victim's cooperation and testimony.
6. Support human rights and victim-centred investigative strategies, such as interviewing techniques, to improve the ability of investigators to detect a trafficking situation and support victims.
In order to convert legal obligations into practical outcomes, the ‘Trafficking in Persons’ Protocol stipulates the need for an “appropriate balance between crime-control measures and measures to support or protect victims of trafficking”. UNODC promotes that the rights and needs of all victims of trafficking are not only human, but are an essential element in ensuring an effective criminal justice response. (UNODC)
Participants found the training useful for Ukraine and Moldova to improve their know-how to identify victims and perpetrators quickly and accurately, preserve and collect documents and evidence, particularly for the purposes of forced crime and sexual exploitation, while ensuring the protection and support of victims. During the training course, participants also highlighted how they were able to fill some of the existing gaps related to their knowledge of what human trafficking is and how to sustainably improve responses tailored to victims as a crucial part of the approaches and methods to ensure the effectiveness of their response to trafficking, particularly in the organization and implementation of pre-trial investigation.
Human trafficking is often linked to numerous other serious offences and psychological trauma, requiring multiple and evolving approaches to support the victims of this heinous crime. Translating the law into practice is rarely easy, especially for a crime as complex as trafficking, which recognizes the particular rights and needs of trafficked people. UNODC works closely with national counterparts to promote advanced strategies and approaches address trafficking in persons and protect and assist victims of this crime.
UNODC expresses sincere gratitude to the Government of Japan for supporting this initiative.
Further Information
UNODC
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/human-trafficking/
UNODC Research (December 2022). Conflict in Ukraine: Key Evidence on Risks of Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants, update 2022: https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/tip/Conflict_Ukraine_TIP_2022.pdf
Legal tools
The training was designed to assist in the implementation of the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Woman and Children supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and related European and national legislation.
Recent developments within the legal and institutional frameworks in Ukraine
In June 2023, the Government of Ukraine has approved the State targeted social program for combatting human trafficking for the period until 2025. The program aims to improve the mechanism for preventing human trafficking, to increase the effectiveness of identifying persons who commit such crimes, as well as to ensure the protection of the rights of persons who have suffered from human trafficking and to provide them with assistance.
As of October 2023, the prosecution service introduced a new TIP Unit established at the central level (Office of the Prosecutor General) and assigned prosecutors at the regional level Ukraine-wide. In addition, the Office of the Prosecutor General launched an interdepartmental working group on detection termination and investigation of crimes related to human trafficking and a Coordination Centre for the Support of Victims and Witnesses. A total of 217 investigators (Main Investigation Department of the NPU) and 212 prosecutors (appointed in September 2023) work on investigating and prosecuting in proceedings related to human trafficking.
