Resources
Human trafficking in crisis situations: raising awareness in Ukraine
12 June 2015
Since the start of the crisis in and around Ukraine, more than 1.3 million people have been displaced, a human tragedy with widespread social and economic implications, as families and individuals are uprooted and impoverished. Unfortunately, human trafficking is often rife in such situations, as breakdown in the rule of law and weakened border controls make people more vulnerable to exploitation by trafficking networks.
The OSCE’s Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Ambassador Madina Jarbussynova, is working with the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) to raise awareness among the monitors and meet with internally displaced persons (IDPs). On a trip to Dnepropetrovsk and Kharkiv from 18 – 22 May, she visited shelters and an aid distribution centre and discussed human trafficking risks with officials in both cities.