OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine (PCU) works closely with Ukrainian authorities to implement projects that address the prevention of trafficking in human beings, strengthening prosecution and criminalization, and the facilitation of assistance to victims. The projects are based on key OSCE and Ukrainian anti-trafficking documents, most importantly the OSCE Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings, adopted in 2003 and revised in 2005, the OSCE Ministerial Council Decision on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women (MC.DEC/15/05) and the Ukrainian law on combating trafficking in human beings, adopted in 2011.

In accordance with the 2010 Astana Commemorative Declaration and Ministerial Council Decision No. 9/11 on strengthening co-ordination and coherence in the OSCE’s efforts to address transnational threats, the PCU provides support to the Ukrainian law enforcement bodies in combating cybercrime.

The PCU also assists with promotion of gender equality and combating gender-based violence as identified in the OSCE 2004 Action Plan to Promote Gender Equality and in the Ukrainian law on prevention of domestic violence, adopted in 2002 and amended in October 2008.

Combating trafficking in human beings

Following amendments to Ukrainian legislation to criminalize all forms and manifestations of trafficking in human beings, and adoption of the comprehensive anti-trafficking law, the PCU provides expertise and support to governmental authorities in the promotion of proper implementation of recently adopted legislation as well as sharing of positive practices on legislative regulations related to new trends in the sphere of trafficking in human beings (THB).

To empower Ukrainian authorities to address the problem of trafficking in persons more effectively, the PCU carries out capacity-building activities for judges, law enforcement officers, medical practitioners, social authorities, lawyers, consular officials, the media and NGO representatives. It provides training courses and produces publications that aim at eliminating the re-victimization and stigmatization of trafficked victims, strengthening the prevention and prosecution of human trafficking cases and identifying gaps and further needs related to the criminalization of trafficking in human beings.

A special focus is placed on preventing trafficking and re-trafficking among vulnerable groups by raising awareness of the problem, as well as providing economic opportunities and information for people at risk of becoming trafficking victims.

To enhance the efforts of the Ukrainian authorities and civil society to provide needs-based support to trafficking survivors, the PCU is helping with the development of a National Referral Mechanism (NRM), which will facilitate the identification of trafficking victims and improve their access to assistance. Bringing institutional regulations at regional and national levels in line with the NRM framework and developing and introducing sustainable training programmes for key NRM stakeholders are the main components of this work. The NRM framework developed and tested in two pilot regions of Ukraine is being followed by its rollout in other regions of the country.

Combating cybercrime

The globalisation and advancement of communications technology has impacted criminal activity. A broad variety of ICT tools are used to commit crime (e.g. Internet fraud, exploitation in the pornography business, money laundering). The increasing proliferation in the use of technology in criminal activities requires attention from law enforcement authorities. The PCU continues its efforts to assist the Ministry of Interior of Ukraine to reduce ICT-facilitated criminal activities The development of the basic and advanced level training courses on cybercrime investigation and provision of necessary equipment in 2012 is this year being followed by training of trainers for specialized police units.

Promotion of Gender Equality and Prevention of Gender-Based Violence

The PCU continues its assistance to the Ukrainian Ministries of Social Policy and of the Interior to promote gender equality and prevent gender-based violence more effectively.

The PCU facilitates research on gender mainstreaming in the national and institutional programmes for socio-economic development, assists in the amendment of legislation to support victims of domestic violence, and supports a number of capacity building activities targeting law enforcement, social service providers and media. In addition, the PCU also continues its efforts to enroot the implementation of corrective programmes for domestic violence perpetrators by social service providers, and specialized anti-domestic violence course within law enforcement educational institutions.