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 technical support in the development of supplementary legislative acts in this sphere. 

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 in minors by raising awareness of the problem among children and professionals dealing with children, as well as providing economic opportunities and information for vulnerable and disadvantaged 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, will be followed by rollout at the national level.

The PCU strives to strengthen the prosecution of trafficking. In particular, the Euro 2012 football tournament, which Ukraine will co-host with Poland, requires capacity-building efforts for Ukrainian law enforcement authorities to prepare them to prevent and combat trafficking attempts, including trafficking in women and children for sexual exploitation, and other issues such as forced begging.

Combating cybercrime

The globalisation and advancement of communications technology has impacted criminal activity, particularly human trafficking. A broad variety of ICT tools are used by traffickers to commit crime (e.g. Internet recruitment, exploitation in pornography business, money laundering). The increasing proliferation in the use of technology in criminal activities requires attention from law enforcement authorities. At the request of the Ministry of Interior of Ukraine, in 2011 the PCU extended its co-operation with specialized police units in order to reduce ICT-facilitated criminal activities. As a starting point, the PCU assisted a training and equipment needs assessment of the units. Following the recommendations of the assessment, the PCU facilitates the development of on-line training courses on cybercrime investigation.

Promotion of Gender Equality and Prevention of Gender-Based Violence

The PCU continues its assistance to promote gender equality and eliminate domestic violence in Ukraine. It works with the Ukrainian Ministries for Social Policy and of the Interior to promote gender equality and prevent gender-based violence more effectively in accordance with national legislation as well as the OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality (2004).

Women remain one of the most vulnerable categories for a variety of gender-related offenses, including human trafficking and domestic violence. The PCU works with Ukrainian authorities in tackling these issues via the promotion of women empowerment and development of a national mechanism to support victims of domestic violence as well as support a number of awareness raising and training activities targeting both professionals and general public. 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.