OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan

Capacity-building

In 2012, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator assisted Uzbekistan’s government and civil society in improving their efforts to combat human trafficking through two priority areas. The first was capacity-building for the interagency anti-trafficking commission and other governmental agencies, including a series of specialized workshops for the commission’s territorial offices. The main focus of the workshops was to establish more systematic and sustainable action against human trafficking and better co-ordination between the different anti-trafficking stakeholders such as the police, health and social workers, and NGOs in identifying trafficked persons and protecting their human rights.

In order to promote direct co-operation between countries of origin and destination and to share expertise among law-enforcement professionals and NGOs on how to better ensure the right of trafficked persons to adequate identification, protection, and safe return, the Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan organized two workshops with countries of transit and destination. Furthermore, the Project Co-ordinator, jointly with Uzbekistan’s Foreign Ministry, carried out activities aimed at raising awareness among, and providing skills for, diplomatic and consular personnel from the Ministry and the diplomatic missions of destination countries accredited in Uzbekistan. The main purpose of these activities was to help consular personnel learn how to identify potential victims of human trafficking and refer them for assistance.

Prevention

The Office’s second priority was to work with the National Federation of Trade Unions and women’s-rights NGOs on preventing human trafficking by empowering at-risk groups. Training courses on entrepreneurship skills for at-risk groups are planned for 2013 in the Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bukhara oblasts. The Civic Initiatives Support Centre, with support from the Project Co-ordinator, opened a hotline and began providing psychological and legal counselling for vulnerable groups of women in one of Tashkent’s largest districts. The Project Co-ordinator is currently co-operating with the National Federation of Trade Unions in undertaking a pilot project in the Tashkent Oblast on the creation of small-scale business that will ensure continuous government contractual work and sustainable income for its beneficiaries.