OSCE Office in Baku supports anti-trafficking workshop for officials who deal with victims
MINGACHEVIR, Azerbaijan, 14 December 2010 – An OSCE-supported workshop that addresses the law enforcement training component of Azerbaijan's national action plan to fight against human trafficking began today in Mingachevir, central Azerbaijan.
The OSCE Office in Baku and the Vienna-based OSCE Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, as well as the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and Azerbaijan's Interior Ministry are jointly organizing the workshop.
Law-enforcement, migration and justice officials, labour inspectors and representatives of civil society from Mingachevir and three neighbouring regions are taking part in the two-day workshop. The agenda includes discussions on the role of the regional law-enforcement agencies in the prosecution of traffickers, identification and protection of trafficking victims and co-operation with civil society.
“Our goal is to assist the government in enhancing the effectiveness of front-line officers who have the first and most direct contact with traffickers and victims of trafficking,” said Melissa Stone, Deputy Head of the OSCE Office in Baku.
“That all relevant stakeholders in the implementation of the National Action Plan support front-line officers illustrate the government's commitment to developing a multi-disciplinary and multi-agency approach to trafficking. Experiences from many of OSCE's 56 participating states shows that this approach works well in practice.”
The workshop is part of a European Commission funded programme to strengthen comprehensive anti-trafficking efforts in South Caucasus. This capacity-building programme is led by the International Labour Organization, in consortium with the IOM, the International Centre for Migration Policy Development and the OSCE.
Nine sessions are planned for regional front-line officials in Azerbaijan, held at the request of the government.