OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine alerts public of dangers of trafficking in human beings

From 1 November 2015 city lights and billboards at bus and railway stations in 24 major cities across Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, are featuring posters warning the public about the traps used by human traffickers to lure their victims. The posters are part of a national anti-trafficking awareness-raising campaign launched with the support of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine.

 

The posters, which illustrate some of the tricks used by traffickers such as promises of a good job, excellent working conditions, big money and help with receiving refugee status, refer people to anti-trafficking hotline run by prominent NGO La Strada-Ukraine, where callers can receive free advice and qualified help.

 

  “Anti-trafficking preventive measures are crucial in the current Ukrainian context,” said Vaidotas Verba, OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine. “When thousands of internally-displaced persons are in search of a better life, recruitment practices are becoming increasingly abusive, and we need to inform people of existing risks.”

 

The Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine has been supporting the Ukrainian Ministry of Social Policy in its efforts to combat trafficking in human beings since January 2012. Over the past three years, Ukrainian authorities granted the status of victims of human trafficking to 117 people.

The awareness campaign will last to the end of December 2015 and is part of the Project Co-ordinator’s activities to prevent and prosecute cases of trafficking in human beings and cybercrime.