OSCE Project Co-ordinator supports Ukraine's efforts to enhance anti-trafficking legislation

KYIV, 20 April 2007 - The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine, in co-operation with the Ministry for Family, Youth and Sports, will hold a meeting in Kyiv on 23 April order to review Ukraine's existing anti-trafficking legislation.

Discussions at the meeting are expected to form the basis for recommendations on steps the country will need to take to enhance its anti-trafficking efforts and ensure its compliance with international commitments.

"Ukraine is making some progress in its fight against human trafficking, and this meeting will help the country improve its legislation to address this problem more effectively," said OSCE Project Co-ordinator James Schumaker.

Viktor Rudenko, First Deputy Minister of Ukraine for Family, Youth and Sports, said a state programme to combat human trafficking adopted earlier this year aims to enhance the mechanism of legislative regulation of combating trafficking in human beings. The programme covers the period until 2010.

Representatives from the Ukrainian legislature and governmental bodies, as well as international organizations and non-governmental organizations will participate in the meeting, as will representatives of law enforcement and the judiciary. International experts will make presentations on anti-trafficking legislation in Bulgaria, Georgia and Moldova and on international practice in creating legislative frameworks to combat trafficking.

The Danish Foreign Ministry is financially supporting the meeting as part of the Danish Programme Against Human Trafficking in Eastern Europe.

Journalists are invited to the meeting, which starts 9:30 23 April at the "Ukrayinskyi chas" Press-Centre, Ukrainian House, vul. Khreshchatyk 2, Kyiv.