OSCE Project Co-ordinator trains Ukrainian police officers on anti-trafficking measures

LVIV, 23 July 2007 - OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine has launched a series of regional training courses on combating human trafficking for the heads of local sections of the precinct police inspectors' service, with the first course held in Western Ukraine today.

Precinct police (militsiya) inspectors work within local communities. They help to prevent crime, mainly through raising public awareness, assist with the investigation of committed crimes, and assist individuals whose rights have been infringed. Much of their work is carried out in close contact with public authorities and civil society groups.

"The OSCE Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings recommends combining the efforts of law enforcement bodies, both specialised anti-trafficking units and the local police, and other governmental and civil society institutions as one of the priorities in the protection and assistance to the victims of trafficking," said Ambassador James F. Schumaker, OSCE Project Co-ordinator.

"The precinct police inspectors' service could play a key role within the National Referral Mechanism: they are positioned within local communities and have constant and immediate contact with potential and possible victims of trafficking. Through their co-operation with public authorities, other law enforcement units, and civil society groups, they can conduct identification and referral of trafficked persons."

Other courses will be held in Odesa, Kharkiv, and Vinnytsya in August.

The regional training courses were initiated together with the Interior Ministry taking into account the feedback from a training seminar on combating trafficking for the heads of regional departments of the precinct police inspectors' service held in Kyiv in December 2006.

The training sessions are funded by the Danish Foreign Ministry as part of the Danish Programme Against Human Trafficking in Eastern Europe.