First free national anti-trafficking hotline in Ukraine to start today

KYIV, 18 November 2002 - Ukraine's first free national telephone hotline service to fight the scandal of trafficking in human beings will officially start working today. The establishment of the hotline was initiated and supported by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine and the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

The new hotline, operated by the non-governmental organization La Strada, is a free service that provides information and support not only for victims of trafficking, but also for persons planning to go abroad for work, marriage or other reasons.

"The opening of the hotline is another important step in the prevention of trafficking in human beings in Ukraine and in improving victim protection," said Jeroen de Vries, Deputy Head of the Democratization Section of the ODIHR.

The phone service is operated in close co-operation with the Ukrainian State Committee for Family and Youth Affairs, as part of a multi-year government programme on preventing trafficking in human beings. The service complements an already existing network of six regional hotlines that have also been supported by the OSCE. More than 20,000 people have contacted these hotlines already in search of advice and help over the past two years.