OSCE supports implementation of mechanisms for assistance to victims of human trafficking in Ukraine

KYIV, 18 October 2011 – A national roundtable discussion on the implementation of a state-led mechanism of the identification and rehabilitation of victims of human trafficking started in Kyiv today.

The two-day event, jointly organized by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine (PCU) and the country’s Ministry for Family, Youth and Sports, brings together governmental representatives from across Ukraine to discuss the next steps in implementing the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) for trafficking survivors.

Two models of the NRM have been piloted in the Chernivtsi and Donetsk regions of Ukraine, and the participants will decide on a strategy for the wider implementation of the most effective model.

“The NRM piloting experience has demonstrated the effectiveness of co-operation between governmental actors responsible in assisting trafficking survivors,” said Ambassador Lubomir Kopaj, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine. “Now that the Law on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, which was developed with the help of the PCU, has been adopted, the National Referral Mechanism has a legislative ground for country-wide implementation."

The event is part of a PCU-implemented project aimed at assisting Ukraine in developing an anti-trafficking NRM and funded by Denmark, Australia, Ireland, and Lichtenstein.