Armenia’s Anti-Trafficking Draft Law discussed with OSCE support

Armenia’s Draft Law on Identification of and Assistance to the Victims of Human Trafficking was in focus of a discussion held by the OSCE Office in Yerevan for government officials and representatives of civil society from 25 to 27 July 2014 in Aghveran, Armenia.

The participants of the workshop discussed the provisions of the draft legislation and considered recommendations to amend the Armenian Law on Social Assistance and related secondary legislation. OSCE-supported experts presented detailed reports on the legislative amendments required in order to harmonise existing legal acts, government decrees and policies with international commitments and human rights standards.

Ambassador Vahram Kazhoyan, the Director of the International Organizations Department, at Armenia’s Foreign Ministry and the Head of the Anti-Trafficking working group, said: “Today’s workshop is an important contribution to further improving Armenia’s national policies that seek to eliminate human trafficking and establish sound institutional mechanisms for the protection and support of trafficked persons. Not only will this Draft Law help trafficked persons but more importantly, it will also promote victims’ recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration into the mainstream society."

Oliver McCoy, Democratization Officer with the OSCE Office in Yerevan, said: “The OSCE Office in Yerevan is pleased to support this event and appreciates the working group’s continued commitment to improve the policy framework guiding this country’s efforts to combat human trafficking. The discussions that took place here over the past few days show that Armenia will continue to reflect on its mechanisms for assisting and protecting victims as well as ensuring access to justice.”

The workshop marks the conclusion of the OSCE Office in Yerevan’s extra-budgetary project – Strengthening the Implementation Capacity of the Armenian Anti-Trafficking National Action Plan Actors – which was financed by the U.S. Department of State. Over the past two years some 25 training courses on Armenia’s National Referral Mechanism as well as the identification of victims of human trafficking for approximately 350 persons, including   social workers, police officers, advocates, judges, prosecutors, and other civil servants, were organized under the project. In addition, the Office collaborated with the Foreign Ministry to develop guidelines on human trafficking for Armenia’s consular officers and provided detailed feedback on the implementation of the 2010-2012 Anti-trafficking National Action Plan.