OSCE holds experts meeting in Armenia to discuss victim and witness protection

YEREVAN, 15 September 2004 - The OSCE Office in Yerevan organized a two-day expert meeting in Tsakhkadzor that aimed at contributing to the criminalization of human trafficking and the protection of victims' human rights in Armenia.

The seminar gave representatives from Armenia's Ministry of Justice, the General Prosecutor's Office, the police, civil society, and the OSCE national expert team an opportunity to discuss proposed amendments to the country's existing legislation in this field with an invited specialist from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

"We will continue to support the Armenian Government in establishing a coherent legislative framework to combat trafficking and organized crime and to prosecute traffickers, and to improve the procedural and non-procedural aspects of victim and witness protection," said Blanka Hancilova, the OSCE Office's Democratization Officer in Yerevan.

The event was organized as part of a US State Department-funded legislative review project to improve victim and witness protection in Armenia. A team of national experts identified gaps in the existing legal framework and, in close co-operation with the Ministry of Justice, drafted amendments to the law.

The ECHR expert joined the team to share international best practices in dealing effectively with trafficking, corruption and organized crime.

As part of its anti-trafficking strategy, the OSCE Office in Yerevan has supported the development of a National Plan of Action for the prevention of trafficking in persons and is now supporting the development of a National Referral Mechanism.