Prevention is key in fighting human trafficking

Tackling the growing problem of trafficking in human beings is a priority for the OSCE and for its Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine. Eastern Europe is a region of origin and of transit for victims of trafficking. Ukraine, therefore, has developed a comprehensive national programme to address various aspects of trafficking. The OSCE Project Co-ordinator is giving full support, focusing on prevention campaigns, counseling hotlines, education and economic development.

The role of hotlines in prevention

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODHIR) launched the first national, toll-free hotline service in 2002, which complemented a network of seven regional hotlines in Ukraine. The service provides information and support for anyone who plans to go abroad for work, marriage or other reasons. It also assists in identifying potential victims.

Since the establishment of the regional hotlines in 2000, 22,000 people have phoned for help and advice. The network was established through the co-operation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs): the national La Strada Ukraine in Kiev, and seven grass-root NGOs in Kharkiv, Luhansk, Odesa, Sevastopol, Ternopil, Uzhgorod and Mykolaiv.

"It is very important to have counseling hotlines, since a lot of people go abroad for work, study and tourism," said Myroslava Debeljuk, a consultant on the national hotline in Ukraine. "Through us they can get the right information on obtaining the necessary documents, and we can inform them about their rights abroad as well as at home."

The national service is run by La Strada in close co-operation with the Ukrainian State Committee for Family and Youth Affairs, which is responsible for the implementation of Ukraine's National Anti-trafficking Program.

Training seminars for hotline consultants

Training hotline consultants, to equip them with the psychological skills and with the factual information they need on the job, is a very important part of the anti-trafficking initiative. From 2000 to 2003, over 100 hotline consultants and volunteers from across Ukraine received intensive classroom and on-the-job training.

With information provided by various consulates in Ukraine, participants discussed issues such as visas, residence and work permits, au-pair systems and other matters related to destination countries.

Information was disseminated to all hotline centres and is used daily as reference material by the consultants. Training is provided on a continual basis, supported by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine and ODIHR, and is conducted by trainers from La Strada.

As co-operation plays a key role in prevention, material gathered for training seminars is also distributed to regional NGOs in Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus that deal with the prevention of trafficking in human beings in these countries. La Strada also offers a wealth of information on their website in Ukrainian, Russian and English.

NGO initiatives

Youth educational programmes, publishing and distributing materials, and conducting seminars and conferences, are just some of the ways Ukrainian NGOs raise awareness about the issue.

From 2000 to August 2003, the NGOs held 1,072 information sessions across Ukraine, addressing over 32,000 people on the problem of trafficking in human beings. Additional activities include close co-operation with media to guarantee the advertisement of the hotline numbers. Since the establishment of the hotline services, more than 600 interviews have been held with journalists.

Close co-operation with parliamentarians, parliamentary committees, lawyers and law enforcement bodies aims to further improve Ukrainian legislation and enforcement in terms of prosecuting traffickers of human beings. Another important part of the NGOs' activities is the rehabilitation of trafficked victims and their reintegration into society.

New projects target root causes

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator has developed an economic empowerment programme for potential victims. There is a general acknowledgment that education and employment opportunities can greatly aid in the fight against human trafficking. The Project Co-ordinator also continues to support training seminars for public servants and representatives of organizations dealing with the issue.