OSCE Special Representative commends Latvia’s approach to supporting victims, while calling for an increased focus on children
RIGA, 25 March 2022 – Valiant Richey, OSCE Special Representative for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, concluded his three-day visit to Latvia today. He highlighted the gains made in providing support to victims of human trafficking and combating trafficking for forced labour, while noting low levels of success in identifying child and sexual exploitation victims.
During his visit, Richey met with with high-level anti-trafficking stakeholders including Minister of Interior Marija Golubeva, and government officials from the Ministry of Justice, the specialized Prosecution Office for Organized Crime, the Organized Crime Enforcement Unit of the State Police, the Office for Citizenship and Migration Affairs, the Ombudsman and the Financial Intelligence Unit. Richey also met with members of the Latvian parliament to discuss potential legislative action and concluded the visit with a meeting of the inter-ministerial group overseeing anti-trafficking activities in Latvia.
At a joint press conference with Minister of Interior Golubeva, Richey praised Latvian authorities for their effective processes for recognizing victims, providing state-funded assistance, confiscating trafficking proceeds and identifying cases of trafficking for forced labour.
Richey noted that some challenges remain. “The culture of impunity for traffickers remains a serious barrier to delivering justice to victims. Long judicial processes that threaten to re-traumatize victims and charging traffickers with lesser offences keeps them from being held accountable for the harm they cause,” said Richey.
Minister Golubeva concurred with the Special Representative, adding: “I was very pleased that we could host this visit and talk about things that have already been done and about what we are planning ahead to fight human trafficking. We will be specifically aiming at this issue as Ukrainian civilians fleeing war are reaching Latvia. We must make sure all relevant state institutions are involved to prevent people from falling into the traps of human traffickers. We will also be doing more in the digital realm, and I hope that internet police - an initiative we started in 2022 - will be one of the most effective solutions."
Discussions during the visit also indicated that more proactive efforts are needed to identify victims and protect vulnerable groups. “I was pleased to see the great results in identifying cases of trafficking for forced labour, but now it is time to put the same attention into actively identifying child victims and adults trafficked into sexual exploitation. There are child victims in Latvia who continue to go unseen, and proactive investigations, especially online, are needed to offer victims the protection they deserve,” said Richey.
Richey urged officials to keep trafficking in human beings high on the political agenda and to further strengthen the country’s response through improved awareness-raising, capacity-building, legislative reform and robust investment of human and financial resources.
The Special Representative conducts multiple country visits each year to help increase the capacity of OSCE participating States in addressing human trafficking, to share recommendations and collect best practices for fighting this heinous crime. A report detailing the findings of his visit will be released later in 2022.