Improved investment climate in Moldova would help combat sex trafficking, says OSCE Mission Head
Continuous awareness campaigns on human trafficking are another remedy against this modern day slavery. (IOM)
CHISINAU, 18 November 2003 - At an international conference on combating sex trafficking, co-organized by the OSCE Mission to Moldova, the Head Ambassador William Hill, has urged the Moldovan Government to take concrete steps in tackling the root causes of Moldova's huge trafficking problem.
"The improvement of the investment and business climate in Moldova would be an important step toward eliminating the conditions that allow traffickers to thrive," the Head of Mission told participants at the event, held on 17 and 18 November.
Ambassador Hill pointed out that trafficking in human beings inflicted huge costs on Moldova. He urged the country to ratify the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its associated 'Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children', as pledged by the December 2001 OSCE Ministerial Council in Bucharest.
In recent years, he said, the OSCE Mission had helped to create awareness of the scope and nature of the problem among Moldovan officials and the Moldovan public. It had assisted the country in creating a legal and administrative framework for combating human trafficking and had provided aid and support in caring for the victims and protecting witnesses.
"We have begun to help law enforcement and court officials to put traffickers behind bars", Ambassador Hill added.
The international conference, entitled 'Path Breaking Strategies in Combating Sex Trafficking in Moldova', was jointly organized by the OSCE Mission, the American Embassy in Chisinau, the National Committee on Combating Human Trafficking, the American Bar Association Central and Eastern Europe Law Initiative (ABA-CEELI), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) and the Centre for the Prevention of Trafficking in Women.
The conference adopted 19 recommendations for the Moldovan Government, intended to help the country meet its international obligations.
"The improvement of the investment and business climate in Moldova would be an important step toward eliminating the conditions that allow traffickers to thrive," the Head of Mission told participants at the event, held on 17 and 18 November.
Ambassador Hill pointed out that trafficking in human beings inflicted huge costs on Moldova. He urged the country to ratify the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its associated 'Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children', as pledged by the December 2001 OSCE Ministerial Council in Bucharest.
In recent years, he said, the OSCE Mission had helped to create awareness of the scope and nature of the problem among Moldovan officials and the Moldovan public. It had assisted the country in creating a legal and administrative framework for combating human trafficking and had provided aid and support in caring for the victims and protecting witnesses.
"We have begun to help law enforcement and court officials to put traffickers behind bars", Ambassador Hill added.
The international conference, entitled 'Path Breaking Strategies in Combating Sex Trafficking in Moldova', was jointly organized by the OSCE Mission, the American Embassy in Chisinau, the National Committee on Combating Human Trafficking, the American Bar Association Central and Eastern Europe Law Initiative (ABA-CEELI), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) and the Centre for the Prevention of Trafficking in Women.
The conference adopted 19 recommendations for the Moldovan Government, intended to help the country meet its international obligations.