Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Today, on 20 July, in the form of videoconference, the 20th international conference of the OSCE Special Representative and Coordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings on the topic "Stop Impunity: Restoring Justice through Effective Criminal Prosecution for Trafficking in Human Beings" began its work.

The event is attended by representatives of 57 OSCE participating States and 11 partners of the Alliance against Trafficking in Human Beings of this organization, international non-governmental non-profit organizations, civil society institutions, international media, representatives of business and academia.

In this international conference, the delegation of Uzbekistan is attended by the Chairman of the Senate, Chairman of the National Commission on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Forced Labor Tanzila Narbayeva, as well as representatives of the Supreme Court, the General Prosecutor’s Office, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At the conference, taking into account the best practices in the field of combating trafficking in persons, the OSCE chose Uzbekistan as the keynote speaker.

The Chairperson of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis, Chairperson of the National Commission T. Narbayeva gave detailed information on the work carried out in the country in this direction, in particular, work on improving national legislation, comprehensive support for persons who have become victims of human trafficking, ensuring the inevitability of punishment for committing such crimes.

It was noted that in recent years 15 normative legal acts have been adopted in this direction, the National Commission on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Forced Labor has been established by the President’s decree under the leadership of the Chairman of the Senate, and the institution of the National Rapporteur on this issue has been introduced.

In addition, they spoke about the work carried out by the National Commission on combating trafficking in persons and forced labor based on the recommendations of international organizations and their results.

It was noted that in each country, in the fight against crimes related to trafficking in persons, the judiciary must establish the rule of law, social justice, and the principle of inevitability of punishment must be strictly observed in judicial consideration of crimes.

At the same time, special emphasis is placed on the introduction of a procedure for the identification of victims of trafficking in persons and the need to ensure their consistency and effectiveness in conjunction with international partners.

It was noted at the conference that thanks to the measures taken, crime rates are reduced, and a high assessment was given to the activities of civil society institutions, non-governmental non-profit organizations in this process.

Also, proposals and recommendations were made to improve the qualifications of employees of bodies dealing with crimes related to trafficking in persons, to organize exchange of experience, and to further expand cooperation in this area.