Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 2 October 2020, a round table was held in Tashkent on the topic: “Partnership to combat human trafficking”. It was organized by the National Center for Human Rights of the Republic of Uzbekistan (NCHR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

At the opening of the meeting, the First Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Director of the NCHR Akmal Saidov addressed the participants. The participants were also greeted online by the Permanent Representative of Uzbekistan to the UN Office and other international organizations in Geneva Ulugbek Lapasov, US Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Uzbekistan Daniel Rosenblum, Sub-regional coordinator for Central Asia of the International Organization for Migration Zeynal Hajiyev.

The round table was organized within the framework of the implementation of the National Strategy of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Human Rights and was timed to coincide with the completion of the Central Asian regional project "Combating Human Trafficking, 2015-2020".

The round table was attended by representatives of the National Commission on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Forced Labor, the Permanent Mission of Uzbekistan to the UN Office at Geneva and other international organizations, ministries, law enforcement agencies, civil society institutions and legal scholars.

As it was noted during the round table, the fight against human trafficking continues to be one of the topical issues on the world agenda. According to the UN, about 2.7 million people worldwide become victims of human trafficking every year.

Given the global nature of the problem, the United Nations and its agencies, the OSCE, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and other international organizations and states pay the closest attention to the fight against human trafficking.

Uzbekistan is taking consistent measures to develop international and regional cooperation in the fight against human trafficking, improve national legislation and mechanisms. In 2019, at the initiative of the President of Uzbekistan, the National Commission on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Forced Labor was established. On 17 August 2020, a new version of the Law on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings was adopted.

Good results were shown by the cooperation of the National Center of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights with the International Organization for Migration within the framework of the Central Asian regional project "Combating Human Trafficking, 2015-2020", which was implemented with the support of USAID. In particular, in 2017, an analysis of the national system for combating human trafficking and protection of migrants was carried out with the development of relevant proposals.

Six joint events of the NCHR and IOM were held, including trainings, at which 166 specialists from government agencies and NGOs received professional training. Also, NCHR staff participated as experts and trainers at other IOM events, both in Uzbekistan and in other Central Asian countries. In 2017, the NCHR participated in studying the experience of the Republic of Korea and the Philippines and developing proposals for the possible application of the experience of these countries in Uzbekistan.

Also, within the framework of the project, the information and resource center of the NCHR was equipped with equipment and literature; more than 100 books and brochures were received here only on the issues of combating human trafficking and human rights. The National Center for Human Rights itself donated over 500 units of literature in these areas to the Information Resource Centers established by the IOM in Andijan and Samarkand.

Another important area is the development and publication of a number of brochures, manuals, flyers on the topic of combating human trafficking, as well as a thematic explanatory dictionary by the NCHR in the Uzbek language.

During the "round table" presentation of the next such publication in the Uzbek language - the illustrated book "Combating Human Trafficking", intended for children and youth, took place.