Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – On 28 July 2022, the National Commission on Combating Trafficking in Persons and Forced Labor and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development, with financial support from the Bureau of the U.S. Department of State on Drug Control and Law Enforcement and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) organized the International Conference “Strengthening National and International Partnerships in Combating Trafficking in Persons” in Tashkent.

The international conference in Tashkent is being organized as part of the Roadmap for the further development of multifaceted cooperation between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime for 2022-2025, the Plan of Joint Actions to Combat Trafficking in Persons between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime for 2022 and the Global Program to Combat Trafficking in Persons of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, as well as the Roadmap for the implementation of the Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development project “Safe Migration in Central Asia”, funded by USAID, aimed at sharing experiences and promoting best global practices in in the field of combating human trafficking and assistance to victims with the participation of representatives of state bodies and non-governmental organizations of the countries of Central Asia.

The Chairman of the National Commission for Combating Trafficking in Persons and Forced Labor of the Republic of Uzbekistan Tanzila Narbayeva, in her opening speech at the international conference “Strengthening National and International Partnership in Combating Human Trafficking”, held in Bukhara on 25–26 November 2021, proposed and the participants of the Bukhara Conference supported the idea to organize an annual conference on combating human trafficking for law enforcement agencies and public organizations of the Central Asian region at the end of July in honor of the World Day against Trafficking in Human Beings, starting with Uzbekistan in 2022, then in Kazakhstan in 2023, in Kyrgyzstan in 2024, in Tajikistan in 2025 and in Turkmenistan in 2026.

World Day Against Trafficking in Persons is observed every year on 30 July. For the first time, the decision to declare this date as an international day against human trafficking was made on 18 December 2013 and formalized by the resolution of the UN General Assembly to improve the coordination of efforts to combat human trafficking. The theme of this year’s World Day against Trafficking in Persons is "Use and Abuse of Technology", which focuses on the role of technology as a tool that can both facilitate and discourage human trafficking. Human trafficking has taken over cyberspace, creating challenges and opportunities. While technology is often misused in favor of perpetrating human trafficking crimes, controlling victims, advertising illegal services, and concealing criminal proceeds, its proper use can help practitioners solve crimes and rescue victims.

The international conference in Tashkent contributes to:

Exchange of best national practices in the field of combating human trafficking, especially with regard to the use and abuse of technology.

Discussing the development of national referral mechanisms and the development of a transnational referral mechanism for victims of human trafficking in the Central Asian region.

Development of partnerships between stakeholders in the field of combating trafficking in persons in the Central Asian region to identify victims of trafficking in persons, provide them with assistance and repatriation, as well as in the investigation and prosecution of crimes in relation to trafficking in persons.

Discussing the implementation of the Bukhara Declaration and developing approaches and activities to strengthen national and international partnerships in the fight against human trafficking.

Exchange of national experience in combating human trafficking at the state border.

Ms. Narbayeva Tanzila, Chairwoman of the Senate and the National Commission on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Forced Labor of the Republic of Uzbekistan, National Rapporteur on Combating Human Trafficking and Forced Labor noted: "The ideas and approaches of the UN are generally supported by Uzbekistan, on their basis national standards are strengthened and legislation to combat human trafficking Systematic work has been carried out to strengthen the legislative and organizational and legal framework, work has been carried out to implement international standards of legislation in our country Since 2019, the National Commission for Combating Human Trafficking and Forced Labor has been effectively functioning in our country, which coordinates the activities of all ministries and departments, as well as territorial commissions in this direction. The institution of a national rapporteur on this issue has also been established. Over the past three years, about 40 legal acts have been adopted, a number of international of these conventions, a new edition of the Law on Combating Trafficking in Persons was adopted, and a mechanism was approved for the identification and referral at the national level of victims of trafficking in persons or presumed victims of trafficking in persons. Also, instructions have been developed on standard operating procedures for investigating crimes related to human trafficking and identifying victims."

Mr. Shukhratjon Sobirov, First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan, in his speech noted that cooperation with non-profit organizations and international organizations is one of the main directions in preventing our citizens from becoming victims of crimes related to human trafficking, in the areas of identifying and redirecting persons victims of human trafficking and providing timely assistance to victims.

At the same time, in order to ensure an effective fight against these crimes in the republic, today, in cooperation with international organizations and non-profit organizations, seminars are being organized to increase the level of knowledge of specialists operating in the regions. In particular, in cooperation with the office of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, a series of 2-day seminars were organized for regional specialists in all regions of the Republic of Uzbekistan. At the trainings, 260 operational officers of the internal affairs bodies, 96 investigators, 28 judges, 26 employees of the prosecutor’s office further improved their knowledge and skills.

Ms. Ghada Waly, Director General/Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, in her video message, called on the governments of the Central Asian states to counter the threat of human trafficking with strong political response at the regional and international levels and commitment to the implementation of the Bukhara Declaration, expressed by the participants of the international conference, which she attended in November 2021, and called on law enforcement and judicial authorities in the region to seize the opportunity to investigate cases of international human trafficking, using the resources of UNODC and the experience of the UNODC Regional Adviser on Combating Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants, based in Tashkent.

Ms. Ashita Mittal, Regional Representative of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in Central Asia stated: “According to the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, 60% of trafficking victims in the Central Asia region are women, and 13% are children. The countries of the region are countries of origin, transit and destination for victims of human trafficking. The main forms studied are human trafficking for the purposes of sexual and labor exploitation in this region and worldwide. This conference is a good opportunity to discuss best practices and our future actions in the field of combating human trafficking, development of partnerships between stakeholders and the implementation of the Bukhara Declaration and discuss how to strengthen the fight against human trafficking in the Central Asian region.”

The event was attended by representatives of the Ministries of Internal Affairs, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Coordinator for the Implementation of the Bukhara Declaration, Representatives of Non-Governmental Organizations, Representatives of Border Agencies from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, as well as representatives of international organizations.