Counter-Human Trafficking Institutional Assessment Report

Extract from Counter-Human Trafficking Institutional Assessment Report

The assessment was implemented within the framework of the “Anti-trafficking Programme: Capacity Developing Support and Victims Assistance” project of the United Nations Development Programme, implemented jointly with the Government of the Republic of Armenia and funded by the Government of Norway. Principal Consultant – Brian Iselin /Iselin Consulting/

Mainstreaming

Trafficking is one of those difficult issues that cuts across so many sectors and disciplines it is often difficult to know where to start, and often difficult to know what to do. While the majority of agencies in the world make dedicated counter-trafficking plans, there is much to be said about the significant gains that can be made by everyone with a programme that even slightly touches on the subject, incorporating just a few dedicated goals that relate to trafficking. The whole then becomes so much more massive, and consistent. Without this mainstreaming of counter-trafficking goals, one gets what we see in Armenia, which is a selection of programmes that are dedicated to counter-trafficking that relate very little to existing programmes in areas that would otherwise have an impact, that fail to promote the issue of trafficking on the agenda of a broader set of actors, and that fail also to alert a far broader community of actors to the fact that they can make such small adjustments in their programming and collectively have much greater impact.

It is quite essential that the process (perhaps the ATWG is in the best position to do this as a part of having participants define their fields of expertise and competitive advantage) be to ‘allocate’ the broad goals of the counter-trafficking strategy across the disciplines and programmes of the expanded stakeholder mix. As an example, while the Asian Development Bank has only just started in Armenia, they are well known in Southeast Asia for mainstreaming counter-trafficking objectives into each of their interventions. Their interventions often deal, for instance, with improving road and rail transport infrastructure. Such trade and transport volume increases serve to provide additional criminal opportunity for traffickers. As another example, OXFAM often works on poverty eradication programmes, or livelihood projects, which have significant impact on trafficking if those programmes can be targeted even tangentially to those geographic or demographic areas of most concern to trafficking. It is not a difficult process at all, but the potential rewards are abundantly clear.

For this process to work requires several things. The Secretariat of the ATWG is in the best position to take this forward. The first is a ‘stocktaking’ of those who are working in fields that relate to the subject of trafficking, and this must be exhaustive. ‘Fields that relate’ also should be an exhaustive concept, including but not at all limited to migration, refugees, education, reproductive health, youth groups, small business grants and incubators, livelihood development, agri-business, transport infrastructure, home medical care, community and municipality management. Some self-evaluation of capacity can also be sought, in the form of asking stakeholders to indicate their areas of interest, their programming areas, and their likely future programming goals.

Secondly, there is a need to conduct an analysis of the standing goals for counter-trafficking, to see how they spread across the areas of responsibility for each of the expanded stakeholders. It may be that through this process some goals will be found for which there are no responsible actors, which is a valid finding of its own.

Thirdly, those actors all need to be tasked with or asked to include counter-trafficking goals and considerations in their programming. Each of the expanded stakeholder community should be asked to involve themselves in the working of the ATWG, including looking for opportunities to work together or to build counter-trafficking issues into their programming.

Fourth, there must be a feedback loop or everyone involved will quickly lose interest. All actors who put counter-trafficking goals into their programming should of course be members of the ATWG and thus report performance towards those goals back to the ATWG.

On the question of mainstreaming of counter-trafficking objectives, it is important that this does not only sit as a responsibility of the donor community but of the national stakeholders as well. The role of the IMC is critical in making sure that counter-trafficking objectives of the national government are written into the strategic plans of all line Ministries, including, especially, education, health, and labour portfolios. In particular the good work being done by both the Ministry of Education and Caritas Armenia on introducing trafficking concepts to teachers as the multipliers, and then to school students, as a standing part of the curriculum, should be expanded to national programming.

Conclusion

Clearly there is much being done in Armenia and all involved should be roundly applauded for that. However, much more can be done and, importantly, should be done together instead of apart. The matrix of recommendation at the end of this document is meant to provide a more convenient snapshot of the main areas for the work ahead. It is hoped that this informs a wide range of processes. Much of the task of this mission is already done if all of the agencies and partners even start talking about the measures. It would be a good start. But of course to start implementing some would be better. It is hoped everyone can find some measures that have some resonance for them, and can take them forward. Your patience in reading this report is valued.

Subject Area

Working Groups and Special Units

Law, Policy, and Convention

Training, Communications and Equipment Needs

Further Analysis

Re-define Inter-MinisterialCommission

1.Appointment of Chief of Staff of Government of Armenia to Chair the IMC

2.Creation of Joint Trafficking Analytical Group, staffed by the Government of Armenia, materially funded ONLY in the first phase by donors.

3.Creation of full-time Permanent Secretariat of the IMC – and be sure to fully equip and appropriately accommodate, including dedicated IT and email services.

4.Appointment of Standing International Special Adviser to the IMC.

5.Appointment of Special Financial Adviser (from Ministry of Finance) to the IMC.

6.Implement ‘Travel Safe’ labour migration advisory service with Ministry of Labour and Social Issues.

7.Place both IMC Secretariat Head, and JTAG Head, on ATWG.

1.Adopt comprehensive law on trafficking.

2.Formalise strategic planning cycle for counter-trafficking.

3.Define a single comprehensive budget allocation for all counter-trafficking purposes.

4.Define a communication strategy for the IMC, including identification of leading norm entrepreneurs and refinement of public awareness programming.

5.Initiate harmonisation of hotlines between Armenia and main destination countries.

6.Task Ministry of Foreign Affairs to intervene in UAE decision to impose blanket ban on young Armenian women traveling to UAE.

7.Implement service delivery, right of abode, and referral mechanisms strategy akin to the Italian Article 18 process.

8.Seek twinning support from interested countries for justice sector agencies including particularly judges and prosecutors

1.Convene Counter-Trafficking Retreat for IMC members.

2.Training for JTAG staff in strategic planning and strategic intelligence methods.

3.Create IMC Bulletins to better inform the counter-trafficking community.

4.Mobilise journalist community in Armenia to create a participatory, self-regulating Code of Conduct for media professionals when dealing with trafficking cases.

5.Mainstream counter-trafficking education (including demand-reduction messages) into all school curricula, including the higher educational institutions.

Rationalise to form only one national trafficking hotline, and allocate one memorable 4-digit number.

Re-define Anti-TraffickingWorking Group

1.Redraw the ATWG membership to broaden scope.

2.Install UN Resident Representative as Chair.

3.Form a full-time Secretariat (an international project if necessary) ideally funded by contributions from all members.

4.Form a Donor’s Group within the ATWG.

5.Install UN Resident Representative also, or the Secretariat Head, as Chair of the Donor’s Group.

6.Make sure all ATWG members have dedicated computer and email account for communications.

7.Adopt ‘CoordinationCommitment’ from all members.

8.Place ATWG Secretariat Head on IMC.

1.Define communications strategy that takes action plans from the IMC’s national communications strategy, and importantly asks ATWG members to better question the assumptions and goals behind information materials.

2.Review ‘public-awareness materials to assess whether risk identification information is being passed to the priority risk communities.

3.Define risk matrix for ATWG community, including ranked assessment of relative priority (risk) for each group, and prioritise interventions on higher risk groups.

4. Define and promulgate ‘Monitoring and Evaluation Code of Practice” for ATWG members, and seek members commitment to the guidelines.

5. Define community-wide goals at the start of each year, based on Hierarchy of Goals.

1. Convene Counter-Trafficking Retreat for all ATWG members.

2. Convene week-long intensive counter-trafficking training programme for counter-trafficking professionals, for all ATWG members.

3. Create ATWG Newsletter or even Journal, for improved communication with

members and interested parties.

1.Define an FAQ on trafficking in Armenia and make the widespread production of this an outreach priority.

2.Define a ‘database’ of ATWG members interests and core operating areas, and allocate strategic priorities to members.

3.Establish theme or working groups within the ATWG to work on specific high priority areas: expanding the knowledge base; victim protection, law reform, communications etc. to report from and back to the ATWG on action plans.

International agreements and treaties

1. Task IMC to study and plan to ratify relevant international covenants.

2. Establish and promulgate national Focal Point for contact on matters of international law enforcement (recommended to be Head of counter-trafficking unit within national police) cooperation.

Identify and take steps to ratify those relevant international agreements not yet ratified.

Incorporate global anti-human trafficking

framework into training syllabus for all law enforcement personnel.

Conduct national pre-ratification assessment for determining action priorities.

Legislation and enforcement on human trafficking

1. Create national consultative group to IMC,, including ATWG and IMC members, on definition development and legislative drafting.

2. Consider establishing Sub-regional Working Group on Harmonisation of Human Trafficking Law and Policy.

3. Advance the adoption of comprehensive counter-trafficking law.

1. Draft and enact anti-human trafficking legislation building on definitions and foundation elaborated in relevant international covenants.

2. Enable the confiscation of the proceeds of crime and criminal asset for counter-trafficking offences. Consider pooling funds into trafficking victims compensation fund.

3. Implement a Criminal Justice System Monitoring project.

Provide fundamentals of human trafficking in all justice sector and law enforcement training programmes: judges, police, prosecutors alike.

1.Conduct comprehensive strategic national anti-human trafficking, including national baseline studies on sub-sectors/typologies. assessment.

2. Conduct regional anti-human trafficking comparative assessment, including exploring scope for drafting model law criminalizing human trafficking applicable for all regional jurisdictions.

Formal Protocols of Exchange and Memoranda of Understanding

1. Task IMC to develop MOU for cooperation and exchange with regional States, and with non-State actors.

1. Negotiate multilateral MOU on law enforcement cooperation in anti-human trafficking.

2. Negotiate domestic protocols of information exchange between State and non-State anti-trafficking actors.

Incorporate detailed

understanding of rights and obligations imposed on Armenia by the ratified MOU, into all anti-human trafficking training

programmes (police,judges, ATWG

professionals, prosecutors etc).

Conduct global assessment for templates and good practice in MOU and protocols of exchange, with recommendations for adaptation to regional context.

Victim protection

1. Establish national Victim Protection Working Group in ATWG to develop, inter alia, operating principles for balancing victim and State needs in protection measures. To pay particular attention to services for victims, and in-court protection measures, and ensure victim-friendly criminal justice process including interviewing (with independent ‘friend’).

2. Rationalise counter-trafficking hotlines, including creating one hotline only, with a short memorable sequence of numbers.

Redefine information materials to provide information most of use to victims who find themselves in trouble.

3. Establish National Referral

1. Identify and take steps to ratify those relevant international agreements not yet ratified.

2. Enable legal access to crime victims’ compensation for trafficking victims, including damages, and ability for ‘injured parties’ to be heard in criminal cases.

1. Introduce “Working with non-State actors” as core component of all anti-human trafficking training programmes, in particular for police.

2. Design and introduce victim protection component into all anti-human trafficking training programmes.

1. Conduct needs analysis and global assessment of victim/witness protection measures for trafficked victims, with a view to recommending improved measures assuring ‘victim –friendly’ victim protection.

2. Subsequently, implement range of victim protection measures in court, if necessary introducing legislative amendments to criminal procedure OR state protection of persons participating in criminal proceedings law.

3. Examine possibility of creating a Charter of Rights for victims of crime, including trafficking.

Expanding the knowledge base

1. Establish working group in ATWG tasked with specific actions to expand the knowledge base.

2. Identify key research personnel from abroad for defining the action research, and to provide training to local field research personnel.

3. Define standard national FAQ on trafficking as a wide area information tool.

Provide counter-trafficking

field action research training to selected research personnel.

Task JTAG with undertaking specific research on prevalence in areas of knowledge gaps, including update of household survey with much larger sample (for labour trafficking mainly); and design prevalence work in sexual exploitation area.

Communications and awareness-raising

1. Establish focal points in all ATWG member organisations.

2. Establish a communications and awareness-raising working group within ATWG.

3. Define a communications strategy for both the ATWG and the IMC, including email and contact list, community newsletter.

4. Explore options for recruiting suitable norm entrepreneurs from within Armenian community or diaspora, and define public campaign showcasing her/him.

5. Re-define and systematise

Conduct team-building training for IMC and ATWG (not necessarily together, but both)

1. Assess possibility of creating stakeholder ‘login’ section of www.antitrafficking.am, to become web-based clearing house and online data library for counter-trafficking community.