Kazakh Deputy Interior Minister Alik Shpekbaev met on October 20 in Astana with Brittany Brown, a U.S. State Department official in charge of efforts to combat human trafficking, Kazakhstan Today reported. Shpekbaev briefed Brown on the Kazakh government's strategy to curb trafficking and noted an increase in the number of arrests of criminal traffickers. Brown also welcomed Kazakh efforts to more fully integrate state programs with existing initiatives by Kazakh civil-society groups aimed at providing assistance and counseling to victims of human trafficking. Local police in northern Kazakhstan launched an operation last month against human trafficking that resulted in the arrest of group of local residents on charges of trafficking minors. RG Published in: "Kazakh, U.S. Officials Discuss Efforts To Combat Human Trafficking," Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) Newsline, Vol. 11, No. 196, Part I, 23 October 2007.
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