OSH, Kyrgyzstan, 24 April 2007 - The OSCE Osh Field Office and the local NGO Golden Goal launched a project today that will help prevent human trafficking.

Financed by the French Government, the project will target students and young people. It will include a diverse awareness-raising campaign and help strengthen the already existing NGO network in the Ferghana Valley which focus on fighting trafficking by increasing information-exchange and co-operation.

The project will also address the issue of promoting concrete State intervention through the State Committee on Migration and Employment and province and district administrations. In order to strengthen the legal response in the fight against trafficking in human beings, the project will train lawyers and judges.

"Trafficking in human beings is a priority area for the OSCE, and our Office has been involved in a range of activities in the south of Kyrgyzstan. The problem needs to be addressed not only on a local level but also regionally, as trafficking has no international borders and is a form of international crime," said Jerome Bouyjou, the Head of OSCE Osh Field Office.

"Research conducted in 2006 by the OSCE and our partners confirmed that the southern regions of Kyrgyzstan remain a place of departure, transit and destination for this serious crime. By the time the project is completed in January 2008, we envisage creating 6 community-based groups in remote areas of Batken Province which will continue to conduct work among potential trafficking victims."

Under the project, awareness-raising materials will be distributed at strategic places such as bus stations, train stations and airports in the region.

Since 2004, the Osh Field Office, in close partnership with local NGOs, has supported initiatives and activities to combat human trafficking in the south of the country.

 

Published in: OSCE Office launches project to combat human trafficking in south Kyrgyzstan, www.osce.org 24 April 2007.