Contributed by: Marina Meskhi, Georgia National VAW Monitor

Anti-trafficking in persons (TIP) Activities planned by the Georgian Government for 2007-2008 encompass three main goals. Equal attention is attributed to the prevention of this crime, as well as the protection of the victims of the crime of TIP and prosecution of offenders.

Respectively, activities undertaken with the coordination of the Office of the Prosecutor General are directed toward all the mentioned directions. However, one of the issues to which the Georgian Government pays particular attention at the moment and will be actively working during 2007 is the elaboration of programs of assistance and reintegration of (statutory) victims of trafficking in persons. The Georgian Government’s National Action Plan on the Fight against Trafficking in Persons devotes particular attention to the elaboration and effective implementation of the programs directed towards assistance to and reintegration of victims of trafficking in persons. The State Fund for Protection of and Assistance to (Statutory) Victims of Trafficking in Persons is coordinating the elaboration of the framework program of reintegration and social rehabilitation of (statutory) victims of trafficking. The program will encompass all available resources of the relevant Georgian state agencies, international and local non-governmental organizations, envisaged for the assistance to and reintegration of the victims of trafficking in persons. The framework program will serve as an overall resource for elaboration of the individual rehabilitation plan for each particular victim of trafficking in persons and thus meeting the concrete needs of individual victims.

Along with this particular goal, the Georgian Government actively continues settling and further development of the standards introduced by the respective Georgian legislation, as well as information campaigns and preventive measures. In particular, these activities include:

Public awareness-raising with regard to the crime of trafficking in persons and the methods of fighting against it

A range of activities were undertaken in this respect: a Public Service Announcement was produced by the Office of the Prosecutor General and the State Fund, running approximately 25 times per day on three TV channels from January-March 2007; special TV and radio programs were prepared and broadcast, and; public debates were organized in the high educational institution and the Office of the Public Defender of Georgia.

Protection of (Statutory) Victims of Trafficking in Persons

Establishment of the second shelter for victims of trafficking in persons in East Georgia is one of the priorities of the Georgian Government in 2007.

Development of the relevant infrastructure is essential for ensuring protection of (statutory) victims of trafficking in persons. After creating the first shelter for the victims of trafficking in persons in summer 2006, the establishment of the second shelter was envisaged by the 2007-2008 Action Plan. From January-March 2007, the relevant building was identified and the preliminary works were performed for refurbishment of the building. The second shelter is planned to begin functioning in the second half of 2007. The shelter will be organized in East Georgia.  

Safe return of (statutory) victims of the trafficking in persons to the countries of their origin

As a result of active cooperation of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Georgia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia and the International Organization for Migration, an Uzbek national and victim of trafficking in persons, was safely returned home in January 2007. The perpetrator of the crime against this victim was sentenced to deprivation of liberty for eleven years in December 2006.    

As a result of the cooperation between relevant Georgian authorities and the International Organization for Migration, two Georgian nationals were returned safe to Georgia in the first three months of 2007. Investigation is already concluded in one of these cases, and the case against the perpetrator of one of these crimes has already been submitted to court.

Awareness-raising on the specifics of the crime of trafficking in persons

The crime of trafficking in persons is included in the training curriculum prepared at the training center of the Office of the Prosecutor General as a separate topic.

The fight against trafficking in persons is one of the topics in the curriculum of the Police Academy at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia,as well; along with this, the staff of law enforcement agencies regularly participate in different trainings organized under the auspices of various international and local non-governmental organizations.

Cooperation with the law enforcement bodies of other states

The Georgian law enforcement bodies actively use the possibility of application to the law enforcement agencies of other states with the mutual legal assistance requests during criminal proceedings. During the first three months of 2007, six mutual legal assistance requests are sent to other states by the Georgian law enforcement bodies in the process of investigation of the trafficking in persons cases.

Coordination of activities of the Georgian Government with other states, international and local non-governmental organizations

The Office of the Prosecutor General of Georgia, as the body coordinating anti-trafficking activities in Georgia, coordinates the activities of the Georgian Government and respective international and local non-governmental organizations in the process of implementation of the Georgian National Action Plan against Trafficking in Persons.

Prosecution of TIP in 2007

Along with public awareness-raising on the issue of trafficking in persons and carrying out of other measures directed at prevention of this crime, the effective fight against this crime and the prosecution of perpetrators is also to be underlined. This is clearly proven with the following statistical data: from January-March 2007, nine investigations commenced into the alleged trafficking in persons cases. One of these cases is already submitted to court. During January-March 2007, four TIP cases in total were submitted to court. During the same time period, five verdicts were delivered against seven perpetrators. The average sentence is deprivation of liberty for eleven years.