ASTANA, 21 September 2005 - Developing a national action plan to combat human trafficking in Kazakhstan was the focus of an OSCE-organized meeting which brought together representatives of different ministries and non-governmental organizations, as well as international experts. The two-day event in Borovoe was organized by the OSCE Centre in Almaty, the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Ministry of Justice of Kazakhstan.
"Kazakhstan has made considerable progress in addressing the issue of trafficking in human beings," said Ambassador Ivar Vikki, Head of the OSCE Centre. "Our office stands ready to support Kazakhstan's endeavors in this sphere."
Sabyrzhan Bekbosunov, Vice-Minister of Justice underlined the importance of co-ordination between the Government, international and NGOs working in this field.
"We appreciate that the OSCE-organized meeting elaborated recommendations to our national action plan on combating trafficking in human beings," he said.
Participants discussed the preliminary findings of research on human trafficking in Kazakhstan, and national mechanisms for its prevention. The research was undertaken within the framework of OSCE Centre's anti-trafficking activities, which are jointly implemented with the Ministry of Justice and OSCE/ODIHR
For more information please visit http://www.osce.org/item/16305.html or contact:
Madina Bakieva
National Political and Media Co-ordinator
67 Tole Bi
480091 Almaty
Kazakhstan
Tel: +7-3272 79 37 62
Fax: +7 3272 79 43 88
Madina.Bakieva@osce.org