Labour Forum Discusses Measures on Combating Human Trafficking

The roundtable “Protection of Labour Rights of Migrant Workers: Combating Human Trafficking” took place in the Tavricheskiy Palace – the IPA CIS headquarters within the framework of the IV International Labour Forum.

The event brought together experts from international organizations involved in combating human trafficking, as well as the representatives of public organizations saving people from forced labour through their own efforts.

Opening the roundtable, OSCE ODIHR Advisor on Anti-Human Trafficking Issues Tatiana Kotliarenko informed on the statistics in the field of forced labour and pointed out that elusive nature of human trafficking made the statistical description of this kind of criminal business quite vague.

Consultant of the Interregional Public Movement “Alternative”, Chair of the Council of the International Network of Non-Government Organizations on Combating Human Trafficking and Other Forms of Violence Vera Gracheva told about errors concerning identification of criminal cases involving slave labour.

Expert of the Charitable Foundation for the Support and Development of Educational and Social Projects “PSP-Foundation” Andrey Yakimov highlighted the concept of powerlessness of the victims who do not contact law enforcement agencies because of irregular migrant status.

Associate Professor of St. Petersburg State University Vladlena Avdeeva stressed the advantages of the Internet technologies in helping migrants to learn the languages, communicate with relatives, find contacts of the organizations providing assistance and track the location of persons.

The participants unanimously consider that only joint work of government institutions – migration office, labour inspection and police – with their counterparts in the neighbouring countries could help to combat human trafficking.