Turkmenistan, OSCE eye human trafficking problems
Investigating and prosecuting human trafficking crimes was in focus of an OSCE-organized training course that concluded in Ashgabat.
Some 20 judges, representatives of law enforcement bodies and defence lawyers from Turkmenistan participated in the two-day course. It aimed to upgrade the participants' skills to interview victims of human trafficking while protecting their rights and avoiding a situation when they feel victims again.
International experts briefed participants on best practices in investigating and prosecuting cases of human trafficking across the OSCE region, as well as in the identification of victims, victim assistance and interviewing practices.
"Irrespective of the tremendous efforts undertaken at the global, regional and national levels, trafficking in human beings for all forms of exploitation has grown into a phenomenon that occurs on a massive scale," Police Affairs Officer and Adviser on Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings with the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna, Hana Šnajdrova, said.
Turkmenistan joined several basic UN conventions regulating peace and security issues, ensuring human rights and freedom and adheres to its commitments. The relevant law on "Combating human trafficking" was adopted in the country in December 2007.
Human trafficking is a global crime and affects almost all countries in every region of the world. Most of human trafficking is intraregional.
Women make up a significant part of the human trafficking victims in Central Asia and Europe, the UN report on human trafficking as of 2012 said.