Azernews.Az

BAKU – The OSCE Office in Baku jointly with several partners on Thursday launched a week-long campaign to fight human trafficking.

The campaign includes TV and radio programs, public services announcements, booklets and posters. Other events include roundtable discussions about human trafficking and a concert.

The OSCE Office in Baku is implementing the campaign jointly with the Interior Ministry, the Azerbaijan Migration Center, the Clean World Public Union, the International Organization for Migration and the International Labor Organization.

"This anti-trafficking campaign will enable the government and its partners to mobilize efforts to raise public awareness about trafficking," said Melissa Stone, deputy head of the OSCE Office in Baku. "By raising public awareness, the campaign can warn would-be victims of the practices and techniques used by traffickers and ultimately prevent trafficking. It also serves to encourage the government to increase its assistance to and protection of trafficking victims."

The OSCE office in 2010 supported a similar campaign organized by all participating partner organizations. By the end of that campaign, Azerbaijan's anti-trafficking hotline had received around 500 calls reporting potential cases, up from the 100-150 calls usually received in a week.

70 human trafficking cases were reported in Azerbaijan in 2010, says Imran Najafov, deputy head of the Interior Ministry’s department on fighting human trafficking. 39 people were arraigned over related crimes and 34 victims of such offenses were identified last year.

According to official sources, human trafficking victims are mostly taken to Turkey, UAE, Iran and Russia.