Armenia commended by OSCE for making progress in combating labor trafficking
24.12.2015,
13:51
Head of the OSCE Yerevan Office, Andrey Sorokin, commended today Armenian authorities for making progress in the fight against trafficking. Sorokin spoke at the presentation of an OSCE-supported pilot study that aims to improve the identification of forced labor and labor trafficking cases among adults and children in Armenia, and to strengthen joint efforts to address related challenges.
YEREVAN, December 24. /ARKA/. Head of the OSCE Yerevan Office, Andrey Sorokin, commended today Armenian authorities for making progress in the fight against trafficking. Sorokin spoke at the presentation of an OSCE-supported pilot study that aims to improve the identification of forced labor and labor trafficking cases among adults and children in Armenia, and to strengthen joint efforts to address related challenges.
"If the fight against this crime continues in the same spirit, Armenia will soon sharply differ from other countries in terms of positive solution of all these complex issues," said Sorokin.
He said government bodies and non-governmental organizations in Armenia coordinate their efforts to fight against this problem. 'Unfortunately, the OSCE does not have statistics on the number of persons subjected to trafficking in Armenia", said Sorokin.
Deputy foreign minister Ashot Hovakimyan said the US Department of State’s 2015 Report o Trafficking in Persons, covering 188 countries, Armenia earned its Tier 1 ranking by taking concrete actions to fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. He said Armenia has maintained the high status for the third year in a row.
The OSCE-supported study, conducted by the Caucasus Research Resource Centre-Armenia with the support of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, revealed the susceptibility of large and financially vulnerable families to forced labor and labor trafficking.
It revealed violations connected with agreed and actual wages, the absence of signed labor contracts and formal procedures to quit jobs, overtime work without due remuneration, and possible cases of labor exploitation breaching the Labor Code rather than cases of forced labor and labor trafficking. Cases of violations of children’s rights were also revealed, including forced labor, requiring intervention by relevant bodies.
“The OSCE Office in Yerevan has provided support to the national actors to enhance the implementation of OSCE commitments in combating human trafficking, and my Office will continue prioritizing activities aimed at improving current anti-trafficking mechanisms,” said Andrey Sorokin.
As part of the study, 300 households were surveyed to identify baseline data on the extent to which the population and specific demographic sectors are vulnerable to trafficking and to assess issues related to forced labor and labor trafficking in Yerevan, and Ararat, Kotayk, Lori, Shirak and Syunik regions. There was also focus on the extent to which children, especially those in schools and institutions for minors without parental care in the selected regions are prone to labor exploitation and abuse.
Members of the Inter-agency Anti-trafficking Working Group, which consists of representatives of several NGOs, relevant ministries and state agencies working to combat forced labor and human trafficking, as well as national experts involved in the pilot study, discussed the findings of the study during today’s presentation.
The OSCE Office in Yerevan said it will provide support to the Working Group to develop a new three-year National Action Plan on Combating Human Trafficking, taking into consideration the study’s recommendations. -0-
"If the fight against this crime continues in the same spirit, Armenia will soon sharply differ from other countries in terms of positive solution of all these complex issues," said Sorokin.
He said government bodies and non-governmental organizations in Armenia coordinate their efforts to fight against this problem. 'Unfortunately, the OSCE does not have statistics on the number of persons subjected to trafficking in Armenia", said Sorokin.
Deputy foreign minister Ashot Hovakimyan said the US Department of State’s 2015 Report o Trafficking in Persons, covering 188 countries, Armenia earned its Tier 1 ranking by taking concrete actions to fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. He said Armenia has maintained the high status for the third year in a row.
The OSCE-supported study, conducted by the Caucasus Research Resource Centre-Armenia with the support of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, revealed the susceptibility of large and financially vulnerable families to forced labor and labor trafficking.
It revealed violations connected with agreed and actual wages, the absence of signed labor contracts and formal procedures to quit jobs, overtime work without due remuneration, and possible cases of labor exploitation breaching the Labor Code rather than cases of forced labor and labor trafficking. Cases of violations of children’s rights were also revealed, including forced labor, requiring intervention by relevant bodies.
“The OSCE Office in Yerevan has provided support to the national actors to enhance the implementation of OSCE commitments in combating human trafficking, and my Office will continue prioritizing activities aimed at improving current anti-trafficking mechanisms,” said Andrey Sorokin.
As part of the study, 300 households were surveyed to identify baseline data on the extent to which the population and specific demographic sectors are vulnerable to trafficking and to assess issues related to forced labor and labor trafficking in Yerevan, and Ararat, Kotayk, Lori, Shirak and Syunik regions. There was also focus on the extent to which children, especially those in schools and institutions for minors without parental care in the selected regions are prone to labor exploitation and abuse.
Members of the Inter-agency Anti-trafficking Working Group, which consists of representatives of several NGOs, relevant ministries and state agencies working to combat forced labor and human trafficking, as well as national experts involved in the pilot study, discussed the findings of the study during today’s presentation.
The OSCE Office in Yerevan said it will provide support to the Working Group to develop a new three-year National Action Plan on Combating Human Trafficking, taking into consideration the study’s recommendations. -0-
