OSCE ANTI-TRAFFICKING MEETING DISCUSSES ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL REFERRAL MECHANISM IN ARMENIA

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| 17:18:27 | 15-06-2005 | Official |

As part of its efforts to help combat human trafficking in Armenia,
the OSCE Office in Yerevan organized a meeting today with Armenian
officials and NGO representatives to discuss the establishment of a
so-called National Referral Mechanism in the country.

National Referral Mechanisms (NRMs) are co-operative frameworks through
which state institutions – in partnership with civil society – fulfill
their obligations to protect the human rights of trafficked persons.

“The successful prosecution of traffickers and protection of victims
requires strong action and co-ordination on the national level by
both state institutions and NGOs,” said Blanka Hancilova, the OSCE
Office’s Democratization Officer.

“An NRM in Armenia would have the benefit of bringing together all
relevant actors in the country in a national network, which would
institutionalize efforts to assist trafficking victims. This would
in turn contribute to making prevention of trafficking more effective
in Armenia,” she said.

The participants at the event, who represented the Armenian
Inter-Agency Commission on Anti-Trafficking Issues and members of
the NGO community, stressed that the establishment of an NRM was
a critical step in creating a comprehensive policy to fight human
trafficking in Armenia.

The meeting, which was organized with support from the OSCE’s
Warsaw-based Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
(ODIHR) and the US State Department, forms part of a broader effort
by the OSCE Office to strengthen identification mechanisms, promote
information exchange, and increase awareness of the importance of
victim assistance and protection.

“The OSCE Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings has
identified the importance of the protection of victims’ rights for
a successful fight against trafficking. This meeting has brought us
one step forward in translating these commitments into practice in
Armenia,” said Astrid Ganterer, Advisor on Anti-Trafficking issues
at the ODIHR.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress