OSCE CONCERNED THAT ARMENIA MAY BECOME A "THIRD" CATEGORY COUNTRY IN
TERMS OF TRAFFICKING LEVEL

Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Oct 19 2006

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 19, NOYAN TAPAN. "We are concerned that Armenia is
on the verge of passing from the "second" to the "third" category of
countries in terms of the level of trafficking. Ambassador July Finly,
the US delegation’s representative to the OSCE, stated this at the
OSCE-organized October 19 seminar on fight against trafficking.

According to her, this circumstance shows that the RA government’s
activities related to the fight against trafficking are unsatisfactory:
"International assistance cannot solve all problems of trafficking,
and the Armenian government must take an active part in this fight,"
July Finly said. She expressed a hope that Armenia in cooperation with
international organizations will be able to deal with these problems.

Valery Mkrtumian, Chairman of the Interdepartmental Commission on Fight
against Trafficking, assured that the fight against trafficking is in
the center of the Armenian government’s attention. He said that there
has been success in such issues as informing the population about
the problem, Armenia’s joining the international documents in this
sphere and the development of the respective legislation. At the same
time, according to him, an efficient fight against trafficking in all
directions, particularly in identifying and punishment of criminals,
has not been conducted yet.

Head of the OSCE Yerevan Office Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin said
that the RA government plans to work out a national program on fight
against trafficking in 2007-2009: "OSCE’s assistance for Armenia in
the country’s fight against trafficking is one of our priorities and
we will continue providing necessary help to the Armenian government,"
V. Pryakhin stated.