PRESS RELEASE
United Nations Development Programme / Armenia
14 Petros Adamyan St., Yerevan 0010
Contact: Mr. Hovhannes Sarajyan, Communications Associate
Tel: +37410 566 073
E-mail: hovhannes.sarajyan@undp.org<mailto:hovhannes.sa rajyan@undp.org>
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UNDP in Armenia and Partner Organizations Marked the International Day
for
Abolition of Slavery

Yerevan, 02 December 2009 – Today the International Day for Abolition
of Slavery was marked in Yerevan with participation of representatives
of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Armenia, RoA
Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Labor and Social Affairs, RoA Police,
Armenian Red Cross Association, Armenian UN Association and the
International Youth Bridges Association.

The International Day for Abolition of Slavery is one of the key days
being observed in Armenia within the campaign of "16 Days of Activism
Against Gender Violence" that was launched on 25 November.
On 2 December 1949, the UN General Assembly adopted the UN Convention
for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation
of the Prostitution of Others. Since then this International Day has
been used as a platform to mark the human efforts and determination to
fight against slavery. The UN estimates that annually more than
700,000 women, girls, men and boys are being trafficked across borders
away from their homes and families and into slavery.
Addressing the participants of the event, Mr. Dirk Boberg, UNDP
Resident Representative a.i., said, "Slavery is a booming
international trade, less obvious than before, but all around us. The
commemoration for abolition of slavery serves as a reminder that
contemporary forms of slavery – such as human trafficking, forced
prostitution, forced labor and the use of children in the
international drug trade – are still flourishing today, largely as a
result of vulnerability exacerbated by poverty, discrimination and
social exclusion."
The UN has a central position in regard to the fight against human
trafficking. It produced 3 key international Conventions on
trafficking in human beings: the Convention Against Transnational
Organized Crime, also called Palermo Convention (2000), and two
Palermo Protocols: the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish
Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, and the
Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and
Air. Armenia ratified the UN Convention Against Transnational
Organized Crime in 2003.

UNDP Anti-Trafficking Programme in Armenia, together with the
government institutions and the civil society, addresses human
trafficking issues in the country through capacity building,
prevention programs, public-awareness campaigns, as well as provision
of direct assistance to the victims. As part of the awareness raising
component, UNDP supports and facilitates local grass-root initiatives
to inform the vulnerable groups and the society, in general, about the
causes and ways to tackle the trafficking-related problems.
During the event a short documentary on National Referral Mechanism
(NRM), adopted by the Government of Armenia in 2008, was presented,
which elucidates the main objectives of the framework document and the
role of institutions which, as per NRM, should provide assistance to
the victims of trafficking, protect and promote the human rights of
trafficked persons.

During the event a short documentary on National Referral Mechanism (NRM),
adopted by the Government of Armenia in 2008, was presented, which
elucidates the main objectives of the framework document and the role
of institutions which, as per NRM, should provide assistance to the
victims of trafficking, protect and promote the human rights of
trafficked persons.

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UNDP is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and
connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help
people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries,
working with them on their own solutions to global and national
development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on
the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners. UNDP in Armenia was
established in 1993 and supports the Government of Armenia to reach
its own development priorities and the Millennium Development Goals by
2015.