“Blue Heart” as a symbol of International Day against Trafficking in Persons

“Blue Heart” as a symbol of International Day against Trafficking in Persons

White slavery of 21^st century-trafficking, exists nearly in every country. Millions of women, men, and children are exploited every year, deprived of their basic human rights: freedom, movement, voice….

Trafficking victims are subjected to sexual and labor exploitation, involved in begging and sale of organ. No one is secured of becoming a trafficking victim, as traffickers do not take into count on sex, age, religion, nationality or social status.

But it is always possible to avoid trafficking by being informed and working together.

The World Day against Trafficking in Persons was proclaimed July 30 by the United Nations General Assembly and “Blue Heart” was chosen as the symbol of the fight against Trafficking. The Blue Heart Campaign, adopted by 12 countries, seeks to encourage involvement and inspire action to combat human trafficking.  In 2014, Armenia joined this ideology as a sign of support trafficking victims. The “Blue Heart” campaign against Human Trafficking works to raise awareness of the plight of victims and to build political support to fight the criminals behind trafficking.

Armenia’s results in the fight against trafficking are more than inspiring. This testifies Trafficking in Persons (TIP) annual Report, which is the principal diplomatic tool to engage foreign governments on human trafficking. It is the world’s most comprehensive resource of governmental anti-human trafficking efforts and represents an updated, global look at the nature and scope of trafficking in persons and the broad range of government actions to confront and eliminate it. Here’s mentioned that fifth year constantly Armenia is on Tier 1 group. This means that the government of Republic of Armenia fully meets the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s (TVPA) minimum standards.

Speaking about combating human trafficking, we can divide the activities into 3 main sections:

• partnerships within the country, between state and public sectors,
• interstate cooperation,
• ratification of international documents and declarations.

Republic of Armenia has undertaken and continues to implement all of the above mentioned points.

From the point of view of human trafficking, Armenia is a source country and, according to RA Police statistics Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Russia are the target countries for RA citizens.

Armenian legislation on trafficking is victim-centered. Trafficking victims receive a full package of assistance, whether they cooperate with law enforcement agencies or not.

The best way to avoid being deceived by traffickers is of being aware.

“Association of Audio-Visual Reporters” NGO has major role in combating against Trafficking, by being a member of Anti-Trafficking Working Group of Armenia, it cooperates with the state and non-governmental structures, international and local organizations, and carries out large-scale public and journalistic awareness campaigns in various formats: meetings, round-table discussions, knowledge competitions and training throughout the RA, by initiating and promoting awareness and prevention videos, clips, PSAs, as well as publishing guidelines and authorizing books.

www.antitrafficking.am and Anti-Trafficking Information Platform Armenia Facebook platform initiated and directly regulated by “Association of Audio-Visual Reporters” are aimed at sharing targeted materials and providing information assistance. On the site homepage and “Victims Support” section, you can find hotlines and help desk numbers.

Each of us can take part in the actions against human trafficking. Awareness is the key issue since trafficking is a transnational crime, against which should fight jointly.

By joining the “Blue Heart” ideology, we can not only aware public and keep away from traffickers, but also take actions to save and reintegrate trafficking victims.