Two thousand human trafficking victims benefit annually from UN Trust Fund

Two thousand human trafficking victims benefit annually from UN Trust Fund

The UN Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, helps trafficking victims reclaim their dignity and their lives, an audience heard yesterday, On 14th of April, at a high-level event held on the margins of the 13th Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.

In his remarks, UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov said that the UN Trust Fund was helping today’s victims become tomorrow’s survivors, writes official web-site of UNODC.

“Some two thousand victims annually benefitted from direct assistance, including provision of shelter, basic health services, vocational training and schooling, as well as psychosocial, legal and economic support,” he said.

Mr. Fedotov used his speech to bring home the appalling experiences of trafficking survivors, whose names had been changed to protect their anonymity. These survivors include girls such as Skye, trafficked to India when she was only 13 years old. Skye managed to escape back home to Nepal, and filed a case against her trafficker.

With the help of Shakti Samuha, a Nepal-based non-profit organization that received support from the UN Trust Fund, Skye won her case. She has now finished school and works as a staff member at the non-profit helping other survivors.

The event was chaired by Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the chair of the board of trustees of the UN Trust Fund. Other speakers included, UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, and Sunita Damuwar, President of the Board of Shakti Samuha and Paul Adepelumi, Executive Director of the African Centre for Advocacy and Human Development ACAHD.

The UN Trust Fund was established through the UN General Assembly’s 2010 Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons and is administered by UNODC. It provides humanitarian, legal and financial aid to victims through governmental, inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Since it became operational in November 2010, the UN Trust Fund has received just over two million dollars in paid contributions from 19 countries and more than 30 private-sector donors.

A total of 11 projects in Albania, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, France, Kenya, Israel, Moldova, Nepal, Nigeria and the US received nearly US$750,000 in the Trust Fund’s first call for projects. A new project round will provide funds of nearly US$1 million for 17 projects.

From 12 to 19 April 2015, Qatar is hosting the Thirteenth UN Crime Congress in Doha which brings together governments, policy-makers and experts to exchange their experiences and intensify international cooperation in tackling the threat of transnational organized crime.

Armenia is presented on Congress by representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Justice.

As the international community continues to discuss the post-2015 development agenda, so the 13th Crime Congress will consider how best to integrate crime prevention and criminal justice into the wider UN agenda. It will focus on links between security, justice and the rule of law, and the attainment of a better, more equitable world.

To remind, that on 8th of April Special Meeting of RA Human Trafficking Committee adjacent Working Group on Combating Trafficking took place in the framework of United Nations 13th Congress on Crime prevention and Criminal justice in Yerevan National Library.

One of the central questions discussed at the meeting was Human trafficking Issue and success story of Armenia as a good example in trafficking prevention for other countries.

As UN Resident Representatives in Armenia Bradley Busetto said Armenian Government made a great job in cooperation with international and local organizations for the purpose of trafficking prevention.

According to Human Trafficking Global Report published by UNODC in 2014 year there are 152 nationalities among victims in 124 countries of the world. From 2010-2012, from each 10 country, only in 4 countries registered were 10 or more convictions.

Although 146 countries have already adopted legislation criminalizing Human trafficking, 18 countries-private legislation, the immunity from punishment still remains a problem. From 2010-2012 from each 10th country, only in 4 countries, cases of 10 or more conviction with trafficking crime have been registered, and in 15 percent of the countries no conviction has been registered.

According to UN data 53 percent of identified victims in 2011 year subjected to sexual trafficking, 40 percent were subjected to forced labor, been exploited in cruel conditions in agriculture, horticulture, construction, catering, hotel and restaurant businesses.

Photo: Official web-site of UNODC