Armenia starts a centre to support victims of trafficking

Yesterday, on November 4, Arsen Ambartsumyan, Minister for Labour and Social Matters of Armenia, and Ambassador Sergey Kapinos, head of the Yerevan-based OSCE Office, signed a memorandum on mutual understanding named "On setting up a support and resource centre for improving defence of victims of trafficking in humans".

According to the memorandum, signed by the parties, the newly established centre will carry out the following functions: analysis of Armenian legislation on counteracting exploitation of people; assessment and analysis of enforcement of adopted international obligations and norms of legislation; providing the agencies engaged in the struggle on trafficking with the respective information; provision of data and sources of information related to risks of trafficking and safe migration; organization of seminars for employees in the social sphere, representatives of public organizations, journalists, law enforcers and other interested entities and persons.

The portal "Blagovest-Info" reports that the attendants of the Armenian Apostolic Church are also developing methods to struggle against trafficking and defend victims of sexual slavery.

Let us note here that Armenia, same as Georgia and Azerbaijan, was ranked among the second category of countries, where women, children and men become objects of trafficking in humans with the aim of sexual exploitation and forced labour. This is said in the recently published report of the US State Department on trafficking in humans. In particular, as regards Armenia, it is emphasized that it is mainly the country of origin and, to a lesser degree, the country of transit and destination for women and girls who are taken away for sexual exploitation mainly to the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.