Anti-Trafficking in Persons
Legal Advisor Terry Kinney State Duma Comments on the Problem of Human Trafficking
Moscow
November 29, 2004
Dear Mr. Chairman,
Respected Deputies,
Invited Guests,
Thank you for the opportunity to speak to this distinguished body about the global problem of human trafficking. The United States Embassy is pleased to work with the Duma to address the issue of trafficking in persons, a serious problem both of our nations confront. I would like to discuss the significant progress Russia has made in the last year as well as offer some suggestions on how Russia can strengthen its legislation to address this evil.
Human Trafficking is a global problem that afflicts all nations and requires international cooperation to effectively combat . Present estimates are that 600,000 to 800,000 trafficking victims are taken across international borders each year and the vast majority of these victims are young women and children. Women and children are trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation, men are trafficked into forced labor, and children are trafficked into war as soldiers. Trafficking is a global health threat that helps to spread HIV/AIDs and other terrible diseases. Trafficking is a prime source of income for international organized crime and threatens global security because profits from trafficking fund organized crime groups Last year, President Putin stated that human trafficking was the third largest source of income for Russian organized crime, after drugs and arms trafficking.
In October 2003, President Putin also decried trafficking as a form of modern slavery that entails the most brutal and cruel violations of human rights. Since that time, Russia has amended its criminal code to criminalize human trafficking and in August of this year, created a witness protection program. We have learned from discussions with Russian law enforcement that Russia is aggressively investigating and prosecuting trafficking cases, both locally and transnationally and employing both traditional criminal statutes as well as the new amendments to the Russian criminal code. The MVD is in the process of developing specialized anti-trafficking units which work closely with their counterparts in neighboring countries to investigate transnational trafficking. The MVD is developing comprehensive anti-trafficking training courses and materials, and an anti-TIP manual in order to develop a well-trained, knowledgeable, professional cadre of officers capable of effectively investigating and aggressively prosecuting trafficking cases. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working with trafficking victims abroad to help repatriate them. This conference is an excellent example of the efforts the Russian government has undertaken to make the public aware of trafficking issues and in the course of the next several months, 6 regional conferences will be held throughout Russia. This is truly significant progress in a short period of time.
But more work remains to be done to combat this problem. Russia needs a comprehensive trafficking victim assistance program – there is a dearth of shelters for trafficking victims, and very few, if any mechanisms to assist trafficking victims with the myriad of problems, medical, social, and economic, they face after being rescued. Russia needs a comprehensive trafficking referral mechanism which offers guidelines for public sector and private sector actors including NGOs to identify victims, and to provide support and care and to ensure the safe treatment of trafficking victims. While Russia has undertaken public awareness programs, those programs must be expanded and targeted to reach vulnerable populations and the public at large. While Russia has created a witness protection program, it must be implemented carefully to be effective. Russia needs effective asset forfeiture legislation so traffickers can be deprived of ill earned profits. Whether by taskforce or government office, Russia should create a central authority or national coordinator to oversee and coordinate the many different agency and governmental anti-trafficking initiatives in Russia. Russia should consider establishing a round table or council of senior representatives from government agencies and NGOs to develop recommendations for national policies and procedures regarding trafficking victims, and to ensure that the many agencies and NGOs working on human trafficking issues work together closely.
This is a global problem and close cooperation between our countries to address this issue is critical. Most recently, the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation and the United States Department of Justice have begun to assemble an anti-trafficking working group consisting of law enforcement officials from both countries prepared to work together on trafficking cases. In a similar vein, the Embassy in Moscow has been privileged to work closely with the government of Russia -- the Duma, the Presidential Administration, and law enforcement. We have a long experience of dealing with trafficking, both from a legislative and victim perspective, and welcome the opportunity to work together with you. We have an extraordinarily effective witness protection program which is responsible in large part for our success in dealing with organized crime in America.
It is our hope to work even closer with you in the future on this mutual problem , and in this spirit, we have asked Dr. Mohammed Mattar, a pre-eminent international expert in human trafficking from the Protection Project at John Hopkins University, to address you. Dr. Mattar has testified many times before the United States Congress in furtherance of trafficking legislative reform. It is our hope that Dr. Mattar will share with us his great expertise in addressing the problem of trafficking, and highlight areas where we can continue to work together on this mutual problem.