Chernihiv law enforcement officers improve their skills in combating human trafficking

On July 25, 2014, a training on the prevention and counteraction of human trafficking was held in Chernihiv for employees of the police district inspector service and the department for combating crimes related to human trafficking of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in Chernihiv region.

The main objective of the event was to promote a better understanding of the problem of human trafficking by the participants – police district inspectors, to strengthen their ties with specialized police units for combating human trafficking in order to investigate committed crimes and prosecute traffickers, to raise awareness among police officers about methods of preventing this phenomenon, identifying and referring victims, and to establish cooperation between law enforcement agencies and non-governmental organizations dealing with these issues.

The trainer of the event was one of the leading Ukrainian experts in this field –

Kateryna Levchenko

, President of the International Women’s Human Rights Center “La Strada – Ukraine”. In particular, Ms. Levchenko emphasized the importance of preventive work by police officers in the field of preventing human trafficking, participation in the identification of victims and the process of establishing the status of a person who has been trafficked.

As noted during the event by the head of the department for combating crimes related to human trafficking of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in Chernihiv region

Anton Myloserdov

, during 2014, 6 court verdicts were issued in Chernihiv region (in Ukraine in general – 63 cases) under Article 149 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Human trafficking or other illegal agreement on the transfer of a person), 13 more persons were served with a notice of suspicion, 15 criminal proceedings were sent to court. In terms of crime detection indicators in this area, Chernihiv law enforcement officers have been among the best in Ukraine for several years now.

At the same time, due to the border location of the region, low income levels, unemployment and legal ignorance, residents of Chernihiv region continue to seek a better fate and earnings abroad. Therefore, it is not uncommon for them to fall into the hands of recruiters and become victims of labor and sexual exploitation, in most cases in the Russian Federation.

That is why the organizers of the event hope that after training, police officers will be able to provide professional advice to citizens at their stations on issues of safe travel to work abroad, how to avoid scammers when finding work abroad, etc.

“Thanks to such joint efforts and activities, human rights defenders help increase the level of trust between the police and the public, which will contribute to better obtaining information about cases of human trafficking and increasing the willingness of the victim to report such offenses,” – noted

Kateryna Levchenko

, summing up the discussion.

The training was organized by the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights within the framework of the project “Local Communities Against Human Trafficking” with the support of the Democracy Promotion Foundation of the US Embassy in Ukraine.