Countering the risks of human trafficking amid the humanitarian crisis caused by the attack on Ukraine was at the centre of a two-day visit to Moldova by the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Margareta Cederfelt (Sweden), and the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Valiant Richey.
Cederfelt and Richey met with Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Nicu Popescu, and with interim General Prosecutor, Dumitru Robu. Discussions focused on assessing the risks of human trafficking in the country in light of the flows of people seeking refuge from Ukraine and strengthening Moldova’s response to these challenges, including in collaboration with the OSCE Mission to Moldova.
“Risks of trafficking in this humanitarian crisis are huge. No country can handle them alone. There needs to be a comprehensive, OSCE-wide effort to prevent this crisis from becoming a human trafficking crisis. This requires meeting immediate needs, granting access to child care, education, and employment, and investing in anti-trafficking structures to monitor high-risk sectors of the economy,” emphasised Richey.
On 21 April, Cederfelt and Richey visited Palanca Border Crossing Point and Police Officers at Tudora reception centre. During this visit, Cederfelt expressed her sincere gratitude for the tremendous work accomplished to help Ukrainian refugees.
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“Moldovan Border Guards are moving in the right direction to prevent and counter human trafficking. Protecting vulnerable people on the move is the responsibility of all OSCE participating States,” she stressed.
The visit also overlapped with an Anti-Trafficking and Gender Technical Co-ordination Meeting held by the OSCE Mission’s Office in Chisinau on the same day. During this event, participants discussed how the current humanitarian crisis also creates greater risks of gender-based violence, in particular, trafficking in human beings and sexual abuse.
During the course of the two-day visit, Cederfelt and Richey also met with the Head of the Human Rights Coordination Department and Social Dialogue at the State Chancellery, Diana Doros, the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Social Protection, Health and Family, Dan Perciun, the Interim Deputy General Prosecutor, Eduard Bulat and others.
Additional meetings at the Ministry of Internal Affairs also included the Director of the Centre for Combating Trafficking in Persons (CCTiP), Vasile Harea, and the Head of the Directorate for investigation of cybercrimes, Sergiu Rosca. Cederfelt also met with the Speaker of Parliament, Igor Grosu, and the pair met the Moldovan delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.