Combating human trafficking discussed at international scientific-practical conference in Minsk

Countering sexual violence, exploitation of minors, and the comprehensive fight against human trafficking were discussed at an international scientific and practical conference in Minsk, sb.by reports with reference to the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs

The International Training Centre for Training, Advanced Training, and Retraining in the Field of Migration and Counteracting Trafficking in Human Beings became the venue for the event. Law enforcement officers from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, representatives of the Bureau for Co-ordinating the Fight against Organised Crime and Other Dangerous Types of Crime in the Territory of the CIS Member States, the International Organisation for Migration and UNICEF in Belarus, participated in the forum.

Opening the event, the Deputy Internal Affairs Minister – Chief of the Criminal Police, Gennady Kazakevich, on behalf of the head of the department, expressed gratitude to those present for supporting the initiative and outlined the relevance of the conference theme, “The global situation is characterised by an increasing number of conflicts and migration flows, economic and political instability, and the digitalisation of destructive processes. These negative phenomena pose an additional threat to security in entire regions”

Human trafficking is one of the global problems, and related crimes and offences are relevant for Belarus. The Deputy Internal Affairs Minister stressed, “The measures taken make it possible to keep the situation in this area under control. Over the past five years, the facts of human trafficking revealed in the republic have been episodic and associated with the organisation of prostitution and involvement in it. Belarus pays special attention to the fight against modern forms of these crimes, and is a party to all the key international treaties that are being implemented at the national and interstate levels.”

Within the framework of the forum, participants discussed rehabilitation and reintegration activities to combat human trafficking, sexual violence, and exploitation of children and elaborated on methods of exposing intruders, including using Internet intelligence.