A republican scientific-practical conference was held in Dushanbe on October 26 to discuss human trafficking issues.

It was noted during the conference that registered human trafficking cases have doubled in the country over the first nine month of this year.

41 cases of human trafficking were registered in Tajikistan in January-September this year, which is 21 cases more than in the same nine-month period last year.

The Interior Ministry’s official website notes that the conference participants discussed ways to solve the human trafficking problems, including measures to prevent human trafficking and protect trafficking victims.   

As reported over the past six years, human traffickers exploit victims from Tajikistan abroad and, to a lesser extent, traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims within the country.  Extensive economic migration exposes Tajikistani men, women, and children to the risk of human trafficking.

The 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report by the US State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons notes that labor traffickers exploit Tajikistani men and women in agriculture and construction primarily in Russia, UAE, Kazakhstan, and Saudi Arabia, as well as in other neighboring Central Asian countries, Turkey, and Afghanistan.

Labor traffickers exploit men in agriculture, construction, and at markets in Tajikistan; there are limited reports of domestic sex trafficking of men. According to an international organization, a large number of domestic trafficking cases involved women and girls in sex trafficking or domestic servitude.  Sex traffickers exploit women and children from Tajikistan most commonly in Turkey, UAE, and Russia; also in Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Georgia, India, and Afghanistan; and within Tajikistan.

Ten solutions by DevelopmentAid to stop human trafficking:

1. Raise awareness: Human trafficking flourishes when it happens in the ‘dark’ and therefore informing people of this serious crime can be the first and most important step in preventing it.
2. Work on preventive measures: Taking early preventive steps to combat the spread of human trafficking is of paramount importance. Governmental agencies, NGOs, and volunteers should work on the ground, warning every vulnerable group, building strategies that can eliminate the factors that contribute to vulnerability, and creating healthy environments where such social groups can flourish.
3. Reduce demand at the source: This involves stakeholders taking effective measures to eliminate the demand that fosters all forms of human exploitation.
4. Roll out dedicated media campaigns: These can be used to highlight the problem of human trafficking for the majority of social groups. By reaching out to multiple groups, the effect of awareness-raising is not only greater but it also makes it more difficult for traffickers to achieve their objectives.
5. Become a mentor: Each one of us can identify a person or a group of people who are at risk of being trafficked and guide them to avoid risky situations.
6. Improve law enforcement: Such efforts are necessary to strengthen the quality and timeliness of responses to crimes associated with human trafficking. Furthermore, encouraging communication and information exchange between national, regional, and international agencies can lead to the identification and conviction of traffickers.
7. Volunteer: Assisting local and international non-governmental organizations in their mission to eradicate human trafficking is an effective and moral approach to contribute to fighting this crime.
8. Form partnerships: This relates specifically to NGOs, the private sector, and governmental agencies that are encouraged to merge resources to increase their impact on fighting human trafficking.
9. Create support programs: All victims who are subject to human trafficking require urgent and meticulous medical, psychological and material assistance. In some situations, protection from the aggressors may also be necessary.
10. Better knowledge: Continuous research into the scope and nature of human trafficking is necessary to develop and disseminate improved measures and policies to combat this issue.

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