OSCE Mission holds expert meeting to galvanize a support system for the victims of trafficking in Georgia

Creation of a robust mechanism to support human rights and justice for victims of trafficking was the focus of the conference, organized by the OSCE Mission to Georgia on April 22, 2005 at Tbilisi Marriott Hotel.

OSCE experts, key ministry officials, heads of anti – trafficking agencies, and leading civil society actors examined the existing support system for the victims of trafficking and worked on developing a National Referral Mechanism (NRM).

Specialists from OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) represented a detailed report assessing the level of victim protection and the system of prosecution of perpetrators. This assessment, consequent recommendations, as well as the results of conference discussions represent a roadmap for the development of a coherent legislative framework.

As part of its anti – trafficking strategy, the OSCE Mission to Georgia and OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has supported development of a draft law against human trafficking to be discussed at the 2005 spring session of the Parliament, as well as a 2-year National Action Plan to combat trafficking in human beings.