Asia through Russia and into Europe. These stronger ties can also help encourage countries that are more suspicious and sometimes hostile to outside intervention to work together. A successful and current example of this is OSCE’s mission in Uzbekistan. They work to combat sex trafficking through sponsored training courses for women’s rights groups and the National Federation of Trade Unions. These groups all work together to empower individuals that are high risk targets for various forms of human trafficking. They also work to implement projects and workshops for law enforcement officials and other NGOs to help ensure rights of trafficked persons are being protected.42 Greater cooperation between law enforcement agencies makes it easier to restrict and/or eliminate trafficking routes. Increased awareness and understanding of victims’ trauma also make officers more approachable. This encourages victims to speak about their ordeal and can lead to uncovering more trafficking routes and methods.
RECOMMENDED COURSE OF ACTION Multi-level Approach with Domestic Focus The most effective approach is one that incorporates proposed solutions 2 through 6. For an immediate course of action, solutions 2 and 6 should be adopted. Countries in Central Asia should follow Kazakhstan and Russia’s lead by participating in trainings hosted by INTERPOL and other entities. This will help ensure that everyone is fully educated on the issue, provide resource contacts, and strengthen international as well as regional support and cooperation. This could help establish a solid foundation that a region-specific anti-trafficking unit could be built on in the future. The countries in this region are poor, so this would go a long way in helping cut costs while still providing an effective response. Furthermore, the knowledge from these trainings can be funneled down into
domestic awareness campaigns for professional and public audiences. For a midterm solution, solutions 3 and 4 should be adopted. Countries should work on implementing the components of the Palermo Protocols into their legal framework. Having specific laws in place to prosecute human trafficking crimes as such rather than under other criminal or civil laws will strengthen penalties against traffickers and protect victims. Organized crime syndicates should also not be ignored or placed above the law. Improved referral mechanisms will lead to more court cases which, in turn, will generate higher conviction rates. Uzbekistan is in the process of drafting new Criminal Code framework, so they could end-up being a shining example of this in the not too distant future. More cohesive laws will lead to better recording of sex trafficking cases. This will help improve sex trafficking data in this region and lead to improvements in anti-human trafficking databases. These improvements will make utilizing these types of tools more efficient overall and give this region a reason to invest in them. Regarding the long-term solution, education and economic build up should be the main focus. As such, solution 2 and 6 should be continued and approved upon. Stronger regional ties coupled with improved internal stability will go a long way in bolstering the regional economy. This will make monitoring sex trafficking activities and routes more manageable in this area. By making continued improvements and demonstrating a willingness to change, it will show the international community that this region is actively trying. This will make adopting solution 5 easier since this solution requires the U.S. Increased foreign aid will further encourage education efforts and job creation.
42 “Combating human trafficking: OSCE Project Co-Ordinator in Uzbekistan,” Combating Human Trafficking, OSCE, accessed April 2, 2020, https://www. osce.org/uzbekistan/106120
Vol. 12, Issue 1
December 2020
49
