MC(8).DEC/1

28 November 2000

Original: ENGLISH

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

Ministerial Council

Vienna 2000

2nd day of the Eighth Meeting

MC(8) Journal No. 2, Agenda Item 10

DECISION No. 1

ENHANCING THE OSCE’S EFFORTS TO COMBAT
TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN BEINGS

The Ministerial Council,

Bearing in mind the Charter for European Security, which commits participating States “to undertake measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women, and to end violence against women and children as well as sexual exploitation and all forms of trafficking in human beings” and to “promote the adoption or strengthening of legislation to hold accountable persons responsible for these acts and strengthening the protection of victims”,

Recalling the OSCE commitments on combating the traffic in human beings contained in the Moscow Document of 1991,

Recognizing that trafficking in human beings is an increasing problem and convinced of the necessity for the OSCE to enhance its efforts to combat trafficking in human beings throughout the OSCE region, including in conflict and post-conflict situations, and to contribute to national, regional and international anti-trafficking efforts in defence of human rights and the fight against transnational organized crime,

1. Reaffirms that trafficking in human beings is an abhorrent human rights abuse and a serious crime that demands a more comprehensive and co-ordinated response from participating States and the international community, as well as a more coherent and co-operative approach among countries, in particular those of origin, transit and destination;

2. Welcomes the adoption, by the United Nations General Assembly, of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime as well as the definition of trafficking in persons contained therein and calls upon all participating States to sign and ratify the United Nations Protocol as well as the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography;

3. Recognizes the primary responsibility of participating States in combating trafficking based on an integrated and co-ordinated approach which includes prevention of trafficking, protection of victims and prosecution of traffickers and their accomplices;

4. Stresses the role of national parliaments in the enactment, among others, of laws necessary to combat trafficking in human beings and welcomes articles 106 and 107 of the Parliamentary Assembly’s Bucharest Declaration on trafficking in persons;

5. Agrees to strengthen the activities of the OSCE to combat trafficking and emphasizes the need for intensified co-operation between different OSCE institutions as well as between the OSCE and other international organizations, such as relevant United Nations agencies, the International Organization for Migration, the Council of Europe, the European Union and Interpol;

6. Supports the work of the Stability Pact Task Force on Trafficking in Human Beings and calls in particular for the governments of the region concerned to play an active role in the Task Force;

7. Calls on OSCE institutions, in particular the ODIHR, and field operations, to develop and implement anti-trafficking programmes and to promote co-ordinated efforts in the areas of prevention, prosecution and protection, in co-operation with non-governmental organizations as well as international organizations and other relevant institutions;

8. Undertakes to raise awareness, including with assistance from the ODIHR, non-governmental organizations and other relevant institutions, through, where necessary, establishing training programmes among public officials, including law enforcement, judiciary, consular and immigration officials, about all aspects of trafficking;

9. Commits to take necessary measures, including by adopting and implementing legislation, to criminalize trafficking in human beings, including appropriate penalties, with a view to ensuring effective law enforcement response and prosecution. Such legislation should take into account a human rights approach to the problem of trafficking, and include provision for the protection of the human rights of victims, ensuring that victims of trafficking do not face prosecution solely because they have been trafficked;

10. Will consider adopting legislative or other appropriate measures, such as shelters, which permit victims of trafficking in persons to remain in their territories, temporarily or permanently, in appropriate cases; and establishing appropriate repatriation processes for the victims of trafficking, with due regard to their safety, including the provision of documents; and developing policies concerning the provision of economic and social benefits to victims as well as their rehabilitation and reintegration in society;

11. Encourages the nomination, where appropriate, of governmental representatives on trafficking to co-ordinate national activities and to ensure regional and international co-operation and to make this contact information available to other participating States;

12. Recognizes that OSCE field operations, within the legal framework of the host countries, can have a valuable role to play in the fight against trafficking, including by regular monitoring and reporting and assisting State authorities through, inter alia, promoting dialogue and acting as a bridge between governments and non-governmental organizations; and institutions, in resolving individual trafficking cases; and calls on field operations to strengthen co-operation among themselves;

13. Calls on the OSCE Secretariat, in co-operation with the ODIHR, to intensify anti‑trafficking training in its induction programmes for OSCE field personnel in order to enhance their capacity to monitor, report and respond to the problem of trafficking through regular OSCE activities; and to raise awareness within OSCE institutions and among OSCE personnel of the problems of trafficking; these training programmes should also be made available to participating States and other international organizations;

14. Welcomes the further development of the OSCE Secretariat’s Code of Conduct for OSCE Mission Members to include provisions on trafficking in human beings and other human rights abuses, looks forward to its speedy implementation by all OSCE structures and institutions, requests heads of OSCE field operations to take appropriate measures if members of their staff use trafficking victims, and encourages all other international bodies, where appropriate, to adopt similar standards and practices.