1. Comparative analysis of the legislation of
the Republic of Belarus and the European Union countries in the domain of
combating trafficking in women in the Republic of Belarus.
2. Functioning of “hot-line” telephone
service to prevent trafficking in women in the Republic of Belarus.
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“Hot-line” telephone service providing free information to
persons (specifically women) who leave the country for purposes of foreign
employment/marriage, is financed in the framework of the project. Highly
skilled specialists of the “hot-line” telephone service work every day from 9
a.m. till 9 p.m., including days off and holidays. Since 16 April 2004, the
information telephone line operators have switched to a new operating
schedule:
- counselling services are provided by two operators concurrently;
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a “toll-free” number (8-801-100-8-801) has been installed for the population
of Belarus to be used free of charge, which has removed existing territorial
barriers and made the “hot-line” telephone service available in any region of
Belarus.
3. Establishing a shelter for victims of trafficking in women in the Republic of Belarus.
On July 29 the shelter was opened on the basis of the City Centre of social assistance to family and children. The Centre has already been fully staffed.
4. Shooting a documentary “Ally’s Dream” on the problem of trafficking in women.
The premiere of the film was held on September 28, 2004.
5. Creating an electronic database on specialised agencies/organisations in both the Republic of Belarus and Europe, which provide assistance to victims of trafficking in women, as well as other information (legal, medical).
The monthly updated database is available at
site http://www.basw-ngo-by.net/ CD-information is also disseminated among the participants of the Project events.
6. International Conference “Legislation of the Republic of Belarus and the European Union Countries in the Domain of Combating Trafficking in Women” 4-5 November 2003, Minsk, Belarus
More than 100 representatives of state agencies, EU embassies, NGOs, Mass Media took part in the conference. Participants of the conference from Belarus, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, Moldova, Switzerland, and Sweden adopted a resolution which had accumulated the recommendations proposed by the conference participants. The resolution was later submitted to the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus for consideration and recommended to the ministries for implementation.
7. Seminar “Cooperation of Governmental and Non-Governmental Organizations in Combating Trafficking in Persons and Exchange of Experience on Reintegration and Assistance for the Victims of Trafficking” 3 - 6 February 2004,Chisinau, Moldova.
The Belarusian delegates have had a number of meetings with representatives of governmental and nongovernmental organisations combating trafficking in human beings in Moldova. Practical work has been done by working groups, and a comprehensive analysis of prosecution and law-enforcement practices in Belarus and Moldova has been made.
8. Seminars “Informational and Educational Activities Aimed at Preventing Trafficking in Women in the Republic of Belarus” 25-26 February 2004, Minsk, 6-7 April 2004, Vitebsk.
More than 100 representatives of educational establishments and schools – teachers of the “Man, Society, State” subject and social educators from rural schools – from all regions of the country have attended the seminars. The purpose of the seminars was to acquaint the participants with the problem of trafficking in persons, which is a serious violation of human rights and one of the most acute social problems, as well as with the methodological handout materials that they could use in their work and enhance the awareness of the problem by the school.
9. Seminar "Journalism as a Preventive Step in Combating Trafficking in Human Beings"27-29 February 2004, Raubichi, Belarus.
More than 60 representatives of mass media, international organisations, ministries, embassies accredited in Belarus, and some nongovernmental organisations attended the seminar.
The participants have discussed the role of mass media in forming a public opinion about victims of trafficking in women in Belarus, responsibility of journalists for their materials on this issue, and interaction between mass media representatives and law-enforcement agencies.
10. Seminars “Exchange of Experience and Ways to Improve Cooperation in the Field of Combating Trafficking in Human Beings in the Regions of Belarus” 26-27 April 2004, Vitebsk, 29-30 April 2004, Gomel.
Seminars were held on 26-27 April in Vitebsk and on 29-30 April in Gomel for representatives of oblast structures of the MoI, KGB, State Committee of Border Troops, public prosecutor’s office, and nongovernmental organisations. Experts from the police and nongovernmental organizations of EU countries were invited to the seminars.
120 persons have attended the seminars; the problems of combating trafficking in human beings in the EU countries, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova, including the problems of prevention, prosecution, assistance to victims of trafficking, as well as interaction on inter-state and international levels, have been discussed.
11. Purchasing office equipment for ministries and other units of government, the major partners in the implementation of the project (Ministry of the Interior, State Committee of Border Troops, Ministry of Labour and Social Protection), NGOs.
Office equipment (computers, fax machines, scanners, Xerox machines, PCs, video cameras, cameras, and other special-purpose equipment) has been purchased in the reporting period for the Ministry of the Interior, the State Committee of Border Troops and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection to create a computer-aided information exchange system.
12. Using mass media for waging a preventive information campaign.
A press conference was held on 16 April 2004 to present the “toll free number” of the hot-line telephone service available to the population of Belarus free of charge, and the e-database on specialised agencies/organisations in the Republic of Belarus and Europe, which provide assistance to victims of trafficking in women. The press conference has been attended by representatives of all TV channels of Belarus, Russian TV channels, and national newspapers of Belarus and the Russian Federation.
A “talk-show” on the theme of trafficking in women was organised on Gomel regional TV network. The participants of the seminar being held in Gomel and the EU experts attending the seminar, were invited to the “talk-show”. Since May of this year, NTV, BT and LAD TV channels have being showing social advertisements of the hot-line service.
13. The seminar “Improvement of the legislation of the Republic of Belarus in the domain of combating trafficking in human beings” was held on 15-16 November in Minsk, the Republic of Belarus.
14. A study visit was organized for representatives of governmental and non-governmental organizations to exchange experience in the field of reintegration and rehabilitation of victims of trafficking in persons (24-26 November 2004, Amsterdam, The Netherlands).
15. Presentation of the Project to the representatives of EU embassies and international organizations.
16. Study seminar for representatives of state agencies and NGOs “Experience of the Federal Republic of Germany in Combating Trafficking, Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Victims of Trafficking” (April, 17-22), Berlin, Germany.
17. Publishing a Handbook “Review of the Legislation of the Republic of Belarus and EU Member States in the Domain of Combating Trafficking in Human Beings. Recommendations on How to Improve this Legislation in the Republic of Belarus”, (May 2005).
18. Carrying out a social survey on the problem of human trafficking in the Republic of Belarus (July, 2005).
19. International round table for
parliamentarians of the Republic of Belarus and Russian Federation, state
authorities of Russia and Belarus involved in counteracting trafficking in human
beings “Europe: Joint Efforts in Combating Human Trafficking” (May 31 – June 1,
2005). |
