Trafficking in human beings

La Strada perceives human trafficking as a violation of human rights, that should be treated accordingly.

In accordance with the Law of the Republic of Moldova on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings,  human trafficking defines recruiting, transporting, transfer, hosting or receiving persons, by means of threat of force or use of force or other forms of coercion, kidnaping, abduction, fraud, deception, of abuse of authority or a situation of vulnerability, or by means of offering or receiving payments or benefits of any kind in order to obtain the consent of a person who has control over another person for the purpose of exploitation of the latter. The Republic of Moldova created a legal and institutional framework for prevention and combating, and these efforts are coordinated by the National Committee for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings.

The Republic of Moldova engaged to fulfill a range of obligations related to combating the trafficking in human beings, by signing and ratifying international conventions in this regard, such as the Protocol to prevent, suppress  and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children (Palermo Protocol), the European Council Convention on combating trafficking in human beings and the UN Convention against transnational organized crime.

The Republic of Moldova created a legal and institutional framework for preventing and combating trafficking in human beings, and these efforts are coordinated by the National Committee for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings.

During the last years, according to the data provided by the UNODC report for the Republic of Moldova, the human trafficking phenomenon decreased for the area of trafficking in persons in general, but it did not chance in the area of trafficking in children. In this regard, the Republic of Moldova continues its efforts in minimizing the phenomenon, based on the expertise and professionalism of the main actors involved, efforts that have been appreciated in the latest GRETA Report and in the  Trafficking in Persons Report of the US Department of State. On 22 May 2018 the Government of RM approved the Decision no. 461 regarding the National Strategy for Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings for the years 2018-2023 and the Action Plan for its implementation, 2018-2020.  

Hotline Statistics

  • 150 105 calls received by the Hotline
  • 31 990 of youngsters participated in seminars promoting safe migration
  • 143 668 calls received, during which people were counselled regarding safe migration
  • 7 350 calls concerning presumed victims of trafficking 
  • 1 500 professionals were trained in identifying, assisting and protecting victims of trafficking 

Threats

  • Regional migration crisis;
  • Lack of some regulating strategies for migration;
  • Poor economic situation of the population;
  • Lack of employment opportunities;
  • Problems of protection and assistance of trafficked persons;
  • Lack of an efficient and sustainable national anti-trafficking strategy;
  • Insufficient connection between national anti-traffic policy and data collection.

Solutions

  • Prevention and early intervention by focusing on information, education and counselling measures, which derive from the new tendencies of the human trafficking;
  • Protection, safety and justice through ensuring access to support and protection services for all trafficked persons;
  • Public policies by focusing on a national strategic document of anti-traffic policies;
  • Substituting the policies in the area of labor migration with cooperation agreements, to protect the rights of foreign immigrants;
  • Combating the demand for commerce with human beings;
  • Provision of data and studies by conducting research on human trafficking and associate phenomena, focusing on the existing tendencies.

Services

  • Identification of trafficking cases /defining the status of victims and associate actions;
  • Free national Hotline for vulnerable migrants and a database for calls to the Hotline;
  • Assistance in recovery from the place of exploitation;
  • Informational portal www.migratiesigura.md which focuses at groups at risk;
  • Educational programs for professional groups;
  • Organization of public awareness and information campaigns for the groups at risk;
  • Research using approaches and methodologies based on extremely high standards;
  • Consultancy and expertise in developing public policies in the field. 
Hot Lines