La Strada debated the preliminary study on the national response to the crisis of persons displaced from Ukraine, identifying the risks of human trafficking

Presentation of the study “Mapping of services existing in Moldova for persons displaced from Ukraine. Identifying risks of exploitation and human trafficking (HT)” was the topic of a round table organized to validate the study report.

Representatives of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection (MLSP), the National Agency for Social Assistance, authorities responsible for effective national response to the refugee crisis and human trafficking met on Monday, 28 November, to see what their work of assisting people fleeing from the war in Ukraine and of preventing HT over the past nine months looks like.

Lilia Pascal, head of Gender Equality Policy Division, Ministry of Labor and Social Protection: “It is very difficult to monitor and make certain analyses, to deal with and assess what is actually happening in meetings with these persons, to monitor these placement centers and to understand the problems and challenges we have at the institutional level, as well as the problems and challenges directly related to refugees from Ukraine.”

The team, the quality of specialists is key in this field, and La Strada is a brand in everything related to the prevention and combating of HT, domestic violence, sexual violence, online protection of children, said Aurelia Bulat, deputy director of the National Agency for Social Assistance, moderator of the event.

In her greeting speech, Elena Botezatu, the director of La Strada, noted, “This study was conducted in a humanitarian context, in which thousands of people affected by the war in Ukraine either transited the territory of Moldova or decided to stay here for a certain period of time, being thus exposed to certain degrees of exploitation. In the international context, there has been a higher number of cases in which displaced persons or refugees were affected by HT, at any stage of their fleeing from the country affected by the war and in the country where they find shelter.

The purpose of this activity was to identify gaps in the social field for services provided to alleged victims or victims of HT, and also to formulate recommendations, so as to ensure better protection for these categories of people, who arrive in countries of destination or in countries where they find shelter with a much wider spectrum of needs than those of ordinary victims of HT.

“This is a challenge for the entire social system, including the anti-trafficking system of Moldova, which for years used to analyze the situation from the perspective of a country that is not usually the destination, but one of origin for victims of HT. Thus, the war made us reconsider our way of responding, as we became, in fact, a country of transit or even destination for potential victims of trafficking – foreign citizens. We believe that this is an appropriate context, including from the perspective of the stage we are at, to plan the elaboration of a new public policy document, given that the National Strategy of Prevention and Combating of HT has expired (an extensive document, which provided for actions on different dimensions of this phenomenon).

“Being at a stage of analyzing the results of the last years, on the other hand, certain actions are planned in this area,” the source said, noting that it is important to take into account the new context, a humanitarian one, and the new category of beneficiaries that must be integrated into all services provided, as the quality of response is in accord with what it was before the humanitarian crisis and is built on the basis of the existing infrastructure.

Mapping will show, respectively, to what extent the existing infrastructure is viable and adapted to the new reality.

The report was presented by Diana Cheianu-Andrei, national expert. From the start, she said:

“We are a country that hosts the largest number of displaced people per capita. Over the past nine months, over 650 thousand forcibly displaced persons crossed the border of Moldova. We have people in a situation of greater vulnerability, who remained in Moldova, and to meet the needs of all these displaced persons, more than 90 foreign partners came to the aid of the Moldovan authorities. Some of them already worked in Moldova, others came in response to this scourge, in order to strengthen the humanitarian assistance effort of our country. I have never had such experiences before, and obviously there have been mistakes, but we hope they will be omitted in the future. During the study we focused on the peculiarities of services for displaced women and children, but also on identifying the risks of exploitation and trafficking, in order to improve the system and make it more efficient.”

In the process of carrying out the study, qualitative and quantitative data were used, such as statistics or recent reports. In addition, 25 in-depth individual interviews were conducted, including some within the International Organization for Migration and the Bureau of Migration and Asylum, the UN Refugee Agency, UNICEF, social service providers, providers specialized on prevention of HT, central and local authorities. Questionnaires were also completed in five placement centers, including specialized ones.

The biggest challenges identified as a result of the mapping, according to the study, are the lack of qualified specialists, the overload of the system and resources, the legal framework not adapted to the categories of beneficiaries, etc. All this, at least so far, has been mitigated by the empathy and national unity shown by citizens and authorities.

The experts of SocioPolis Consultancy SRL recommend to authorities, international agents, international organizations, CSOs, several adjustments of legal nature (granting a legal status to people displaced from Ukraine, which would mean rights, but also obligations); closer and systemic coordination; methodical, practical, regional and international collaboration to streamline the national and international anti-trafficking system.

Experts also recommend extensive information and awareness campaigns to prevent cases of human trafficking.

 The event was organized as part of the project “Prevention and response to refugee vulnerability to abuse and exploitation in Moldova”, funded by War Child (Netherlands).