ANNUAL REPORT 2003 Democratization Trafficking in Human Beings In 2002-2003, the ODIHR carried out the project “Building Programmes NGO Capacity To Combat Trafficking in Human Beings” simultaneously in three countries of the South Caucasus: Ar- The activities conducted by the Anti-Trafficking Unit in 2003 menia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. The main objectives of the fall into the following areas:
project were to raise awareness on trafficking issues among women’s NGOs and women leaders and to empower the Capacity-building of NGOs to strengthen and expand participants to design strategies and start initiatives for pre- awareness-raising efforts;
vention and awareness-raising activities. The ODIHR carried Monitoring implementation of OSCE commitments out training-of-trainers sessions in each of these countries. and national action plans;
Subsequently, each participant carried out five training semi- Development of a handbook on National Referral nars each in their regions (cities, villages) in pairs of two. As a Mechanisms;
Countries of destination;
Co-ordinating efforts and mainstreaming result, the foundation was set for outreach awareness-raising and prevention work on anti-trafficking in all three countries. anti-trafficking issues;
In addition, the ODIHR designed and implemented a project Administering the ODIHR Anti-Trafficking Project Fund. to build the capacity of NGOs in the Russian Federation in their efforts to prevent trafficking, raise awareness, and de- In addition to work in these primary areas, the ODIHR also sign outreach programmes to assist victims. The ODIHR se- organizes annual co-ordination meetings with focal points lected the Russian Association of Crisis Centres (RACC) as from OSCE field missions and institutions and has increas- the main implementation partner, since it is composed of a ingly made it a priority in its work to function as a clearing strong network of NGOs working on women’s-rights issues. house for information, contacts, materials, and good prac- This project involved capacity-building training for five tices. In this way, the ODIHR seeks to build institutional RACC-affiliated NGOs and a small-grants programme that memory and capacity, as well as to support developments supported awareness-raising efforts by these NGOs in their in the field. local communities. The main themes of the project were: provision of informa- 1. Capacity-building of NGOs to strengthen and expand awareness-raising efforts tion and assistance through existing counseling services and hotlines; raising public awareness about the risks of trafficking and the rights of Russian migrants abroad; and adaptation and development of materials to be used in information Since the very beginning of its anti-trafficking work, the campaigns targeting at-risk groups. During the training ses- ODIHR has contributed to research efforts and carried out sions, it became evident that a focus on lobbying would be awareness-raising activities. Such work has included facilita- beneficial for participants, so the project was adapted to in- tion of NGO-government roundtables, training and support clude this important topic as one of the themes. to hotline consultants, and direct work with the media. Effective awareness-raising creates a foundation for joint work This project received positive feedback from participants and based on a common UN definition and the realization that has led to a number of initiatives being planned by the par- trafficked persons are victims of a crime. Awareness-raising ticipants, such as joint initiatives with sister organizations in also empowers at-risk groups and decision-makers to make other countries, future seminars, and workshops. The ap- appropriate, informed choices. proach and materials deriving from this project will continue to be adapted and used in future projects. 33