The project will implement a comprehensive strategy to combat human trafficking in Turkey, fostering community-based solutions, increasing humanitarian protection of trafficked individuals and bolstering law enforcement interventions. First, the project will coordinate the development and execution of local action plans to combat trafficking in persons in pilot communities to be identified in northeastern Turkey. Second, trafficking will be reduced through stepped up law enforcement identification of trafficked persons in border regions in northeastern Turkey. To this end, the project will train up to 100 border officials and relevant law enforcement representatives to increase identifications and put in place sustainable interdiction strategies. Third, public awareness of trafficking realities will be increased in the pilot communities to increase local ownership of counter-trafficking strategies. Finally, the project will ensure sustainability of Turkey’s nascent counter trafficking program, which is essential in support of the three principle goals of this program. Accordingly, the project will ensure humanitarian protection of trafficked individuals through safe accommodation and coordination of voluntary return. In addition, it will support the 157 Helpline for rescue of trafficked persons, enhanced data collection and analysis of trafficking trends. The project will operate in coordination with development programs in northeastern Turkey, including UNDP and the UN Joint Gender Project and encourage cross-border collaboration and regional solutions to combating the international crime of human trafficking.

The massive earthquake of 8th October 2005 has killed over 42,000 people to date, and affected the lives of over 4 million of which an estimated 1 million have been seriously affected. The number of casualties grows every day. Husbands, wives, parents and guardians have died, families have been separated and infrastructure has been damaged leaving people, especially separated/widowed women and separated/orphaned children, vulnerable to hunger, dehydration, the elements, disease and crime. Local government, social services and law enforcement structures in the affected areas have been destroyed and many officials have died in the disaster increasing the vulnerability of local populations, especially women and children. From experience of other humanitarian emergencies and existing concerns about human trafficking in Pakistan, there is a clear risk of human trafficking escalating in the aftermath of the earthquake. Press reports have already started to indicate the presence of human trafficking activity.

The overall objective of this pilot project is to contribute to the efforts of the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to enhance its institutional capacities to combat trafficking in children through the development of comprehensive and integrated activities promoting prevention measures of this phenomenon, protection of victims and prosecution of traffickers. The comprehensive nature of this Programme is in direct response to the Government’s expressed interest and request to IOM to provide assistance in the prevention of trafficking, protection of victims of trafficking and prosecution of traffickers in Afghanistan. This initiative will pursue these objectives through a preliminary action-research phase that will provide the necessary insight on the phenomenon of child trafficking in/from Afghanistan in order to better tailor and target the consequent project components.