The Belarusian delegation took part in the interactive dialogue with Ms Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, Special Rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Council on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children, at the 67th session of the UN General Assembly

09/11/2012

On November 8, 2012 the Belarusian delegation took part in the interactive dialogue with Ms Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, Special Rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Council on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children, at the 67th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Mr. Evgeny Lazarev, the representative of the Republic of Belarus, reported on the implementation of the recommendations made by Ms. Ezeilo during her visit to Belarus in 2010. In particular, he highlighted coming into force of a new law on combating trafficking in persons and the legislation insuring financial support for NGOs providing assistance to victims of trafficking. Mr. Lazarev stressed that the measures taken in the country to counter trafficking in persons are  systemic and comprehensive. Particularly, the Government of Belarus is planning to adopt the forth state programme on combating trafficking in persons, illegal migration, and related criminal activities for 2013 – 2016.

Mr. Lazarev also drew attention to the active position of Belarus on the issue of  trafficking at the international level. For example, the Belarusian delegation introduced at the current UN General Assembly session a new resolution on improving the coordination of international efforts to combat trafficking in persons. This is the forth UN resolution introduced by Belarus on this topic  since the President of the Republic of Belarus Mr. Alexander Lukashenko iniciated strengthening of international anti-trafficking efforts in 2005. According to Mr. Lazarev, the main point of the present resolution is to hold a UN high-level meeting to evaluate the progress in the implementation of the Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons, adopted at the iniciative of Belarus in 2010. Mr.Lazarev invited Ms. Ezeilo as one of the leading international experts in combating trafficking in persons to take part in the forthcoming event.

Mr. Lazarev also drew attention to the forthcoming presentation of the Global report on trafficking in persons by UN Office on Drugs and Crime. He said that countries were expecting this document to assess the situation of combating trafficking in persons in an impartial and comprehensive manner.

Mr.Lazarev mentioned with regret that the US Department of State has been trying to become a monopolist in evaluating efforts of the countries in this area. Although Belarus highly values US efforts to draw attention to the issue of trafficking in persons, the report is politicized and lacks objectivity.

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