Transcript
Ambassador Richard E. Hoagland
Opening remarks at the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Conference
April 7, 2009, 10:00
Nur Otan Party Headquarters
Astana, Kazakhstan
Spasibo bolshoi, Gospodin Rakhimbekov!
Members of Parliament, representatives of NGOs, members of the government: it’s an honor to be here, and I wish you good morning.
I am very pleased and honored to be asked to say a few words at the beginning of this Anti-Trafficking in Persons Conference today.
Let me say from the beginning that I consider this current project that has just been completed a great success because the effort has reached 80,000 people in 13 different cities of Kazakhstan. I will echo exactly what my colleague, Mr. Rakhimbekov, said and tell you that combating trafficking in persons is a priority for the United States government because human trafficking adversely affects everyone. Human trafficking is a modern form of slavery, which deprives people of their most basic human rights and freedoms. It is also an illicit industry that provides a major source of income for organized crime, and it’s the third most profitable illegal business after drugs and weapons. It’s a transnational problem that pays no heed to national borders, and the international community is coming together to join forces to fight it.
My government is committed to fighting human trafficking and providing all necessary assistance to the governments interested in joining this fight. Since the release of the State Department’s first Annual Trafficking in Persons Report eight years ago, the United States Government has provided over $528 million in anti-trafficking assistance to our international partners around the world. And of this amount, about $700,000 has been allocated to Kazakhstan.
The U.S. Government greatly appreciates the Government of Kazakhstan’s contribution to the global fight against human trafficking. Thanks to the efforts of the Ministry of Interior and other Kazakhstani government agencies, the number of trafficking cases uncovered and investigated is growing every year, and more traffickers are serving time in prison. While in 2006, only one person was convicted of trafficking crimes in Kazakhstan, only two years later, in 2008, that number rose to 24, a truly commendable increase. The Government of Kazakhstan has ratified major international conventions on human trafficking, and Kazakhstan is working to bring its national legislation in line with international standards.
We are very pleased to work with our partners in Kazakhstan, the Kazakhstani government agencies and the NGOs, to increase awareness of trafficking crimes. I’d like to thank the Union of Crisis Centers for the successful implementation of this public awareness project. Thanks to their efforts, thousands of people across Kazakhstan were warned of the dangers and risks of trafficking. I would also like to thank the Ministry of Interior for its support of this project. The fact that law enforcement officers participated in the information campaign, and that the campaign was coordinated with the Ministry’s operation to uncover traffickers and victims, assured the success of this joint project.
I would also like to thank the Nur Otan party for hosting this event today. I hope that today’s discussion will be very fruitful and that we can come up with more ideas on how to improve the prevention of human trafficking. I look forward to hearing a full report of today’s results.
I thank you for your attention.
