March 2006
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE
   

UNFPA Provides IOM Support for Trafficking Program...

Chief of Mission announced UNFPA support

IOM this month announces major support and a new partnership with UNFPA to provide direct assistance and humanitarian protection to trafficked persons. UNFPA will provide core co-funding for IOM-Turkey's direct assistance program. The UNFPA contribution will allow IOM to maintain its existing program of assisting Turkish law enforcement in identifying trafficked persons. IOM maintains a three-person staff that interviews trafficked persons to determine their eligibility for a voluntary program that offers protection, return and reintegration to home countries. IOM works with two Turkish NGOs, the Human Resources Development Foundation and the Foundation for Women's Solidarity. The NGOs offer protection to trafficked persons in two ten-bed shelters operated in Istanbul and Ankara. Working with the NGOs, IOM coordinates safe return of trafficked persons and offers rehabilitation and reintegration programs in key source countries, including Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus. The UNFPA contribution will cover costs of the IOM-Turkey direct assistance staff. It compliments funding from a U.S. Government project now ending as well as new funding from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). The SIDA funding provided to IOM in 2006 is covering medical and other costs related to safe return of trafficked persons.

...As Canadian Government Provides Support for 157 Helpline Transition

The Canadian Government is providing IOM support to establish the 157 Helpline as a new non-governmental organization. The project is being awarded through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI), a fund administered by the Canadian Embassy in Ankara. The project will provide funding for key costs related to assessing and establishing 157 under the auspices of a non-governmental organization. Since project launch in June, the Helpline has coordinated the rescue through Turkish law enforcement of 69 trafficked persons and identification of 161 irregular migrants. IOM launched an open tender in fall 2005 to spin the Helpline off to a qualified NGO, but no qualified NGO was identified. With support from the Canadian project, IOM is now seeking to build capacity in the NGO sector to assume Helpline administration. Operations for the 157 Helpline are currently provided by the U.S. Government and SIDA. The Helpline is operated by IOM, 24-hours a day, seven days a week. It is staffed by 5 full time operators who speak Turkish, Russian, Romanian, Kyrgiz and English. Funding for the Helpline is now due to end on May 31.

Swedish Consulate Provides Funding for CT Law Enforcement Training

Turkish law enforcement personnel will receive a three-day training to increase identification of trafficked persons, under a Swedish Consulate funded project announced this month. The IOM-coordinated Istanbul training is scheduled for mid-April for up to 50 representatives of Turkish law enforcement, principally from the Ministry of Interior and its department of Public Order. Increasing identifications of trafficked persons is widely acknowledged as an important step in the global fight against trafficking. Identifications provide humanitarian protection and, in many cases, availability of reintegration services, including medical and psychological support and job training. In 2005, the Ministry of Interior identified 243 trafficked individuals in Turkey.

Second Working Group Meeting Set under Dutch Project

The second meeting of the high-level working group is scheduled for this month under the Royal Netherlands Embassy-financed law enforcement project. The IOM coordinated project, launched last year, will write a law enforcement strategic plan to combat trafficking in human beings. The project is working closely with the Turkish authorities to assess needs, gaps and goals for improving CT law enforcement activities. Specifically, the project is implementing a comprehensive situational analysis and capacity assessment. Recommendations and conclusions are required to be endorsed by key Turkish ministries. At the meeting scheduled for March 15, the research team is scheduled to provide a mid-term report on research goals and provide a briefing on proposed strategies. The high-level working group is made of representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, key Ministry of Interior agencies, including the Turkish National Police and Gendaramerie, and the Ministry of Justice.

Awarness Campaign Expands to Cinemas Across Turkey

"Have You Seen My Mother?" Commercial

The IOM coordinated counter-trafficking awareness campaign expands this month to 20 movie theatres throughout Turkey. The cinemas will feature the advertisement entitled "Have You Seen My Mother?," focused on four children from the former Soviet Union in search of mothers trafficked to Turkey. The commercial was filmed in the former Soviet Union and focuses on the toll that trafficking takes not just on individuals but on the families, communities and the children of trafficked women. The commercial, now being shown on Turkish television channels, expands to cinemas under a partnership with film distributor FIDA FILM and the cinema company Sinefekt. The campaign is being produced within the framework of the Turkish-government coordinated and IOM-implemented campaign to combat human trafficking. The $700,000 USD project is funded by the U.S. Government with co-funding from the Turkish government. Media sponsor include Turkish broadcaster Kanal D and Star TV. Other official campaign sponsors include airport authorities in Istanbul, Trabzon and Antalya, IETT Istanbul municipal bus company and local governments in Ankara, Antalya, Izmir, Istanbul and Trabzon.


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