March 2007
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE
   

Changes in Article 227 and Article 80

The major recommendations on revising the articles related to trafficking in persons from the report conducted under the project “Combating Trafficking in Turkey: A Strategic Approach to Law Enforcement” were taken to the Turkish Parliament by the National Task Force. The parliament revised both Articles 80 and 227 which are available for viewing on www.countertrafficking.org. The revisions were approved by President Sezer and published in the Official Gazette on 19 December 2006.

Around 2000 Refugees Resettled to the Third Countries

Cultural Orientation for Australia Refugees

IOM Turkey, Department of Operations has been implementing resettlement programs for refugees to third countries since IOM Turkey was established in 1991. In 2006, around two thousand refugees were resettled to third countries. The top resettlement countries are: The United States of America, Australia, Canada, Finland, and Switzerland. IOM assisted the refugees in  the preparation of their documents and logistics regarding their travel. IOM conducted cultural orientation programs for refugees going to Australia, Finland, and Norway. These activities do not only cover the resettlement programs, but also  cover family reunifications, Assisted Voluntary Returns and sponsored cases.

The Sub-Regional Workshop on Human Trafficking in Turkey and the Caucasus

Workshop on Human Trafficking, Georgia

The sub-regional workshop on the issues of trafficking in human beings was held on 20th and 21st February 2007 in Tbilisi, Georgia. The workshop was organized by the Regional Delegation of the Federation and the Danish Red Cross. Representatives of four National Societies of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey along with IOM Armenia, IOM Azerbaijan, IOM Georgia and IOM Turkey, respective government agencies, NGOs dealing with human trafficking of the region, Danish Red Cross, International Committee of Red Cross and Regional and Country Delegations of Federation were the participants of the workshop. Members of Turkish Ministry of Interior, Turkish Red Crescent Society, and the Women’s Solidarity Foundation  participated in the workshop. The workshop aimed to take the stock of the current trends and challenges confronting Turkey and the Southern Caucasus countries with the purpose of exchanging experiences and knowledge sharing in the field of human trafficking and prevention and support to the victims.

AGIS III

On Autumn 2007, Turkey will host one of the multi-disciplinary trainings from the four based on the 3 modules developed in phase 1. The training of trainers program was conducted in phase 2. AGISIII was built upon the achievements of the project "Establishment of the network of and a Joint Training for Operational Law Enforcement Officers, NGOs and IOs, in Fighting Human Trafficking into the EU Member States, from EU Accession Countries and Countries bordering the EU after Enlargement" implemented under the AGIS 2003 Programme,. The project AGISIII is a 15 months implementation running from 01/12/2006 till 28/02/2008. AGISIII will extend the operational networking and cooperation among the EU Member States, Accession Countries and other neighbouring countries involving various levels and layers in national counter-trafficking structures, developing links between the NGO and law enforcement/judicial practitioners. The project will also facilitate the hand-over and implementation at the national level of the Joint Multi-disciplinary Training Courses based on three modules developed on phase 1. Turkey will host one of the four pilot training sessions as well as Italy, Moldova and Bulgaria.

Counter-Trafficking Web Site Updated

The web-site, including complete information regarding counter-trafficking activities in Turkey, has been updated. A new case study, with information about the new counter-trafficking project is acccessible on-line. Weekly updated statistics on 157 Helpline and Assisted Trafficked Individuals are available on the web site, too. The pdf format of the report conducted under the project “Combating Trafficking in Turkey: A Strategic Approach to Law Enforcement” has been inserted in  www.countertrafficking.org. This project was coordinated and monitored by the Inter-ministerial Working Group and implemented with the full commitment and ownership of  Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior and all their affiliated agencies, in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration(IOM) and funded by the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Ankara.

Participation of IOM Turkey in local program events

  • PFP Training Center in Ankara  organized a training course in coordination with IOM on Combatting Human Trafficking between 19-23 February 2007.
  • NATO Rapid Deployable Corps Turkey G-9’S annual CIMIC Seminar on “Humanitarian Operations”, called GÖKSU-4 was held on 01-02 March 2007 in Istanbul TURKEY and IOM participated as trainer.
  • Ankara Bar Association  organized  a  panel  on Migrant Smuggling  and Human Trafficking on 16 February 2007 and IOM participated as panelist.
  • Public Order Department organized training for their officials from Child Unit on “Child Trafficking” on 12 March 2007 and IOM participated as trainer.
  • Moldovan Delegation visited Turkish officials on 15 December 2006, regarding the project coordinated by IOM Moldova office.

Upcoming Projects

IOM Turkey is about to conclude a contract for a large project on counter trafficking titled “Supporting Turkey’s Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking and to Promote Access to Justice for all Trafficked Individuals” funded by European Union.


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