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Foundation Created for Victims of Trafficking

August 11, 2006

Foundation Created for Victims of Trafficking

 

Despite the fact that human trafficking has reached enormous proportions, programmes to support the victims of trafficking in Georgia have not existed. The Parliament only approved a plan of action against human trafficking on June 1st, 2006. Under a newly approved law, the first ‘State Foundation for the Support and Defense of the Victims of Trafficking’ was established. The fund will give victims 1000GEL compensation and free medical treatment.

The foundation is financed from the state budget. According to the director of the foundation, Marina Meskhi, 80 thousand GEL, intended to support the victims of trafficking, will be transferred to the Foundation’s account. However, the amount of money will increase next year. For medical and psychological treatment, 20 thousand GEL has already been transferred.

Marina Meskhi states: “Money for compensation and funds for the shelter is foreseen in this budget, although the building of the shelter is partly financed by UNICEF and USAID. From 2008, the shelter for the victims of trafficking will be run by the foundation. 15 thousand GEL is marked for compensation. We are now working on the eligibility procedures for giving this compensation to victims. When it is proven that the person is really a victim of trafficking, the foundation will give her 1000 GEL compensation”.

The amount of compensation was determined by present statistics and financial opportunities. “We had 43 victims last year, however we presume that the number will increase. We will also have more information about the victims of trafficking, as they will not hide it from us. Better mechanisms of support will give us better information about the real number of trafficked persons. The status of the victim will be given to them after an investigation, made by the intergovernmental commission. According to the law, the commission should have a group, who will work on this issue. After a person receives their trafficked status, the foundation will give them money”.

According to foreign laws, victims who receive compensation are not eligible to ask for other costs. However, the Georgian law assumes there will be exceptions.

“If we have trafficker and a trafficked person, victims can demand moral, material and psychological compensation from the trafficker. However, if we do not know who the trafficker is, the foundation can only give compensation of the aforementioned amount,” says Meskhi.

The location of the shelter will be secret in Georgia, as they are in other foreign countries. The victims will be transferred to the shelter with the support of the foundation. The renovation of the shelter has already been finished and it will be opened soon. At the moment, the shelter has 10 places.

Georgia is a country of origin, as well as country of transit of trafficking victims. Georgian citizens are mainly trafficked to Turkey, Greece, Germany or Dubai.

According to the information provided by Alexander Nalbandov, the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Georgia is used as a transit country, to take victims of trafficking from Central Asia. One of the popular routes for traffickers is Uzbekistan-Georgia-Dubai.

The following routes out of Georgia are also known: Georgia-Turkey, Georgia-Turkey-Greece, Georgia-Turkey-Germany, Georgia-Italy and Georgia-Spain.

Statistics about trafficking do not exist in Georgia. The number of legal cases regarding trafficking is also quite small: 2 criminal cases were launched in 2003, 16 in 2004, 24 in 2005 and 7 in 2006.

Eka Gulua

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