Azernews.Az

The capital of Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, is hosting an international conference on 'Sharing best practices between Eastern and Western Europe, as well as Central Asia for the development and implementation of a national work plan on combating human trafficking' on April 29-30, the government of Turkmenistan said on Tuesday.

The forum is being organised by the government with the participation of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Director General of IOM Lacy Swing is in Ashgabat on a working visit.

According to the statement, representatives of OSCE, UN and in particular the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia, the headquarters of which is located in the capital of Turkmenistan, and delegations from Austria, Belarus, Israel, Kazakhstan, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Turkey, Uzbekistan and the United States is attending in the conference.

The organisers says that this forum is an effective platform for the development and implementation of national action plans between state institutions, civil society and international organisations.

The IOM mission has worked in Central Asia since 1998 and in Turkmenistan since 2005. During this time, the region has implemented a number of projects aimed at the prevention of human trafficking.

Turkmenistan has joined a number of basic UN conventions regulating the issues of peace and security, as well as human rights and freedom.

The relevant law 'On combating human trafficking' was adopted in the country in December 2007.

Human trafficking is a crime on a global scale and affects almost all countries in every region of the world.

According to the UN report on human trafficking for 2012, women make up a significant portion of human trafficking victims in Central Asia and Europe.