Ukraine fails to meet minimum anti-trafficking standards due to corruption, but significant efforts being made – US State Department

Because of corruption, the Ukrainian government does not fully meet the minimum standards for eradicating human trafficking, but it is making significant efforts to improve.

The US State Department on the state of human trafficking in the world reported that.

The American agency noted that the severe problems that hindered the actions of law enforcement agencies remain:

• corruption, especially in the police and judicial system,
• complicity of officials in crimes related to human trafficking.

The State Department noted the efforts of Ukraine despite the reduction of resources and opportunities due to the full-scale invasion of Russia.

The Ukrainian government identified more victims of human trafficking and continued large-scale awareness campaigns in coordination with international organizations.

The agency also noted that Ukraine did not meet minimum standards in several key areas.

Judges kept giving out light sentences that did not involve any jail time for the majority of convicted traffickers.

This weakened deterrence and undermined efforts to combat human trafficking.

Even though there are ongoing concerns about corruption that lead to impunity for trafficking crimes and investigations against officials involved, the government has not been able to secure a single conviction for the past seven years.

Additionally, it should be noted that the Ukrainian government has not yet reported any cases of foreign individuals falling victim to human trafficking. However, efforts have been made to safeguard unaccompanied children. The report highlighted the lack of government supervision in cases where children were removed from Ukrainian care facilities, thus making them more vulnerable to trafficking.

The report also mentions crimes related to human trafficking committed in previous years and for which investigations have not been completed:

• In 2023, the Lviv prosecutor's office prosecuted an official for alleged sex trafficking in France;
• The Attorney General's Office investigated the actions of a military commander for alleged forced labor;
• The Kyiv City Police investigated the actions of the former deputy chief of police and a police officer on suspicion of sex trafficking;
• the prosecutor's office charged two former police officers with human trafficking.

"The government reported that numerous prosecutions of officials involved in crimes related to human trafficking, initiated in previous years, are ongoing," the State Department emphasized.

Some advice from the US for the Ukrainian government includes:

• identifying and certifying the official status of more victims to ensure they receive the rights granted under human trafficking laws;
• modifying the procedure for granting victim status to alleviate the burden of self–identification and disclosure of sensitive information.

The US also urges Kyiv to investigate and prosecute such crimes diligently and to demand adequate punishments for convicted human traffickers, in particular for officials.

For this, in particular, it is necessary:

• To expand training for law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges on the investigation and prosecution of human trafficking cases,
• To create a dedicated national coordinator position to lead national anti-trafficking policy coordination and implementation efforts.

According to the report, Russia's complete invasion of Ukraine resulted in 6.4 million people being forced to leave the country, with over 3.4 million becoming internally displaced.

Most of those who left the country are women and children. These refugees and displaced persons are particularly vulnerable to human trafficking.

Experts note that thousands of children unaccompanied by adults, as well as children evacuated from at least 195 institutions, including children with disabilities, are at high risk of falling into a situation of human trafficking.

The State Department report reads that Russian forces forcibly relocated up to 1.6 million Ukrainians, including thousands of children, older people, and people with disabilities, to Russia, Belarus, and the occupied territories of Ukraine, including many to remote areas.

As of January 2024, Russian authorities have reportedly returned approximately 500 children to Ukraine, a small number compared to the thousands of forcibly deported children.

For reference:

Every year, the US State Department's Division of Human Trafficking Monitoring and Countermeasures releases the Trafficking in Persons Report, which evaluates 188 countries on their efforts to combat human trafficking. This report follows a three-tier system outlined in the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000.

• Tier 1. This category belongs to countries that fully comply with the TVPA minimum standards. Countries at this level have minimal risks of human trafficking because their governments have implemented adequate protections: the USA, Germany, Estonia, Georgia, Poland, and others.
• Tier 2. This category includes countries that make a significant effort to meet the TVPA minimum standards but do not fully meet them. It includes most countries, such as Ukraine, Italy, Hungary, Switzerland, Romania, Iraq, and others.
• Tier 3. This category includes countries that do not fully comply with the minimum TVPA standards and do not report significant efforts for this: Russia, Belarus, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Venezuela, and others.

This year, Haiti, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen, where massive violations of human rights are noted, were included in the "individual cases" category.