Training for journalists on “Strengthening Counter-Trafficking and Protecting Vulnerable Migrants in Kazakhstan. Opportunities and challenges for the media"
Almaty – Training for journalists on “Strengthening Counter-Trafficking and Protecting Vulnerable Migrants in Kazakhstan. Opportunities and challenges for the media" was held in Almaty on April 26-27, 2018. International Organization for Migration (IOM) organized the event with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway.
The invited speakers were:
Andrey Kulikov, Ukraine - international expert on the media, a journalist with 28 years of experience in the newspaper, on the radio and on television. Expert of the EU project - TACIS - BBC World Service Trust "ZHORNA" - Journalistic Education: Skills Development. He has been hosting a political talk show "Freedom of Speech" on the ICTV channel since August 2007.
Olga Kaplina, Kazakhstan – journalist, editor and producer. She worked in regional and national mass media of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in different years. Media-coach at Internews. Held more than 200 training for journalists, editors and PR-specialists.
Invited as independent guests were:
- Mr. Johar Utebekov - lawyer, Facebook the social platform for active publication (Facebook)
- Ms. Saule Sergazinova – PR-specialist and blogger, Instagram the social platform for active publication (Instagram)
The journalists analyzed case studies of real stories, participated in a talk show and learned about the world practice and the ethics of dealing with victims of human trafficking within the two days.
Main theses raised at the media training:
In 2017, IOM received 177 appeals from victims of trafficking in Kazakhstan and 101 appeals from vulnerable migrants. The victims received legal, medical and psychological help. 150 new facts of trafficking in persons are brought to light in the Republic per annum. The unemployed are at risk. Kazakhstani citizens abroad fall into slavery more often in the UAE, Turkey and visa-free countries. 13% of cases identified are trafficking in person cases within the country.
Annually, the number of appeals to the IOM for help is 7 thousand people around the world. According to the data provided by Walk Free Foundation, the non-profit organization, in total, there are more than 35 million victims of human trafficking in the world. The number of children among them is about 1.2 million.
Migration trends in Kazakhstan: over 80 million people will live in Central Asia by 2060. Youth migration is increasing, the age is before 26. There is also an increase in migration among women - this indicates that young women began to earn for living independently, go to their husbands/partners, as a result of which families are reunited.
The average portrait of a labor migrant in Kazakhstan: a young man/woman, often without a higher education, who do not speak Kazakh or Russian fluently, wants to earn money for certain purposes (build a house, help parents, for a wedding, etc.) and then return back home.
In 2017, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan issued 446,000 labor patents to foreigners in Kazakhstan. At the same time, only 3% of labor migrants working in households are legalized in our country.
Note
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) program on combating trafficking in human beings in the Republic of Kazakhstan was launched in August 2002. In its anti-trafficking activities, IOM is based on the classic 3P principles: Prevention, Protection and Prosecution.
Various components of the IOM program are implemented with the financial support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Bureau of International Drug Enforcement and Law Enforcement Affairs of the US Department of State.
As of December 2017, 1,672 victims of trafficking in human beings received rehabilitation and reintegration assistance within the framework of joint work of IOM Kazakhstan and local NGOs that are IOM partners.
Due to its economic growth and geographic location, Kazakhstan remains the destination, transit and origin country for victims of human trafficking. Despite the consequences of the global economic crisis, Kazakhstan remains an attractive destination for citizens from the less economically stable countries of Central Asia.
