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POLICY REPORT ON IMMIGRATION AND ASYLUM IN LATVIA ...

POLICY REPORT ON IMMIGRATION AND ASYLUM IN LATVIA ...

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107<br />

7.1 European Pact on Immigration and Asylum (1-2 paragraphs in the text box created for<br />

each commitment)<br />

The relevant commitments in the Pact for this sub-section are in particular:<br />

II(e) cooperation with the countries of origin and of transit, in particular to combat human<br />

trafficking and to provide better information to communities under threat<br />

Please describe any (planned) actions at national level to fight human trafficking and<br />

incorporation of third countries within them, awareness raising actions in third countries<br />

addressing communities at risk, etc. Please only refer to cooperation with regard to<br />

combating human trafficking. Information on other types of cooperation will need to be<br />

provided in other sections of the report (e.g. Sections 10 and 13).<br />

Until now, Latvia has signed cooperation agreements for the cooperation in fight against<br />

terrorism, organized crime and illegal trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and<br />

precursors and other criminal offences, within the framework of which cooperation is envisaged<br />

also in fight against human trafficking with Uzbekistan, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Belarus,<br />

Armenia. Within the framework of the said agreements, information and data exchange is made,<br />

mutual operational activities are performed, as well as exchange of experience, consultations in<br />

the field of development of regulatory enactments, exchange of experience in the field of<br />

training or personnel.<br />

In 2010, two meetings of cross-border cooperation in the field of prevention of human<br />

trafficking were organized with, so far, the only country of origin of human trafficking victims<br />

as third-country national: competent officials of Belarus.<br />

On 10 June 2010, employees of the Human Trafficking Prevention Division of the<br />

Organised Crime Combating Department, the Chief Criminal Police Board of the State Police<br />

and the State Border Guard participated in the seminar which was organised in Vitebsk, Belarus<br />

"Cooperation of law enforcement institutions, international and non-governmental organizations<br />

in prevention of human trafficking". Within the framework of the seminar, meetings were held<br />

with the head of the criminal militia of the Narcotic Drugs and Human Trafficking Combating<br />

Department, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus. During the meeting with responsible<br />

officials, future course of mutual cooperation was discussed, as well as combating of human<br />

trafficking in the period from the end of 2007 till 2009, the results of successfully completed<br />

cross-border investigation against a group of Latvian and Belarusian citizens who organized<br />

delivery of young women for voluntary prostitution to Riga for several years.<br />

In 2007-2009, a network of human trafficking and soutenerism was stopped as a result of<br />

the cross-border investigation which was made successfully in both countries, and the organizers<br />

of the said network have been convicted.<br />

Participation in the international conference “Combating of Human Trafficking: New<br />

Challenges and Treats", which was organized by the International Organization for Migration,<br />

the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, the International Development<br />

Cooperation Agency of Sweden and the Swedish Institute, and was held on 15 October 2010 in<br />

Belarus, Minsk. Chairperson of the Board of society of Latvian governmental organisations<br />

"Asylum "Drošā māja"", S.Zalcmane, participated in the Conference with a presentation and<br />

mentioned as one of the most important problems the combating of fictitious marriages of<br />

citizens of Latvia as a new form in human trafficking, through cooperation of the state police,<br />

non-governmental institutions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the police of a destination<br />

country. Latvia is still deemed as the country of origin of victims from human trafficking, and<br />

there is no basis to declare that Latvia has become a transit and/or destination country of human<br />

trafficking victims. In 2010, no cases of human trafficking transit has been detected in Latvia,<br />

same as cases of human trafficking according to the understanding of the Protocol to prevent,

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