Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 15 April (BelTA) - Belarus’ leading role in combating human trafficking at the international level was emphasized by participants of a thematic roundtable “Trafficking in Persons: Eliminating Forced Labor” that was held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 14 April, BelTA learnt from the press service of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Partaking in the event as keynote speakers were the Ambassadors of Kazakhstan and the USA, representatives of the Vatican, the International Labor Organization, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, and also a number of NGOs from the United States involved in interaction with the private sector. “The participants of the roundtable underlined the leadership of Belarus in tackling human trafficking at the international level and paid attention to the High-Level meeting of the UN General Assembly on the review of the Global Plan of Action, scheduled to be held in 2017 under the initiative of Belarus,” the press service said.

The event was organized by the Group of Friends united against Human Trafficking on the initiative of Belarus.

The moderator of the event was Belarusian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Valentin Rybakov. In his welcoming speech, Valentin Rybakov took note of the need for more active involvement of the private sector in combating forced labor in the production chain. The Belarusian diplomat also spoke in favor of strengthening partnership among all stakeholders in the fight against trafficking in persons and the need for the fulfillment of commitments. Valentin Rybakov stressed the importance of comprehensive fight against human trafficking in the context of the new 2030 Agenda for Development. Besides, the Belarusian diplomat also informed about the contribution of the Group of Friends to international efforts in global fight against human trafficking and plans of the Group for the future.

According to the press service, the meeting of the Group of Griends took place at the UNESCO headquarters on 14 April as part of the 199^th session of the Executive Board of the organization. The meeting was initiated by Belarus.

Representatives of Belarus that chaired the meeting made a presentation of the Group’s activity in various international organizations. The participants of the meeting exchanged opinions on the ways for the Group to advance the fight against human trafficking issue in the UNESCO.

“The participants of the meeting agreed on mutual steps for the joint organization of thematic events and advancement of the draft resolution during the 39^th session of the UNESCO General Conference,” the press service said. The interest in the event was also shown by delegations of the countries which are not the Group of Friends member states, and the UNESCO Secretariat.

The Group of Friends united against Human Trafficking was created in 2010 under the initiative of Belarus. The Group comprises 24 member states from all regions of the world. The UN General Assembly adopted the UN Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in persons, initiated by the Group.