kraine and its neighbors are experiencing a human trafficking crisis of historic proportions on the one-year anniversary of Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. State Department found that around four million people fled Ukraine during the first five weeks of Russia’s invasion, while another 6.5 million were internally displaced. Women and children make up around 90% of those who left the country and more than half of those displaced. This surge in numbers of vulnerable people means opportunities for human traffickers. Ukrainian trafficking victims in Europe are projected to increase by a factor of nine, and estimated Ukrainian asylum claims in Europe are projected to increase from around 5,000 to about 5,000,000, according to a recent United Nations report. While global human trafficking decreased during the pandemic, the UN report also identified Russia’s attack on Ukraine as one of two new factors driving human trafficking activity on a global scale.
The tragedy unfolding before our eyes in Ukraine is another illustration of how war creates the conditions for human trafficking to thrive. The key question is: “What can be done to stop it?”
World Responds to Human Trafficking in Ukraine
The answer is that the consequences of Russia’s attack on Ukraine were anticipated by Ukraine and the global community, which together developed frameworks and took action to address this looming crisis. In May 2022, Ukraine and the United Nations signed a Framework of Cooperation to support prevention and response for conflict related sexual violence. Sixty-Five percent of human trafficking involves women, according to UN Women Europe. The NGO community has also risen to the challenge with the involvement of All-Ukrainian Coalition of Public Organizations for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and support from 57 global NGOs who raised initial awareness with an open letter at the start of Russia’s invasion and have since taken efforts to counter the consequences.
Across Europe, the European Union instituted a Common Anti-Trafficking Plan in May 2022 under the EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator to strengthen public awareness and set up dedicated hotlines, take steps to reinforce prevention measures, expand law enforcement and judiciary capabilities, improve identification, support, and protection for victims, and address trafficking risks in Ukraine and Moldova as non-EU states. EUROPOL coordinated efforts with 14 EU Member states to conduct a joint online “hackathon” to investigate, monitor, and track online platforms in order to identify criminal networks seeking to exploit Ukrainian refugees.
The Organization for Cooperation and Security (OSCE) in Europe has also assumed a leadership role on human trafficking and taken actions. Its BE SAFE campaign, led by the OSCE Special Representative and Co-Coordinator for Combating Human Trafficking and done in partnership with Thomson Reuters, is providing information to identify the warning signs of traffickers to minimize risks, provide knowledge of how and where to get assistance, including crisis hotlines in 12 European countries include Ukraine.
Private Sector Must Play its Part
There is no doubt that the private sector must be an active and involved partner in combating human trafficking. It is doing so in a number of ways. The Global Business Coalition Against Human Trafficking is a voluntary, private sector led coalition of companies, including the Coca-Cola Corporation, Google, and Marriott International, that focuses on survivor empowerment, SME capability building, and helping to navigate existing resources. Companies like Facebook, BP, Microsoft, and others have engaged in efforts in the Asia-Pacific region in coordination with the UN Office of Drugs and Crime. Finally, hundreds of U.S. companies, including American Airlines, Amtrak, CSX, Greyhound, Delta Airlines, and UPS, have joined the U.S. Transportation Against Human Trafficking program to coordinate efforts. At Kyivstar, we are strongly supporting the BE SAFE campaign and have begun a program to send SMS messages to over 2 million Ukrainian customers in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Moldova to provide alerts on trafficking and to enable better coordination on anti-trafficking efforts.
Governments, international organizations, NGO’s, the private sector, and citizens have all responded to the call for action to address human trafficking as a result of Russia’s brutal aggression in Ukraine. It is critical that these efforts expand and deepen in the coming months. The private sector has a necessary and important role to play, and a moral and societal obligation to act, not only in Ukraine and neighboring countries, but in other troubled parts of the world where human trafficking grows. Collective action is making a difference in combating human trafficking, but we must do more.
a global affairs media network
Combating Human Trafficking in Ukraine
Photo via Adobe Stock.
February 27, 2023
Human traffickers have been busy with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Ukrainian women and children refugees are particularly vulnerable. Governance institutions have been fighting back, but the role being played by private enterprise is also crucial, explains Kyivstar CEO Olexandr Komarov.
U
kraine and its neighbors are experiencing a human trafficking crisis of historic proportions on the one-year anniversary of Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. State Department found that around four million people fled Ukraine during the first five weeks of Russia’s invasion, while another 6.5 million were internally displaced. Women and children make up around 90% of those who left the country and more than half of those displaced. This surge in numbers of vulnerable people means opportunities for human traffickers. Ukrainian trafficking victims in Europe are projected to increase by a factor of nine, and estimated Ukrainian asylum claims in Europe are projected to increase from around 5,000 to about 5,000,000, according to a recent United Nations report. While global human trafficking decreased during the pandemic, the UN report also identified Russia’s attack on Ukraine as one of two new factors driving human trafficking activity on a global scale.
The tragedy unfolding before our eyes in Ukraine is another illustration of how war creates the conditions for human trafficking to thrive. The key question is: “What can be done to stop it?”
World Responds to Human Trafficking in Ukraine
The answer is that the consequences of Russia’s attack on Ukraine were anticipated by Ukraine and the global community, which together developed frameworks and took action to address this looming crisis. In May 2022, Ukraine and the United Nations signed a Framework of Cooperation to support prevention and response for conflict related sexual violence. Sixty-Five percent of human trafficking involves women, according to UN Women Europe. The NGO community has also risen to the challenge with the involvement of All-Ukrainian Coalition of Public Organizations for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and support from 57 global NGOs who raised initial awareness with an open letter at the start of Russia’s invasion and have since taken efforts to counter the consequences.
Across Europe, the European Union instituted a Common Anti-Trafficking Plan in May 2022 under the EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator to strengthen public awareness and set up dedicated hotlines, take steps to reinforce prevention measures, expand law enforcement and judiciary capabilities, improve identification, support, and protection for victims, and address trafficking risks in Ukraine and Moldova as non-EU states. EUROPOL coordinated efforts with 14 EU Member states to conduct a joint online “hackathon” to investigate, monitor, and track online platforms in order to identify criminal networks seeking to exploit Ukrainian refugees.
The Organization for Cooperation and Security (OSCE) in Europe has also assumed a leadership role on human trafficking and taken actions. Its BE SAFE campaign, led by the OSCE Special Representative and Co-Coordinator for Combating Human Trafficking and done in partnership with Thomson Reuters, is providing information to identify the warning signs of traffickers to minimize risks, provide knowledge of how and where to get assistance, including crisis hotlines in 12 European countries include Ukraine.
Private Sector Must Play its Part
There is no doubt that the private sector must be an active and involved partner in combating human trafficking. It is doing so in a number of ways. The Global Business Coalition Against Human Trafficking is a voluntary, private sector led coalition of companies, including the Coca-Cola Corporation, Google, and Marriott International, that focuses on survivor empowerment, SME capability building, and helping to navigate existing resources. Companies like Facebook, BP, Microsoft, and others have engaged in efforts in the Asia-Pacific region in coordination with the UN Office of Drugs and Crime. Finally, hundreds of U.S. companies, including American Airlines, Amtrak, CSX, Greyhound, Delta Airlines, and UPS, have joined the U.S. Transportation Against Human Trafficking program to coordinate efforts. At Kyivstar, we are strongly supporting the BE SAFE campaign and have begun a program to send SMS messages to over 2 million Ukrainian customers in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Moldova to provide alerts on trafficking and to enable better coordination on anti-trafficking efforts.
Governments, international organizations, NGO’s, the private sector, and citizens have all responded to the call for action to address human trafficking as a result of Russia’s brutal aggression in Ukraine. It is critical that these efforts expand and deepen in the coming months. The private sector has a necessary and important role to play, and a moral and societal obligation to act, not only in Ukraine and neighboring countries, but in other troubled parts of the world where human trafficking grows. Collective action is making a difference in combating human trafficking, but we must do more.
