Back GRETA carries out third evaluation visit to Azerbaijan

GRETA carries out third evaluation visit to Azerbaijan

A delegation of the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) carried out an evaluation visit to Azerbaijan on 5-9 September 2022 as part of the third evaluation round of the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. The focus of this evaluation round of the Convention is on trafficking victims’ access to justice and effective remedies. Prior to the visit, the Azerbaijani authorities provided a reply to GRETA’s questionnaire for the third evaluation round. In addition to the new thematic focus, GRETA verified how the main recommendations made in its second evaluation report have been implemented.

During the visit, the GRETA delegation held consultations with Mr Azimov Seyfulla Sattar oglu, First Deputy Minister of the Interior and National Co-ordinator on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, as well as with officials from the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Youth and Sport, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Meetings were also held with officials from the State Migration Service, the State Security Service, the State Border Service, the State Committee for Family, Women and Children’s Affairs, the Guardianship and Trusteeship Body, the State Tourism Agency and the Agency for State Support to Non-Governmental Organisations, as well as prosecutors from the Prosecutor General’s Office and judges from regional Courts for Serious Crimes.

Furthermore, the GRETA delegation met representatives of the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights and members of the Azerbaijani Parliament’s Committees on Human Rights and on Legal Policy and State-building.

The representatives of GRETA also travelled to Ganja where they held meetings with relevant officials from the regions of Ganja and Sheki, including police officers, prosecutors, judges, labour inspectors and representatives of the State Employment Agency.

In the course of the visit, the GRETA delegation visited the State shelter for victims of trafficking in human beings in Baku, two NGO-run shelters for women victims of violence (in Baku and Ganja), an NGO-run shelter for vulnerable children in Baku, and a centre for irregular migrants in Baku.

The GRETA delegation held separate meetings with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and lawyers representing victims of trafficking. It also met representatives of the European Union Delegation in Baku, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

The visit was carried out by Ms la Dadunashvili and Mr Georgios Vanikiotis, members of GRETA, who were accompanied by Mr Mesut Bedirhanoglu and Ms Parvine Ghadami of the Secretariat of the Convention.

Following the visit, GRETA will prepare a draft report, which will be sent to the Azerbaijani authorities for comments. GRETA will subsequently adopt a final report which will be published in 2023.

Azerbaijan 5-9 September 2022
  • Diminuer la taille du texte
  • Augmenter la taille du texte
  • Imprimer la page