Caravanserai

Kyrgyzstan eyes shelters for human trafficking victims

Caravanserai

BISHKEK -- Kyrgyzstan plans to build shelters for victims of human trafficking, 24.kg reported Monday (May 20), citing State Migration Service Deputy Chairman Samat Toktobolotov.

Terrorist organisations such as "Islamic State" (IS) have used human trafficking to help finance their causes and as a tool in recruitment. For example, to attract new fighters, IS kidnapped Yazidi women and girls in Iraq to be used as sex slaves for men who join the militant group.

"We are exploring the possibility of opening two shelters in Kyrgyzstan -- one in the north of the country and the second in the south," Toktobolotov said. "We are discussing their funding, the possibility of donor participation. Maybe we will build them as a public-private partnership or via a state ... contract."

The shelters are necessary to provide security and medical and psychological assistance to victims of human trafficking, according to Toktobolotov.

Kyrgyzstan has opened four criminal cases related to human trafficking since the beginning of the year, according to the State Migration Service. The government registered eight such cases in 2018.

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