On February 15, Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia Tatevik Stepanyan received the head of USAID Anti-Trafficking Program, Lilian Mageto, Armenia’s Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs reports.
During the meeting, a number of details related to the implementation of the National Action Plan2020-2022 were discussed. The ongoing work on the prevention of human trafficking, victim detection and identification, assistance and protection mechanisms, as well as the need to intensify awareness-raising and inter-agency cooperation were highlighted.
Touching upon the priorities set by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs in the fight against human trafficking, Tatevik Stepanyan stressed the importance of improving and harmonizing the legislation, introducing new institutional mechanisms, developing, as well as raising the qualification of specialists. “The Ministry continues to carry out necessary and consistent work in the fight against human trafficking. Along with the improvement of legislation, it is necessary to have effective mechanisms for data collection and analysis.”
Lilian Mageto also highlighted the joint efforts in the fight against human trafficking, announcing that during her visit to Armenia she plans to meet with all the main national players dealing with the issues of the sphere.
“This was a great opportunity for me to visit Armenia to get a better idea of the priorities that will be included in our program to provide the necessary support to national players in the fight against trafficking. Within the framework of the implemented work, we significantly emphasize the role of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs as the leading coordinating body in the fight against human trafficking in Armenia.”
At the end of the meeting, the parties expressed readiness to continue their joint efforts to introduce more effective tools in the fight against human trafficking, to prevent cases and to identify cases.
