90 victims of human trafficking identified in 2020 in Belarus, 20 of them underage

30 июля 2020
The legislation of Belarus requires adjustments for additional protection of children from human trafficking. Innovations will be developed in the near future. The most acute problem remains crime on the Internet. This is mainly due to the sense of secrecy and invulnerability that drive pedophiles. The Ministry of Internal Affairs sees begging as a future problem.

Dmitry Tsayun, Deputy Head of the Main Department for Drug Control and Counteraction to Human Trafficking of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus: "The legislation does not regulate the issue of child trafficking. We consider any form of exploitation of children, including for the purpose of organized begging a child trafficking, human trafficking. In this regard, we also take the initiative to adjust the legislation in order to criminalize such actions."

The UN Convention against transnational organized crime was signed 20 years ago. Human trafficking in its current form has taken the form of a humanitarian and social pandemic. According to the Red Cross, 90 victims have been identified in Belarus this year, 20 of them are underage. Experts from various Ministries, public organizations and representatives of the diplomatic corps agreed that the most important role in solving the issue is to work with the younger generation and educate them.