The meeting, attended by the head of Polish MFA in the form of a videoconference, is being held in Vienna on 4-6 April. During the meeting, four panel sessions will be held on the protection of victims of human trafficking, including children. The opening ceremony was also attended by Helga Schmid – OSCE Secretary General, Matteo Meccaci – Director of OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, and Valiant Richey – OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings.

In his address, Minister Rau referred to the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine, which causes an increasingly tragic humanitarian and refugee crisis, with millions already affected. “Most of the refugees have arrived in Poland and our country is determined to offer assistance to anyone fleeing the war,” he underlined. “Inflow of large numbers of refugees can result in increased risk of human trafficking. Therefore, Polish Border Guard, Police and other authorities have taken steps to prevent and counter human trafficking,” added the minister. To this end, Poland’s authorities have taken appropriate information measures, including alerts sent to people coming to Poland from Ukraine, informing them of potential threats and possible assistance. Appropriate procedures have also been developed, including regarding the protection of minors.

OSCE Chairman-in-Office also noted that the measures addressing the refugee flow follow up on solutions already used by Warsaw in preventing and countering trafficking in human beings. “To this scope, we have implemented a number of comprehensive measures aimed at efficient diagnosis of cases of human trafficking, constant monitoring of this phenomenon, and providing protection to its victims,” he said. Minister Rau recalled that preventing and countering trafficking in human beings is the responsibility of all OSCE participating States. He also thanked all those engaged in helping refugees.

Łukasz Jasina
MFA Press Spokesperson

 

photos by Sebastian Indra / MFA