The Milli Majlis Human Rights Committee and Committee for Law Policy and State-Building met remotely on 20 April. First Deputy Chair of the Milli Majlis and Chairman of the Law Policy and State-Building Committee Ali Huseynli joined the remote session, too.

Chairman of the Human Rights Committee Zahid Oruj announced the discussion of the presentation of the counter-action in the country by the National Co-ordinator on Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings. Mr Oruj remarked that the relevant national working mechanisms had been formed starting after the ratification by Azerbaijan of the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime in 2003. Azerbaijan went on to build a relevant legislative base; the task-specific Main Department was incepted at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the First Deputy Minister for Internal Affairs was appointed as the National Co-ordinator. Three corresponding action plans have been carried out to date; the fourth one was adopted then and is implemented currently.

Deputy Head of the MIA Main Department Samir Zeynalov presented the National Co-ordinator’s information about the national-level action to counter human trafficking. Mr Zeynalov provided a thorough and detailed presentation of the legislative measures taken to discourage human trafficking, enlightenment and prevention of such crimes, education and training arrangements, international collaboration, the efforts to prevent forced labour, criminal prosecution activities and the handling of crime victims. He also cited statistical data descriptive of the results of the action against trafficking in humans.

The investigation and intelligence work conducted in 2020 revealed 155 human trafficking facts in 16 criminal cases, 5 forced labour facts in 2 criminal cases and 40 unlawful documentation manipulations for the trafficking purposes. The overall crime detection rates reached 98% in human trafficking and 100% in forced labour cases. As many as 20 persons (17 women and 3 men) were put to trial for trafficking. Of the 15 defendants who were found guilty and incriminated in the end, 12 were sentenced to custodial coercion, 2 had conditional sentences passed on them and the penalty of 1 person is on hold pending that person’s child reaching the age of fourteen.

On another note, 91 out of the 94 human trafficking victims found in 2020 were supplied with various forms of aid including the financial one. Their children, too, were in the focus.

The MPs Razi Nurullayev, Hikmat Mammadov, Tahir Karimli, Elshad Mirbashir oglu, Vugar Iskandarov, Amina Agazade, Fazil Mustafa, Fazayil Agamali, Jala Ahmadova and Bahrouz Maharramov as well as President of the Constitutional Research Foundation Alimammad Nuriyev and Chair of the Public Association for Aiding Women ‘The Clean World’ Mehriban Zeynalova spoke up following the presentation. They all complimented the National Co-ordinator on the work done last year and made a several remarks and suggestions.

It was recommended next that the report by the National Co-ordinator of the Azerbaijan Republic on Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings should be tabled for deliberations at a plenary sitting of the Milli Majlis.

MP Elshan Musayev and other officials attended the joint remote meeting of the two Milli Majlis committees, too.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis