ANKARA - The report on ''Irregular Migration and Trafficking in Women:The Case of Turkey'' prepared by International Organization for Migration (IOM) was promoted on Thursday in a news conference held in U.N. office in Ankara.
Speaking in the meeting, IOM's Turkey Mission Chief Regina Boucault said that Turkey was an important transit country for irregular migration due to its geographical status.
Boucault stressed that Turkey undertook important legal regulations about human smuggling in the last three years, noting that these regulations should also be put into practice. Noting that this problem was not only seen in Turkey, but in all countries and also in EU, Boucault said that all countries should share information and take common action about the issue.
Human smuggling should be considered as a human rights problem, Boucault said adding media, police, government and NGOs had important roles to play in that regard.
Boucault said that the aim of the report was to support Turkish officials regarding the policy that would be pursued about irregular migration and trafficking, to develop projects together with the government for the victims of irregular migration and to contribute to the solution of the problem.
The report provides a comprehensive view of the mechanisms and institutions involved in the trafficking of women in Turkey. The aim is to gain a better understanding of the issue and to propose necessary remedies and policy measures to address this phenomenon. The study examines the environment and social contexts, private and public perceptions of and attitudes towards trafficking in women, the role and attitude of intermediaries, of public officials, and the attempts to address the issue through legislative means by providing appropriate grounds for the indictment of the perpetrators and legal redress for the victims.
(Öª) 22.01.2004