Ukraine is a source, transit, and destination country for the victims of human trafficking (VoTs). IOM statistics since 2000 have shown a steady increase in the number of VoTs assisted each year. Since the beginning of 2006, a total of 2,607 VoTs, including those trafficked to Ukraine as a destination country, have received help (as of the mid 2008). Key destination countries are Russia, Turkey, Czech Republic, Poland, and the UAE. Internal trafficking has also been on the increase in recent years.  Approximately 5% of victims are reported to be minors.

A changing trend noted during the Phase I of the programme (2005-08) is an increase labour exploitation, which tends to happen in male-dominated industries such as construction. The number of male VoTs has therefore also risen, from 86 in 2004 to 272 in 2007. Russia remains a prime destination for labour exploitation, given the ease of movement to large Russian cities and the language and cultural similarities. Women are also exploited for labour, which, in a number of cases, is mixed with sexual exploitation.

Ukraine has made significant progress in combating trafficking in persons over the past five years.

Ukraine has a state action plan to combat trafficking from 2007 - 2010. It aims to improve legislation and the capacity of law enforcement to prevent and combat trafficking, increase awareness of trafficking among the public, provide assistance to VoTs with a particular focus on children, enhance cooperation between government and civil society and between Ukrainian and international law enforcement. Counter-trafficking (CT) efforts are led by the Ministry of Youth and Sport (MoFYS).

Ukraine has ratified the key conventions on trafficking and has subsequently enacted relevant domestic legislation. There is now a call for more comprehensive national legislation, which would provide for all aspects of the rehabilitation and reintegration of victims of trafficking, which is the stated primary aim of the state programme to combat trafficking and has also been identified as a priority for the Phase II of this Danish programme (2009-11).

During the Phase I, considerable advances were made in a number of areas, including the establishment of a working group led by the MoFYS and the first efforts to establish indicators for evaluating the success of the state CT programme. Work is also ongoing in a number of regions on the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), spearheaded by the MoFYS. An expanded range of stakeholders and an improved and unified understanding by government agencies of approaches to human trafficking also provide solid ground on which to build.

In the Phase II, Strengthening the relevant national structures and mechanisms improving coherency and sustainability would be a valid overall objective for the Ukrainian country programme.

In keeping with the overall programme strategy, the Ukraine country programme will encourage the government to take an increasing lead at both national and local levels.  Programme partners will work with government agencies to strengthen the existing legislative basis for CT, to develop a monitoring plan for the current national action plan, and strengthen the knowledge and tools necessary to develop a long-term vision. Targeted capacity building activities will link government and civil society actors.

Advocacy will show how the latter, with their expertise, local knowledge, and operational nature, can complement broader government initiatives, reflecting the ideal of a fully-functioning NRM is an active partnership between government and civil society. 

Service provision will continue, at a lower level than during the Phase I, to contribute to rehabilitating and reintegrating VoTs - and also as a means to ‘field-test’ new approaches to different categories of VoT, including in relation to male VoTs. Since most services are currently geared towards female VoTs, there is a need to properly assess effective approaches for assisting men, both prior to identification (hotlines) and after they have been identified.

For the list of country activities, please refer to the Action Plan.

Implementing Organisations in the Country Programme in Ukraine

International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Mission in Ukraine

La Strada -Ukraine

Organisation for Cooperation and Security in Europe Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine (OSCE PCU)