125 victims of human trafficking found in Kazakhstan in 2012

125 victims of human trafficking were found in Kazakhstan in 2012, Tengrinews.kz reports citing the International Organization for Migration (IOM). “In cooperation with public organizations and law-enforcement authorities, the International Organization for Migration has detected 125 victims of human trafficking in 2012. 56 of them were the victims of forced labor and 69 experienced sexual abuse. All detected persons have received different rehabilitation aid under IOM programs. Citizens of foreign countries, such as Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Russian were safely returned to their countries,” the organization’s message states. Kazakhstan takes significant efforts to eradicate human trafficking. On October 18 Kazakhstan Interior Minister Kalmukhanbet Kassymov and IOM coordinator for Central Asia Dejan Keserovich signed a memorandum of understanding in countering human trafficking in Kazakhstan. The memorandum provides for enhancement of partnership in rendering support to victims of human trafficking, information exchange for prevention, suppression, detection and investigation of crimes related to human trafficking, organization and performance of the preventive measures. According to the International Organization for Migration, half of the victims detected this year are citizens of Kazakhstan sold inside the country. “One citizen of Kazakhstan was released from sexual exploitation in the UAE and one Kazakhstan citizen was returned from Russia, where she was exposed to forced labor for a long time. The total number of discovered victims of human trafficking in Kazakhstan from 2004 to 2012 stands at 876,” the IOM writes.