Regulatory control to resist human trafficking in the Kyrgyz Republic

Counteraction to human trafficking requires particular attention and legislative regulation at all stages of migration, namely, in: the countries of origin; protection of borders; conducting viable visa policy; implementing measures against uncontrolled migration; security measures for illegal labor-migrants; regularization and legalization of migration programs; measures on returning migrants to homeland, etc. Actions compelling persons to slavery, forced labor, forced marriage and prostitution with exploitation purpose, debt bondage and enslavement are recognized as actions undermining individual rights and prohibited by international norms. International law requires states to prevent human rights violation, and it decisively condemns human trafficking, vividly reflected in documents, such as the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (21 March 1949), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (19 December 1966), Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, supplementing UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (adopted on 15 November 2000, Palermo), The Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air (2000) and others ratified by Kyrgyzstan and consequently becoming an integral part of the national law. Kyrgyzstan today is known as the country of export, import and transit for human trafficking. Its dynamics is very complex, covering a wide range of spectra from labor migrants' exploitation to forced prostitution, which is reflected in the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic (Articles 124, 204-1, 204-2, 346, 350). The law additionally stipulates punishment for the following actions: threat of force; blackmail; the use of force; other forms of coercion; kidnapping; fraud; deception; abuse of power; abuse of the victim's vulnerable situation; bribery by payments or benefits, aimed to obtain agreement from a person controlling another person, etc. The Administrative Code of the KR provides for a number of reasons on deportation and reducing the period of stay for foreigners and stateless persons if they violate the rules of residence. The law of the Kyrgyz Republic "On External Migration" also stipulates liability for violations related to illegal entry of foreign citizens and stateless persons on the territory of Kyrgyz Republic, as well as violating rules of stay and transit pass (Articles 59-63). In this way, illegal import and export of migrants and human trafficking are two distinctive penal acts, recognized on the international level. They are defined by international community in two separate UN Protocols (Protocol Against Smuggling of Migrants, and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons) urging for actions to combat human trafficking.

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