Actual issues of combating human trafficking in the context of international armed conflict in Ukraine

Abstract

The article examines problematic issues of countering human trafficking in the context of the international armed conflict in Ukraine. It has been established that human trafficking is a crime that has both a national and an international dimension, as it should be considered both an ordinary and a war crime. It was emphasized that the international armed conflict that has been going on in Ukraine since 2014 caused the emergence of new trends in the field of human trafficking. New schemes of this criminally illegal act have emerged, related to use of Ukrainian citizens in the armed conflict as labor force or direct participants in this conflict. Women and children who leave for other countries in connection with the occupation and indiscriminate shelling of Ukrainian territories, in certain cases become victims of human trafficking subjects who disguise their business as volunteer activities.It was established that the lack of an effective system of criminal prosecution for war crimes committed in Ukraine contributes to various manifestations of human trafficking as a war crime.It is argued that it is extremely important to develop an effective and efficient mechanism to counter this shameful phenomenon both at the national and global (interstate, international) levels. In addition to developing and consolidating the regulatory and legal basis for combating human trafficking, important directions are also: 1) establishment of an effective mechanism of interaction: both at the international and at the state level (between state institutions and public organizations in this field); 2) informational and explanatory work among the population, aimed at preventing the commission of specified illegal acts against them; 3) raising the professional level of specialists who work in the field of providing assistance to refugees, as well as providing assistance to persons affected by human trafficking; 4) development and implementation of post-conflict rehabilitation programs for persons who became victims of trafficking and violence during armed conflicts.It is proposed to consider the possibility of recognition as a qualifying or particularly qualifying feature of the crime provided for in Art. 149 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, its commission in conditions of armed conflict.