Question Period Note: Human trafficking in Ukraine

• Women and girls on the move - at border crossing points or transit and collective centres and in bomb shelters - experience particularly high insecurity and risk of violence, including trafficking in persons.
• We are concerned that the longer the war continues, women and girls will become more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse as they possibly take risker housing options and face greater economic hardship.
• Canada is supporting initiatives and working with the Government of Ukraine and local NGOs to provide information to help combat human-trafficking by disbursing information leaflets, and establishing hotlines, chat-bots, websites and QR codes.

• A Canadian development partner is also supporting the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers in establishing rules and a database to protect and track children crossing the border, including institutionalized children and orphans.
• In Canada, we are not currently aware of any reports of human trafficking related to Ukrainians that have entered Canada as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, implicated federal government departments continue to monitor the situation very closely.

Before the war, Ukrainians were among the top nationalities being trafficked in Europe with well established trafficking avenues run by criminal organizations. Russia's war on Ukraine and the massive exodus of refugees have contributed to an environment in which traffickers can thrive, placing women and girls at particular risk. On 4-6 April 2022, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) hosted its annual High-level Alliance against Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Conference, and Canada highlighted the importance of gender and diversity mainstreaming to protection approaches.

Canada's bilateral development program is funding the Support Ukraine's Reform for Governance (SURGe) project, implemented by Alinea International. One of the many initiatives SURGe is currently undertaking is aimed at preventing human trafficking at the borders of Ukraine. The project has distributed 100,000 copies of a human-trafficking prevention information leaflet, near border crossing points between Ukraine and Poland, Hungary, Romania and Moldova. The project is also working with NGOs and governments to identify opportunities to establish hotlines, chat-bots, websites and QR codes. Additionally, the SURGe project is supporting the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers in establishing rules to protect children crossing the border, including institutionalized children and orphans, and has also established a database of children leaving Ukraine to ensure safe relocation and tracking of their status.Canada is also funding The AMBER- Prevention & Response to SGBV project, implemented by UNFPA. The project aims to increase security and protection from sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) for women and girls in Ukraine, and has distributed over 450,000 leaflets for IDP women, containing critical information on gender-based violence (GBV) and human trafficking prevention.

In Canada, the protection of victims of human trafficking is a shared responsibility among all levels of government. Provinces and territories provide services such as health and social services, emergency housing, and legal aid to victims and survivors.

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