The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has implemented a series of activities throughout the second quarter of 2024, aiming at enhancing inter-disciplinary cooperation and coordination to combat trafficking in persons in Georgia. 

Recognizing the pivotal role of civil society organizations (CSOs) in this fight, IOM has taken steps to further integrate CSOs into the country's National Referral Mechanism (NRM), aiming to improve victim identification rates to better reflect the actual situation.

With civil society's grassroots connections and trust within vulnerable communities, IOM believes these organizations are well-positioned to understand and respond to trafficking trends. To this end, IOM has scheduled capacity-building activities for CSOs eager to increase their involvement in this critical area.

From April to June 2024, IOM facilitated meetings in Batumi, Kutaisi, and Tbilisi, bringing together key local and regional stakeholders in the anti-trafficking field. These meetings aimed to pinpoint current challenges and gaps in service provision, with a special focus on the exploitation of children for street begging. The complexities of addressing this issue were highlighted, particularly regarding law enforcement and service provision for undocumented children who are often reluctant to engage with state bodies and CSOs.

The arrest of 15 suspects in May 2024, accused of trafficking children from Azerbaijan for forced begging in Georgia, underscores the urgency of addressing this form of trafficking. 

IOM has conducted an assessment of existing capacities in the context of identified challenges, which will be the basis for a CSO grant programme that IOM intends to release in the second half of 2024.

These efforts are part of the ongoing project “Joining Forces to Combat Trafficking in Persons (JFC-TIP),” funded by the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) of the U.S. Department of State.