23.04.2026

On 20–21 April, the 26th Conference of the Alliance against Trafficking in Persons of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) was held in Vienna, Austria.

The event, held under the theme “The Rise of Forced Criminality: Addressing a Security Blind Spot”, was chaired by Kari Johnstone, OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, and brought together representatives of OSCE participating States.

On the first day of the conference, participants heard statements by the OSCE Secretary General, the Head of the Federal Department of Justice and Police of Switzerland, and the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). A presentation was also delivered by the Deputy Director for Organized and Emerging Crime at INTERPOL.

During the panel discussions held on the second day, a representative of the Main Department on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan delivered a statement. The representative noted that the principle of non-punishment of vulnerable groups who become victims of trafficking in human beings, including children, women, and migrants, when they are compelled to commit offences, is expressly enshrined in Article 26 of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.

The representative further stated that although the Republic of Azerbaijan ratified the Convention and the declarations thereto on 11 May 2010, Article 17 of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, adopted in 2005, had already provided that victims of trafficking in human beings may be exempted, in the cases and manner prescribed by the legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan, from civil, administrative, and criminal liability for acts committed under coercion or threat as a direct consequence of their status as victims of trafficking.

The conference concluded on 21 April.