The IOM office in Chisinau and the Moldovan Ministry of Social
Protection, Family and Child have launched a National Referral
System to provide long-term protection and assistance to former and
potential victims of trafficking throughout the territory of the
Republic of Moldova.

"This new referral system will allow former victims of
trafficking who return to small rural areas to benefit from the
same assistance and monitoring as those who remain in urban areas,"
says Ecaterina Berejan, who heads the National Coordination Centre.
"This will allow the government to make better use of its limited
resources and promote cooperation between the government and the
civil society."

This referral system will be further extended to assist
trafficked Moldovans through a network of IOM-trained Counter
Trafficking Focal Points in Moldovan Embassies and Consulates.
These officers will work with IOM Missions and other partners to
identify, protect, return and reintegrate Moldovan victims of
trafficking.

As part of this Danish and Norwegian funded capacity building
programme, an IOM run rehabilitation centre for victims of
trafficking in Chisinau was recently moved to new government-owned
premises.

Over the past five years, this centre has provided assistance to
more than 2,000 victims of trafficking.

IOM will continue over the next two years to assist the
government and civil society in their efforts to assist victims, in
accordance with Moldova’s new counter-trafficking
legislation.

For further information, please contact:



Iraida Margineanu

IOM Chisinau

Tel: +373 22 23 29 40

E-mail: "mailto:imargineanu@iom.int" target="_blank" title=
"">imargineanu@iom.int