Russian Pop Star and IOM Goodwill Envoy Valeriya is set to release
her new track "Back to Love", which details the story of a victim
of human trafficking, on 20 April in the United Kingdom.

The idea for this song began to materialize last August when IOM
named Valeriya its Goodwill Envoy in the Russian Federation. At
that time she also received a medal from IOM's Director General in
recognition of her work with IOM on counter-trafficking issues in
Russia, which began in 2007.

Valeriya is the first Russian celebrity to dedicate her time and
international fame to raise awareness of the plight of victims of
trafficking.  The sale of her latest album (250,000 CDs to
date) has been an effective vehicle for the dissemination of
counter trafficking messages.

Back to Love will be included in Valeriya's 2009 European
tour. 

"Artists speak the universal language of emotions and feelings,
and that is why we are able to garner the attention of the general
public on crucial social issues, such as human trafficking. 
Music and entertainment are powerful tools to put an end to
indifference and generate positive changes worldwide.  With
support from organizations like IOM, artists can change public
perceptions of human trafficking, stop human rights violations and
save many human lives," explains Valeriya.

Valeriya's own experience of physical violence in her previous
marriage, of which she has openly spoken, has made Valeriya a
powerful ally for IOM's work worldwide to combat human
trafficking. 

For more information on IOM's counter-trafficking work in the
Russian Federation, please visit work "paragraph-link-no-underline" href="http://www.no2slavery.ru/"
target="_blank" title="">http://www.no2slavery.ru/ or
contact:

Alberto Andreani

IOM Moscow

Tel: +7 495 797 8722

E-mail: "mailto:aandreani@iom.int">aandreani@iom.int