Shelters for the temporary accommodation of victims of human trafficking

A three-story facility has been allocated, renovated, and equipped with modern infrastructure in accordance with international standards for the purpose of establishing a shelter for the temporary accommodation of victims of human trafficking. The Shelter was inaugurated in 2006 with the participation of the leadership of the Embassy of the United States, the OSCE, and the Baku Office of the International Organization for Migration.

Shelters for the temporary accommodation of victims of human trafficking (hereinafter – “Shelters”) are established to ensure decent living conditions for victims, guarantee their security, provide them with food and essential medical supplies, and furnish urgent medical, psychological, social, and legal assistance. Victims accommodated in the Shelters shall be afforded the opportunity to communicate by telephone and to access interpretation services. Dedicated premises shall be designated for confidential communication.

The anonymity of the identity of victims in the Shelters shall be ensured, and no information regarding such persons shall be disclosed to criminal prosecution authorities or other state bodies without their consent.

Regardless of their conduct or their willingness to cooperate with criminal prosecution authorities and testify against traffickers, a victim of human trafficking shall be provided shelter, upon request, for a period of thirty (30) days.

The duration of shelter provision may be extended upon the request of the special police unit or the petition of the victim. In all cases, placement in a Shelter and any extension of the shelter period shall be carried out with the victim’s consent.

The provision of shelter to child victims of human trafficking and their maintenance therein shall be implemented in accordance with Article 16 of the Law “On Combating Human Trafficking.”

Shelters shall immediately notify the guardianship and trusteeship authority and the Commission for the Protection of Minors’ Rights of any child victim of human trafficking.

Where the age of an individual cannot be definitively established upon admission to a Shelter, but there is reason to presume that the individual has not reached the age of eighteen (18), the person shall be considered a child. The period of stay for children in the Shelter shall be sixty (60) days. This period may be extended upon the request of the special police unit, the guardianship

and trusteeship authority, or the Commission for the Protection of Minors’ Rights. When children are placed in a Shelter or their stay is extended, the views of children aged ten (10) years or older shall be ascertained and taken into account.

As a rule, children shall be accommodated separately from adults in the Shelters. Taking into account the best interests of the child, the child may be placed with their parents (except where the parents are presumed to have caused the child to become a victim of human trafficking) or with other individuals who positively influence the child’s psychological well-being.

Children placed in the Shelters shall be ensured the opportunity to continue their education and to maintain contact and communication with their parents (except where the parents are presumed to have caused the child to become a victim of human trafficking).

Ensuring decent living conditions for victims in the Shelters; protecting their life, health, rights, freedoms, security, and anonymity of identity; and conducting operational-search activities and criminal prosecution measures within the scope of authority in relation to human trafficking crimes shall fall within the responsibility of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The identification of links between transnational organized criminal groups and human traffickers shall be ensured by the State Security Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The Shelters are established by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan and operate as institutions financed from the state budget and subordinate to said Ministry. The material and technical provisioning of the Shelters shall be ensured from the state budget and other sources stipulated by legislation.