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Today, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation are holding the International Scientific and Practical Conference dedicated to the fight against human trafficking in the Tauride Palace in St. Petersburg. The representatives from more than 20 countries and six international organizations, including the OSCE, the Bureau on Coordination and Fight against Organized Crime, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the Council of Europe, the European Union, the International Organization for Migration are participating in the event. Also, the forum is being attended by representatives of the legislative and judicial branches, the FSB, the Interior Ministry and the Federal Migration Service of Russia, Ministry of Labor, the Russian Legal Academy the Ministry of Justice, the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Russian State Pedagogical University n.a. A. Herzen.

Opening the conference, the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia Alexander Bastrykin stated that "According to statistics, in 2010, the investigating authorities initiated 53 criminal cases under articles 127.1 (trafficking in persons) and 127.2 (use of slave labor) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, 12 of them were sent to the court against 23 persons. In 2011, 20 criminal cases were opened, 18 cases against 23 persons were sent to the court. Last year 37 criminal cases were brought, 19 cases against 35 persons were sent to the court.”

Speaking about the tasks of the Investigative Committee of Russia in the field of combating human trafficking, Alexander Bastrykin said that "as a rule, we join the fight against crime when the wrongful act has already been committed. But our task is not only to find the killer and bring him to justice, but also to prevent a crime, to understand and eliminate its causes." The Chairman of the Investigative Committee said that the conference will discuss not only the sexual exploitation of women, but also slave labor, organ trafficking, and such an inhuman phenomenon as child exploitation." Unfortunately, it is worth noting we have recently identified a new trend in trafficking - slave labor on ships", - Alexander Bastrykin said. This aspect will also be discussed at the conference.

In his speech, Secretary General - Head of Secretariat of the Interparliamentary Assembly of States - members of the Commonwealth of Independent States Alexei Sergeyev highlighted the important role of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation in combating human trafficking. Other participants are currently delivering their speeches.

During the two days of the conference, representatives of foreign governments, civil society, NGOs, academia, as well as employees of Russian ministries and departments will discuss all aspects of human trafficking - the causes, trends, theoretical approaches and practices to combat the phenomenon.