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Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. In its earlier comments, the Committee referred to the communication from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), according to which thousands of persons were trafficked from the Russian Federation to other countries, including Canada, China, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Spain, Thailand and the United States. Internal trafficking within the Russian Federation also reportedly took place; women were generally forced to work as prostitutes while men were trafficked into agricultural or construction work. The Government indicated in its 2007 report that detection of human trafficking cases had increased six-fold in three years, and several dozens of organized criminal groups engaged in recruiting Russian citizens for the purpose of sexual and labour exploitation in the countries of Western Europe, Middle East and North America had been uncovered. According to the 2009 Global Report on forced labour under the follow-up to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, recent data from the Russian Federation and other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States point to a steady increase in the number of identified persons trafficked for labour exploitation.

The Committee previously noted the information provided by the Government concerning prosecution of offences of human trafficking under the new section 127.1 of the Criminal Code. However, in spite of the legal prohibition and punishment of human trafficking, it still remains a source of serious concern in practice. In this connection, the Committee notes with regret that no progress has been achieved as regards the adoption of the draft Law on Combating Human Trafficking, which provides for a system of bodies to combat trafficking and contains provisions concerning prevention of trafficking, as well as protection and rehabilitation of victims, to which the Government referred in its earlier reports.

The Committee therefore expresses the firm hope that the Government will take immediate steps with a view to ensuring that the draft Law on Combating Human Trafficking is adopted in the near future. It also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the application in practice of section 127.1 of the Criminal Code, supplying sample copies of the relevant court decisions in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of this provision and to indicate the penalties imposed on perpetrators. Please also provide information on the practical measures taken or envisaged to prevent, suppress and combat trafficking in human beings.