Quite recently, prosecutors from Uzbekistan have put forth a
noticeable effort in requesting extradition of Uzbek citizens who stand accused
of human trafficking and are detained abroad.
This increase in frequency of extraditions, especially from Russia,
might come as a surprise to many. After
all, Uzbekistan withdrew its membership from the Collective Security Treaty
Organization (CSTO) in 2012. This did
not prove to be an impediment for regional cooperation, however, as it is now
clear that Uzbekistan is working more closely with the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO) to address such border security matters. Whether or not this results in a final
conviction and serving of justice, however, remains to be seen.
Authorities
of Uzbekistan have issued several extradition requests to its near
neighbors. For example, in May 2013 in
the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Region of Russia, an Uzbek citizen was arrested by migration
authorities for alleged involvement in trafficking Uzbek citizens from
Uzbekistan to Russia, then to the United Arab Emirates for sexual
exploitation. In July 2012, another male
Uzbek citizen who was on Uzbekistan’s most-wanted traffickers list was removed
from the Vladivostok-Novokuznetsk train at the Irkutsk station. According to Regnum.ru, another wanted
suspected trafficker was arrested in Stavropol.
All of these detainees are awaiting extradition at the request of legal authorities of Uzbekistan.
What
should not be neglected to mention is the relative speed at which these
extradition orders were issued, following the arrest of these suspected traffickers. Despite the pre-existing individual
extradition treaties Uzbekistan had signed, this is likely another intended
result of the increased communication which is now shared between the SCO's Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) and
Uzbekistan. Even though the name might initially imply that RATS is exclusively dedicated to fighting the tendency of terrorism that we're currently familiar with, the scope of their aims is much broader. When Uzbekian’s president
Islam Karimov met with Hu Jintao in 2009, their common goals as stated included
fighting against illegal trans-national activity such as trafficking. This desire is clearly maintained in
2013. Judging from the discussions at
the September 2013 summit, Karimov seeks increased cooperation and
communication with the SCO to combat these activities. Even though Uzbekistan is pursuing closer
partnerships with China, Russia has far from faded from the picture. In fact, Russia’s membership in the SCO is
likely facilitating the successful extradition of suspected traffickers from
Russia back to Uzbekistan.
While
it’s possible that regional cooperation between Uzbekistan, China, and Russia
is leading to noteworthy results in the fight against human trafficking, the
end of the road is not yet clear. One
major concern is whether or not these extradited individuals will even be
prosecuted and convicted upon their return to Uzbekistan. Assuming they have made substantial earnings
from their illegal trafficking of persons, what would stop these suspects from bribing
crooked judges or wardens? With all of
the expedient communication and information-sharing being done, its value will
be considerably diminished if these individuals are allowed to walk right back
out the door.
Sources:
Dmitry Kotyel'nikov. 2013. “Siloviki KHMAO ekstradiruyut torgovtsa lyud'mi.” Pravda Urfo
Igor' Alyeksich. 2012. "Torgovets lyud'mi iz Uzbekistana poyman v Irkutske." Komsomol'skaya Pravda
"Na Stavropol'ye arestovan do ekstraditsii zhitel' Uzbekistana, razyskivayemyy za torgovlyu lyud'mi." 2013. Information Agency Regnam
"Vstrecha predsedatelya KNR Khu TSzin'tao s prezidentom Uzbekistana I. Karimovym." 2009. Uzdaily
"Tezisy prezidenta Uzbekistana Islama Karimova na sammite SHOS." 2013. Vyechernii Bishkek
Nice post. I like the way you embedded the links into your remarks.
ReplyDeleteOne way you might want to consider when approaching this topic would be to closely research one or two traffickers from Uzbekistan (e.g. Фарход Халиков) and then try to draw larger conclusions from this examination. As a firm believer in the notion that ‘the state is the soul writ large’ I’ve discovered that global problems are sometimes best reflected in the actions of a single individual.