Warning about human trafficking

Human trafficking means that a person is tricked, trapped or forced into being exploited for another person’s gain or profit.

Watch the video below to understand what human trafficking is:

It is a crime and can take various forms, such as:

  • sexual exploitation
  • forced labour
  • domestic servitude
  • slavery or similar practices
  • gender-based violence
  • forced begging or criminality

Many people may want to help you on your journey or after you arrive in Azerbaijan. However, not everyone may be who they say they are; some may wish to take advantage of your situation.

For example, they may promise you accommodation, transport, or free food and use this to pressure you into sexual acts, work or other services you disagree with. Or they may want to harm you or take your documents or other belongings.

There are signs you can look for to keep yourself and your family safe. For example, be alert if someone:

  • is asking for your passport or other identification documents (apart from public authorities, for example, at border checkpoints);
  • is asking for your phone, laptop or other means of communication;
  • wants to remove you from your family or others you are travelling with;
  • is offering you a job that sounds too good to be true;
  • is pressuring you to perform work, services or sex (including to repay ‘debts’);
  • is offering you assistance – such as food – only if you carry out certain ‘services’;
  • is promising to help you get registered, relocated or resettled to another country against payment (except for regular transportation fees);
  • is hiring you but not paying you, or paying only part of what was promised;
  • is hiring you but not giving you decent working conditions or limiting your movement, for example, by taking your documents or locking the door.

Take these steps to stay safe:

  • Be alert and follow your own intuition about people you don’t know.
  • Always hold onto your documents. Take copies of them on your phone and send them to someone you trust.
  • Keep in touch with your family and other people you trust on a regular basis.
  • Know your rights and where you can get help.
  • Seek reliable information from trusted sources.
  • If you are looking for a place to stay:
  • Use accommodation provided or facilitated by known organizations, if possible.
  • Look for a reception centre, hotel, hostel, and non-governmental organizations that offer accommodation.
  • If using an online service provider, make sure to select hosts that have a positive rating and look at the reviews on the page.
  • If you stay with private individuals, try to ask around about the person first. Don’t accept being removed from your family or those you arrived with, and don’t give away your documents. Ask if anything is expected of you in return and always agree on a price on beforehand.
  • If you are looking for transportation:

Use organized transportation by known providers, whenever possible: Don’t accept to be removed from your family or those you arrived with, and don’t give away your documents. Always agree on a price beforehand.

In Azerbaijan, the Main Department on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings within the Ministry of Internal Affairs is in charge of ensuring the security of victims of trafficking human beings, providing them with professional aid, summarize and store trafficking in persons related information in a single centre and to ensure that experienced and specially trained police officers and specially equipped police units combat trafficking in persons.

Along with the identification and protection of the victims of trafficking in human beings Main Department on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings of the Ministry of Internal Affairs also organizes task force activity and criminal prosecution of crimes related to trafficking in persons within the limits of their responsibility. Main Department on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings is directly subordinated to the National Coordinator.

If you are a survivor of trafficking, or you suspect that someone else is, contact the Main Department on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings at the Ministry of Internal Affairs on hotline 152, which provides

  • information and advice to victims of human trafficking, and potential victims, especially women and children.
  • free of charge services throughout the country within 24 hours, receiving calls from all over the world.
  • the confidentiality of the calling subscribers.

Related information: