The task force will have to analyze national and international legal acts and other documents, review national and international practices in connection to organization and coordination of prevention and control of human trafficking before submitting proposals on improvement of the Lithuanian system, the Interior Ministry has said.
Headed by director of the ministry's Public Security Policy Department Tomas Žilinskas, the group will include representatives of ministries of Health, Social Security and Labor, Education and Science, Justice and Foreign Affairs, the Prosecutor General's Office, Ombudsman's Office for the Protection of Child's Rights, the Police Department, the State Border Guard Service, the Migration Department, the National Courts Administration, the Vilnius bureau of the International Migration Organization and Caritas of Lithuania.
"Human trafficking is no less than a modern form of slavery. Efforts against the crime are underway not only to eliminate the consequences but also to prevent it by way of stepping up work of the law-enforcement and protection of victims. All instruments should be used and updated on a constant basis," the ministry cited Melianas, who was only sworn in to the post earlier this week, as saying.
The task force is expected to work for a few months, with the minister informed about the outcome of the effort by 15 October.