ABOUT THE ANGEL COALITION: History of the Organization and Main Activities

The Angel Coalition is the first registered association of women's organizations in the Russian Federation , and the only non-governmental organization in the country whose full-time staff and mission focuses solely on the issue of trafficking.

Founded in St. Petersburg in 1999, the Angel Coalition has grown rapidly into an active consortium of 61 non-governmental organizations representing 25 regions of Russia and nine former Soviet republics. It conducts informational and public educational programs for and with local communities as well as with the participation of media, civic, governmental and international organizations on the critical issue of trafficking in human beings from the former Soviet Union.

Organizational objectives:

The Angel Coalition conducts programs with the following two objectives:

•  Trafficking prevention through lobbying, education, outreach, training, exchanges, and advocacy.

•  Trafficking victim assistance through programs of rescue, reintegration and rehabilitation.

Past achievements and current programs:

(1)    Direct intervention/Trafficking Victim Assistance Center and regional safe houses:

Angel Coalition staff shelter training in Stockholm, Sweden.

In the summer of 2003, a Trafficking Victim Assistance Center was established in Moscow and five regional safe house projects were begun to start providing Russia 's first rescue and rehabilitation programs for trafficking victims returning to the Russian Federation . Four more joined in the summer of 2004. Through this Victim Assistance Center regional Angel Coalition NGO's now work directly with Russian Federation government structures and international agencies to provide necessary NGO support for the coordination of victim return. The Victim Assistance Center has a fully manned office with five full-time staff and part-time workers (Russian nationals + foreign volunteers) working on trafficking cases involving Russian women and girls who have been forced into prostitution in Europe, Scandinavia and the Middle East. The Victim Assistance Center is actively engaged in partnership with the Commission on Women and Security of the Moscow City Duma in the development of assistance procedures for women trafficked into Moscow from former Soviet Republics . The TVAC works in full partnership with the International Organization for Migration.

(2)   Anti-trafficking Legislative Advocacy - federal level:

Since the fall of 2002 the Angel Coalition has been active in the drafting of Russia 's first anti-trafficking law with the Legislative Working Group of the State Duma. The Angel Coalition was included as a member of the original working group and advisor to the legislative committee in December 2002, and still continues in this capacity throughout the legislative process related to the passage and implementation of the anti-trafficking law. In December 2004 a representative of the Angels joined a renewed group that aims at completing all preparations for the passing of the law in 2005-2006.

(3)   Anti-trafficking Legislative Advocacy - regional level:

The Angel Coalition serves as a standing NGO advisor to the Moscow City Duma on issues of trafficking, prostitution and the welfare of women and children trafficked into Russia.

(4)   Legislative lobbying training:

In May, 2003, the Angel Coalition , received funding from the Matra/KAP fund of the Netherlands to conduct a legislative lobbying training conference for 32 members of the Angel Coalition Association. For the conference, the Angel Coalition developed a packet of training materials specifically for lobbying for anti-trafficking legislation in Russia and the creation of a "case-book" for use in regional lobbying efforts by Angel Coalition Association members. Members were trained on legislative techniques by Angel Coalition staff and governmental advisors including members of the State Duma Legislative Committee, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Labor and Moscow City Duma.

During 2004-5, The Angel Coalition conducted a series of five high level regional trainings in Petrozavodsk, St. Petersburg, Murmansk, Kazan and Yaroslavl which were attended by more than 400 participants - predominately government officials and law enforcement personnel.

Currently, the TVAC are working with the Ministry of Interior to develop training materials for police cadets.

(5)    Embassy Training Program:

From April 2001 through the present time, the Angel Coalition has been actively training embassy staff in Moscow and St. Petersburg on trafficking prevention. The Angel Coalition offers a two-day training course to embassies that includes detailed information about the situation specific to Russia and techniques for detecting potential victims when they appear in visa sections or as part of tourist groups traveling to Europe. The following European embassies have participated in the training: Swiss, Dutch, Swedish, British and Finnish.

Angel Coalition/TVAC Director, Oleg Kouzbit with Tony Blair in London.

(6)   Education/training exchanges with European organizations:

In April, 2003, the Angel Coalition sponsored international exchanges for the safe house staff of the five regional safe houses sending them to nine European countries so that they could observe safe house procedures and receive training from European staff already actively working with Russian trafficking victims. One year later, in April 2004, the Angel Coalition started a project in partnership with Kvinnoforum of Sweden and funded by SIDA expanding the capacity of the Victim Assistance Center and the regional safe houses through programs of training and education in Sweden, followed by a series of high level regional trainings in each of the safe house regions of Russia. Between August 2004 and April 2005 five cities are covered: St. Petersburg , Petrozavodsk , Murmansk , Kazan and Yaroslavl . Three more cities will join soon. European experts work with safe house staff, law enforcement and regional governments to support repatriation and rehabilitation services for trafficking victims. This project also extends the exchange component of the Angel Coalition program to bring European trainers and experts into Russia to work in the Russian safe houses and conduct on-site training and evaluation. Kvinnoforum has developed a significant resource database for trafficking prevention/victim assistance throughout the Nordic/Baltic states. The Angel Coalition has developed a significant database of resources within the Russian Federation . As part of this activity, the databases will be combined and made available to all organizations working on this issue in Scandinavia .

(7)   Education of target groups of vulnerable populations:

In 2003 the Angel Coalition received a micro-grant from the City of Moscow to sponsor the pilot performance of a live, inter-active theatre production created for 15-16-aged schoolgirls using life-sized puppets to enact the techniques used by traffickers and underscore the dangers of trafficking. Within the framework of this project orphaned girl students filled out a pre-performance questionnaire about their views of working abroad and a post-performance questionnaire to measure the efficacy of the theatre piece as a learning tool.

(8)   Protocol writing:

In May 2003 the Russian staff that had participated in the exchanges met in Moscow to write the first draft of a Trafficking Victim Assistance Protocol describing procedures for the rehabilitation of victims and the operations of Russian safe houses. The City Duma of Moscow, the Russian Federal Ministries of Interior and Labor, and the Legislative Committee of the State Duma all participated in the drafting of the protocol and have adapted this first draft protocol into the overall governmental plan for assisting trafficking victims at the level of the federal government and Moscow regional level. The second draft protocol is being discussed and worked out at a big conference between May 17 and 20, 2005.

In addition, in 2004 the Angel Coalition developed a Counter-Trafficking Protocol and Plan of Action for the Russian Federation , which is being recommended by the Coalition as a plan to combat trafficking for the Russian Government.

(9)   Public information media campaigns:

The Angel Coalition first established its presence on the national arena in 2001 during a multi-regional, multi-media information campaign that was held in six major cities of the European part of Russia , including Moscow . That is when and how this country first heard about the phenomenon of trafficking. More minor campaigns followed then. For example, in 2003 the Angel Coalition implemented a project funded by the Swedish International Development Agency to produce a Russian - Swedish anti-trafficking public information campaign along the border between Russia and Sweden in the Murmansk Oblast. This campaign was conducted in partnership with the Swedish organization ROKS and included public actions, media events, distribution of Angel Coalition anti-trafficking materials throughout the educational system, employment agencies, tourist bureaus, orphanages, youth clubs and governmental offices.

As part of our international performance, and sharing our expertise, we participated as trainers (jointly with MiraMed Institute Charity, USA ) in the preparation for a big media campaign in Jasi , Romania .

(10) International toll-free help-line:

In October 2004 an ambitious international toll-free help-line project began to reinforce an international referral mechanism ensuring most efficient rescue and repatriation of Russian nationals trapped in sexual (primarily) slavery abroad. The first stage included three EU countries notorious for their trafficking problems: Germany , the Netherlands and Belgium . To publicize the project and the info cards that will be a prime information carrier for our target groups, Angel Coalition staff visited two of these three countries - the Netherlands and Germany - in February 2005. The project has received positive feedback from both NGOs and government agencies abroad.

(11) Establishing international presence:

To make international circles aware of the Angel Coalition and its activity, our staff made in 2004 ice-breaking trips to such countries as Germany , the Netherlands , Belgium , Norway , Sweden , Spain . Our representative joined a session of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg in April 2004 to highlight the efforts Russian anti-trafficking NGOs make to curb the phenomenon. Another breakthrough happened in Italy in September 2004 where the Angel Coalition had been invited by IOM Brussels to make a strong point on behalf of Russian NGOs and share our experience in actual rescue, repatriation and rehabilitation. Since 2004 the coalition has had much publicity in the UN.

As a result of its activities, and others, the Angel Coalition has developed strong strategic alliances with international organizations as well governments and their embassies.

For a copy of the Angel Coalition 8 page brochure, click on the following:

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE "ANGEL COALITION BROCHURE "