The Program “Safe Migration and Counter Trafficking” facilitates safe migration regardless of its purpose or stage — decision-making, transit, stay in the host country, or return to Ukraine. Specialists provide personalized assistance and promote psychological, social, and professional integration for individuals affected by human trafficking.

Relevance of the Need

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, triggered one of the largest humanitarian crises in Europe since World War II. Millions of Ukrainians have been forcibly displaced.

The wave of refugees from Ukraine is unlike previous migration crises in 21st-century Europe. Most Ukrainian protection seekers are working-age women with higher education and their children. In response to this humanitarian crisis, the EU activated the Temporary Protection Directive for the first time, ensuring immediate protection and granting refugees access to residence rights, the labor market, housing, social services, healthcare, and other assistance. This measure also aimed to prevent excessive pressure on national asylum systems.

Mass population displacement due to war has heightened the risks of human trafficking. According to the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, traffickers have sought to exploit refugees at border crossings and transit centers. Recruitment of Ukrainian women and girls for sexual exploitation abroad has intensified. In Ukraine, cases of forced begging, conscription into military conflicts, and labor exploitation in occupied territories are increasing, particularly among internally displaced persons (IDPs) in crisis situations and men of conscription age avoiding official employment due to potential mobilization.

Russian forces have forcibly transferred hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, including over 20,000 children, to the Russian Federation and occupied territories. In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for senior Russian officials allegedly responsible for the illegal transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia.

Mission and Vision

Areas of Focus

Combating Human Trafficking

The overall goal of counter trafficking activity is to provide comprehensive direct assistance to the most vulnerable affecteds of human trafficking, to raise awareness and to prevent human trafficking.

Human trafficking knows no borders or age limits. Anyone, regardless of gender, age, education level, or social status, can fall victim to modern slavery.

Trafficking in persons is a criminal offense under the Ukrainian Criminal Code, punishable by imprisonment for 3 to 15 years (Article 149).

Annually, over 180 affected of human trafficking receive comprehensive assistance, enabling them to reintegrate into their communities and rebuild their lives.

Activity components include:

• Preventing human trafficking and raising awareness.
• Proactive screening and identification of affected among vulnerable groups.
• Comprehensive support to affected and their families.
• Strengthening cooperation with the National Referral Mechanism to officially identify affected, providing them with a full range of support and assistance.
• Continuous staff training.
• Advocacy and knowledge sharing to enhance the fight against human trafficking.
• Proactive screening and identification of victims of human trafficking among vulnerable groups of the population.
• Comprehensive assistance to affected of human trafficking and their family members.
• Capacity building, exchange of knowledge and experience in the field of combating human trafficking among stakeholders

Caritas specialists have developed an online course on the Prometheus platform to share the organization’s unique expertise. The course features engaging educational videos and interactive tasks.

Within three months of its launch, 20,000 participants completed the course. Feedback revealed a demand for offline activities (intensives, workshops, lectures) targeting state employees, educators, and youth. Future plans include creating mobile apps, simulation games, and more.

Advocacy

To promote safe migration and enhance the effectiveness of crime prevention, identification, and survivor support, Caritas engages at local, national, and international levels.

International program initiatives:

• Extending temporary protection for Ukrainians or providing alternative international protection until the war’s end or reduced hostilities allow for a safe return.
• Participation in Caritas Europa’s Migration Working Group to exchange information, conduct joint research, and prepare EU-level advocacy documents.
• Ensuring proper implementation of the Temporary Protection Directive in EU countries.
• Activating voluntary return programs only when safety conditions improve in Ukraine, ensuring individuals have a genuine choice to stay legally in their host country or return through Caritas Europa and Caritas Belgium.
• Highlighting increased human trafficking risks in Ukraine via submissions to UNODC and participation in related international events (e.g., Constructive Dialogues 2022-2024).

Аdvice for those travelling to Germany

This project is aimed at providing comprehensive consultations for individuals planning to migrate to Germany. It equips beneficiaries with essential information and support throughout the visa process, preparing them for life in Germany.

Operating in Kyiv, Lviv, and Odesa, the project has provided free consultations to approximately 500 individuals since its inception in April 2023. Beneficiaries receive insights into their rights, responsibilities, opportunities, and limitations. The project emphasizes well-informed and sustainable emigration and integration as continuous, holistic processes.

Funded by the EU Asylum, Migration, and Integration Fund (AMIF), the Federal Republic of Germany, the state of Baden-Württemberg, and Diakonia, this initiative prioritizes informed decisions for smoother transitions.

Importantly, the project is not involved in recruitment or overseas employment placement.

Reintegration Projects

The main goal of Caritas Ukraine’s reintegration projects is to facilitate the successful reintegration of migrants and asylum seekers returning to Ukraine after long- or short-term stays in EU countries. This is achieved through comprehensive individual assistance, including social, legal, medical, material support, and help in establishing small businesses.

Project objectives: Provide sustainable reintegration assistance to Ukrainian citizens returning from abroad through a comprehensive range of services.

Geographic coverage: The entire territory of Ukraine, excluding temporarily occupied regions.

Target group: Ukrainian citizens and foreign nationals or stateless persons returning to Ukraine after extended or brief stays in EU countries (e.g., labor migrants, internally displaced persons, minors, etc.).

Cross-border cooperation (Ukraine, Moldova, Romania)

Ukrainian refugees often cross borders without knowing their destination or their rights. Cross-border cooperation allows for the identification of potential affected of human trafficking, safe return and support services.

The aim of the project is to strengthen cooperation between Caritas Ukraine, Caritas Romania and Caritas Moldova in order to:

• reduce the risks of human trafficking;

• mitigate the negative effects of war on vulnerable groups of Ukrainians in transit;

• support the safe return of forced migrants home.

Main areas of work:

1. Capacity building.
Training national Caritas teams in three countries to identify and support victims of human trafficking, advise vulnerable persons before departure and facilitate their reintegration.

2. Advocacy and partnership.
Working with government agencies, law enforcement, border services and non-governmental organisations to strengthen cross-border cooperation and improve the anti-trafficking system.

3. Service delivery.
Establishing a regional support network, access to counselling and assistance for vulnerable persons, including those returning to Ukraine.

Direct beneficiaries: vulnerable Ukrainians and their families returning from Romania or Moldova or travelling through these countries (in particular, elderly people, people with disabilities, victims of human trafficking).
Work with direct beneficiaries includes counselling, identifying the needs of returnees, providing legal assistance, psychological support, material, financial and other assistance.
Indirect beneficiaries: the societies of Ukraine, Romania and Moldova, which will benefit from better cooperation between countries, prevention and information campaigns, and increased security.

Geographic Coverage

Caritas operates across all government-controlled territories of Ukraine, with human trafficking centers in seven regions (Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Kyiv, Odesa, Ternopil, and Khmelnytsky). Plans to expand to eastern regions depend on funding and safety conditions. Reintegration services are provided through Caritas’ network of 42 local organizations.

Beneficiaries

• Ukrainian citizens, foreigners, and stateless individuals who lawfully resided in Ukraine and fled due to Russia’s aggression.
• Ukrainians planning to migrate, in transit, or returning.
• Persons who have suffered from human trafficking; persons who are in difficult life circumstances and are potential affected of human trafficking (IDPs, refugees, children without parents/legal guardians, children who have been deported and returned from the territory of Russia, Belarus or temporarily occupied territories, etc.).

Stories of Support

Alina, 17 years old. Labor exploitation under occupation

During the early days of the full-scale invasion, when Russian troops occupied Melitopol and began “cleansing” the local population, 17-year-old Alina (name changed) stayed home with her brother and sisters. Soldiers stormed their home, searching for Ukrainian symbols or any evidence of pro-Ukrainian sentiments. They confiscated household appliances and personal belongings, including a camera, photo equipment, a computer, and a laptop.

During the search, soldiers found a photograph of a Ukrainian soldier on Alina’s phone. This became a pretext to forcibly detain her. She was taken to the commandant’s office, where she faced severe interrogations. Soldiers subjected her to beatings, threatened her with firearms, and demanded information about Ukrainian military personnel or individuals with pro-Ukrainian views. Afterward, she was placed in a cell with other detainees.

The following day, Alina and other detainees were brought to a morgue, where they were forced under armed supervision to unload the corpses of deceased Russian soldiers. The grueling conditions, overpowering stench, and psychological pressure pushed Alina to the brink of losing consciousness. For three days, she endured these horrific conditions, each day being returned to the commandant’s office for further interrogations while being deprived of proper food and care.

On the fourth day, while unloading bodies at the morgue, Alina fainted. Other detainees pleaded with the soldiers to release her. Eventually, the occupiers allowed her to leave. Alina’s mother managed to gather money to pay a transporter who helped Alina escape to western Ukraine, where she finally received assistance.

Caritas provided Alina with psychological support and material aid. She has since started a new chapter of her life, renting an apartment and launching a small business producing aromatic candles. “I am so grateful to Caritas for the help and support I received. Starting my own business was always a dream of mine, and now I can make and sell candles. I’ve begun a new life!” Alina shared.

Pavlo, 15 years old. Evacuation to Belgium and return to Ukraine

In March 2022, Pavlo (name changed) was among 52 children evacuated from the Kyiv region to Belgium through the cooperation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Belgian Armed Forces. In Belgium, the children were placed in foster families.

Pavlo lived in the village of Borodyanka with his parents and older brother. His family had a stable income: his father managed grocery stores, his mother worked for the State Emergency Service, and the family owned their home. After the war began, Pavlo was evacuated to Belgium, while his mother and older brother relocated to Cherkasy, where it was safer, and his father stayed behind in Borodyanka.

In Belgium, Pavlo lived with a welcoming foster family, where he had his own room, befriended the family’s two dogs, and began playing football and learning the guitar. Pavlo also struggled with being overweight and was eager to improve his health. With the help of his foster family, he adopted a healthier diet and lost 15 kilograms.

In August 2022, Pavlo returned to Ukraine. By then, his family had moved back to Borodyanka, although their house had been severely damaged by the fighting. The family used their savings and grant funds to repair the house, install new windows and doors, and purchase a tablet for Pavlo’s studies, along with school supplies.

“I still can’t believe that during such difficult times, we received so much support,” Pavlo’s mother shared.

Currently, Pavlo’s father has resumed his business, his mother is on maternity leave with their third child, his older brother is attending university, and Pavlo is back in school. Despite having the option to leave the country, the family has chosen to stay in Ukraine.

Collaboration and Partnerships

Caritas collaborates with Caritas Europa, UNODC, COATNET, RENATE, CTN, the Secretariat of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.

Program Donors:

Caritas Spain, Caritas Korea, CAFOD, Caritas International Belgium, Caritas Poland, Permanent Missiom of France to the UN, RENATE and Diakonia Baden-Württemberg, Danish refugee Council, UNVFT.

Important Links:

• #CaritasAgainstHumanTrafficking
• Research Results: “Child Trafficking in Ukraine: Sale of Children and Surrogacy” (2017-2019)
• Film “Fragile Life: a Docudrama About Victims of Human Trafficking During the War in Ukraine”
• Book “Fragile Life Stories of Ukrainians who suffered from human trafficking during the war (2014-2025)”