Tajikistan and Kazakhstan, victims were known also to have been trafficked across State borders, particularly to the Middle East.313 All five Central Asian States have ratified or acceded to the 2003 UN Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime and its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.314 Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan also became simultaneously parties to the Protocol against Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, while Uzbekistan has only signed this Protecol. Each of the five States has adopted laws against human trafficking.315 Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan have also drawn up national action plans to combat trafficking316 and set up specialist law enforcement units.317 Turkmenistan has no national plan against human trafficking. In practice, it entrusts the detection of traffickers and their victims to the State Migration Service. If they are prepared to act as witnesses, victims with irregular documentation, or no documents at all, are protected from expulsion and have the right of temporary stay in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, regardless of the manner in which they entered the country.318 In Tajikistan, stateless victims of trafficking without valid personal identification are not eligible for temporary residence.319 4.3 Sexual and gender-based violence Society in each of the five States is patrilocal. New wives move into their husband’s households and in many cases lose contact with their own family over time. The Surveys in north and south Kyrgyzstan did not report any sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) among the stateless population, but interviews in focus groups pointed to the clear vulnerability of undocumented women in mixed marriage families. Those who attended the participatory assessment organized by UNHCR in South Kyrgyzstan referred to their complete financial and social dependence on their husbands, or parents-in-law. Interviews with women married to Kyrgyz nationals in the southern border district underlined the potential risk for SGBV. The women were living undocumented, or with expired passports, and noted that their lack of a nationality or proper documentation created administrative problems that resulted in financial implications for their families. They were unable to claim State allowances for their children and had no proper employment opportunities. Their relatives often considered them a ‘burden’ and unable to contribute to their prosperity, which made them vulnerable in their families. 313 In 2005, in Kyrgyzstan 19 victims of trafficking were returned from the Middle East, 24 from eastern Europe and Central Asia and 55 from southern Europe; in Kazakhstan, 14 were repatriated from the Middle East and one from southern Europe; and an un-specified number of women victims of trafficking were repatriated from the Middle East to Tajikistan. 314 2000 UN Convention on Transnational Organized Crime, ratified in 2002 by Tajikistan; 2003 by Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan; acceded to in 2005 by Turkmenistan and ratified in 2008 by Kazakhstan. Kyrgyzstan ratified the Protocol in 2003 and Uzbekistan in 2008. The other four States acceded to it when they ratified the Convention. 315 Kyrgyzstan adopted a trafficking offence in 2003 and in 2005 broadened it to include all forms of human trafficking; Tajikistan adopted a trafficking offence in 2004 which was amended in 2008; Kazakhstan established an offence of trafficking in 2006 and amended five related Codes; Uzbekistan introduced a specific offence of trafficking in persons in 2008; Turkmenistan adopted a Law on Combating Trafficking in Persons in 2007. 316 National Action Plan of Tajikistan 2006-2010; a State Programme to Combat Trafficking in Kyrgyzstan 2008-2010; since 2006 A National Action Plan of Kazakhstan; since 2008 an Action Plan of Uzbekistan. 317 The Tajik Ministry of Internal Affairs has a specialist unit within its Organised Crime Division; the Uzbek Ministry of Internal Affairs set up a specialized unit in 2004 to combat recruitment of persons for sexual or other exploitation. It has branches at regional and local level. Since 2005 Kyrgyzstan has a specialised section against smuggling and trafficking of persons in the anti-kidnapping unit of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Kyrgyz Ministry of Internal Affairs; the Kazakh Ministry of Internal Affairs has a Unit Against Human Trafficking in the Chymkent Police Committee and the central Ministry of Internal Affairs. 318 Articles 7 and 12, 2008 Law No ZRU-154 ‘To Counteract Human Trafficking’ in Uzbekistan; Article 16(2), 2007 Law ‘On Combating Trafficking in Persons’ in Turkmenistan; Article 28(3-5), Law ‘To Combat Human Trafficking’ in Kyrgyzstan. 319 Article 20(5), 2004 Act No 47 ‘On the Fight against Trafficking in Persons’ in Tajikistan. ~ 48 ~