OSCE workshop to promote the identification of victims of trafficking concludes in Sarajevo

SARAJEVO, 18 July 2019 – A workshop on identifying victims of human trafficking in migration flows concluded today in Sarajevo.  Organized jointly by the OSCE Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings (OSR/CTHB) and the OSCE’s field operations in South-Eastern Europe, the workshop focused on implementing the OSCE’s uniform guidelines to identify victims of human trafficking.

More than 40 practitioners from six countries of the region participated in the workshop, which focused on how the guidelines could be adapted to national legislation and operations in South-Eastern Europe.

“Our needs assessment report highlighted a clear opportunity for a uniform identification procedure that could be shared and used by all front-line responders,” said Valiant Richey, OSCE Acting Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings. “The goal is to improve the identification of victims in migration flows.  These guidelines are a practical tool to help countries build their capacity and are the product of numerous consultations with national stakeholders carried out by our Office last year. It is now time for implementation across the region.”

Workshop participants included practitioners who interact daily with people on the move along the Western Balkan migration route, including representatives of law enforcement, migration agencies, public social services, civil society, and international organizations.

 “The workshop was very useful and timely for us in Bosnia and Herzegovina, since in the last year and a half we have been facing massive and mixed migration flows throughout the country among which we are sure there is a lot of exploitation of migrants and trafficking,” said Samir Rizvo, State Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings of the Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina.