OSCE representative calls on States to establish reporting and monitoring mechanisms to fight human trafficking

VIENNA, 23 September 2008 - The OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Eva Biaudet, called today for countries to establish long-awaited national monitoring and reporting mechanisms to document the scope of human trafficking.

"Countries need to identify the scope of human trafficking within their borders. National rapporteurs or similar mechanisms to report, review and measure progress made at the national level, based on assessment and evaluation, are critically important," said Biaudet. She was speaking at a two-day OSCE seminar in Vienna that brought together more than 60 governmental officials responsible for combating trafficking in their respective countries.

The 2003 OSCE Action Plan to combat human trafficking recommended that the Organization's 56 participating States establish and strengthen the role of national rapporteurs or similar mechanisms. The Hague Declaration made the first international call to establish such a national mechanism in the OSCE region in 1997. Today, only a handful of the OSCE participating States have such monitoring systems in place.

"We lack an overall picture of the scope of the problem, of trends. We even lack an accurate assessment of the results of our actions. This seminar is a great opportunity to expand our knowledge on the basis of accurate national reports," said Biaudet.

"The vision of a just and secure OSCE region, free from trafficking in human beings, starts at the national level."