OSCE Mission to Montenegro organizes regional workshop on interviewing child victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation

How to approach and interview children is focus of a three-day regional OSCE-supported workshop on interviewing child victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation that has started on 9 October in Budva.

During the three days of the workshop, around 40 participants will discuss different approaches and experiences in working with child victims of human trafficking. The workshop will also introduce participants to the universally recognized, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) protocol in interviewing child victims of abuse and exploitation. 

Opening the event, Head of Mission Dominique Waag stated that child sexual abuse and exploitation remain one of the most serious security issues the world is facing. “The regional workshop is an opportunity to reinforce a victim centred, rights-based approach to interviewing child victims. The Ministry of Interior has demonstrated a strong commitment to protect children. The OSCE Mission to Montenegro fully supports their commitment,” said Ambassador Waag.

Nikola Terzić, Acting Director of the Police Directorate, stated that the Police Directorate makes efforts to fight against all forms of organized crime, including human trafficking. “It is very important how conversations with minors, who are victims of human trafficking, are conducted. The interview with a minor should be conducted only once, psychologists and other professionals must be prepared, while all circumstances that could lead to another interview process should be avoided, as it can have consequences on minors’ lives,” said Terzić. He added that the training process related to this topic should be intensified, thanking the OSCE for the support provided so far and expecting its continuation in the future.

The OSCE Mission to Montenegro and Ministry of Interior’s Police directorate jointly organized this regional event that is gathering around 40 delegates – prosecutors, judges, police officers, psychologists, social workers and NGO representatives from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo[1], North Macedonia, Romania and Slovenia.

In 2022, the Mission organized the regional conference “Countering online Child Exploitation in Southeast Europe”, a growing concern, which brought together around 50 delegates from 10 countries.

[1] Any reference to Kosovo, whether it is a matter of territory, institutions or population, should be considered in accordance with Resolution 1244 of the United Nations Security Council.