Regional Multidisciplinary Thematic Workshop on UN.locking Impunity of Traffickers and Supporting Justice for Victims of Trafficking in Persons in Southeastern Europe

Dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for inviting me to speak at the opening of this regional workshop. 

I would like to express my gratitude to our hosts from Montenegro, as well as the US State Department Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons for their support and for working together with UNODC to make this event possible.

Trafficking in persons is a crime that preys upon the vulnerable and persists not only globally but also around, and in front of us.

Southeastern Europe is a region of origin of victims that are being trafficked both within the region and to Western Europe. In order to address this phenomenon efficiently, Governments must develop and maintain an effective criminal justice response.

Even though legislative and institutional frameworks on addressing trafficking in persons are in place and in line with UN Palermo Protocol and international standards, we are all aware that there are gaps in their adequate implementation and operationalization.

Namely, while all represented countries and jurisdictions conduct investigations and prosecute traffickers, a number of challenges remain, and, in many cases, hinder successful and quality investigation and prosecution.

So, it is vital to hear and to learn about the current issues in combating human-trafficking.

We need to acknowledge and recognize the obstacles to be able to overcome them. 

At the same time, we need to know what is working so we can learn from it.

I would like to underline that this year UNODC conducted national analysis of the recent case law in all project counties, namely Albania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, and within this process identified both: challenges and good practices.

Having in mind these findings, we strongly believe that further intensive consultations with governments, judiciary, civil society, academia and other relevant expert practitioners as well as studious mentoring through this project will increase a joint understanding from the earliest stages and throughout the process, how to identify instances of trafficking in persons, distinguish them from other offenses, apply victim-centered approaches, build strong cases and operationalize consistently existing regional and international cooperation.

This workshop is great opportunity for discussion on best practices and exploring promising solutions to the existing problems, since we have here a group of very knowledgeable professionals from the region dealing with this phenomenon on a daily basis.

We are delighted to have experienced practitioners from France and Belgium as EU mentor countries on board as well. Their significant expertise in fighting human trafficking will be very beneficial for our region.

Dear colleagues and partners,

To conclude, despite our best efforts and the results achieved so far, there is still much work to be done.

This UNODC initiative is a great opportunity for the countries in the region to strengthen and further develop mechanisms for regional partnerships and multisectoral collaboration, ensuring sustained and efficient cooperation in anti-trafficking action.

Finally, I would like to reiterate that United Nations stays committed to advancing action to bring traffickers to justice while protecting and supporting their victims, and that tackling human trafficking brings us closer to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, which call for eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls, combatting organized crime and eradicating forced labour, abuse, exploitation and violence against children.

Thank you for listening to me, and I wish you a successful meeting.