Round table meeting on challenges and possible improvement of the protection of human trafficking victims held in Belgrade

At the round table held on 17 October 2022, ahead of the European Anti-trafficking Day, key anti- trafficking stakeholders stressed the importance of strong and persistent co-operation among all relevant mechanisms ensuring protection of victims of trafficking in human beings. The round table was co-organised by the joint anti-trafficking action of the European Union and the Council of Europe and the Centre for Human Trafficking Victims' Protection.

25 professionals from different scopes (social care, police, prosecutors' office, professors, NGOs, international organisations) gathered and exchanged information on current challenges as well as best practices and ideas for the improvement of the domestic system for protection of human trafficking victims.

Aleksandra Ljubojevic, Director of Centre for Human Trafficking Victims' Protection, said: “A comprehensive approach to tackle human trafficking, from prevention to the prosecution of the perpetrators, is the key for an efficient protection of the victims. Relevant anti-trafficking systems should co-operate. We need to support each other. That is the only way we can provide adequate protection to the victims of human trafficking”.

“We need to engage and sensitise more professionals, commit ourselves towards stronger policies on this subject and promote good practice examples,” highlighted Tamara Mirovic from Republic public prosecutor's office.

The round table adopted a victim-centred perspective – initiatives to strengthen the prevention of human trafficking and the access to justice for the victims were identified. The importance of collecting comprehensive and updated statistics was underlined. Moreover, the need to support the victims in accessing the employment market and their reintegration in the society was raised. Providing psycho-social support throughout the whole process from their identification to their rehabilitation was discussed. Finally, the responsibility of the media to protect the privacy of the victims and report in an ethical way was also highlighted.

The round table was organised within action “Preventing and combating trafficking in human beings in Serbia” in the framework of the joint European Union/Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019 – 2022”.