A delegation of the Council of Europe's Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) carried out an evaluation visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina from 6 to 10 June 2016. The visit provided an opportunity to assess progress in the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings since the first evaluation visit by GRETA in 2012 (link to GRETA's report on Bosnia and Herzegovina).
During the visit, the GRETA delegation held consultations with Mr Samir Rizvo, National Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, and with other State officials from the Ministries of Security, Human Rights and Refugees, Justice, as well as with representatives of the Prosecutor’s Office and the judiciary. The GRETA delegation also met with Ms Jasminka Džumhur, one of the three Ombudspersons of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Meetings with relevant stakeholders were also held at entity level. In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the GRETA delegation met representatives of the Ministries of the Interior, Justice, Labour and Social Policy, Displaced Persons and Refugees, Education and Science, as well as the Prosecutor’s Office and the judiciary. In Republika Srpska, it met officials from the Ministries of the Interior, Justice, Health and Social Welfare, Education and Culture, Family, Youth and Sports, Labour and Veterans Affairs, the Prosecutor’s Office and the judiciary. In the District of Brčko, the delegation met representatives of the Police, the Department of Education, the Sub-Division for Social Protection, the Judicial Commission and the Prosecutor’s Office.
In addition, the GRETA delegation met representatives of non-governmental organisations active in combating trafficking in human beings and assisting its victims. Discussions were also held with representatives of the offices of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In the course of the visit, the GRETA delegation visited a drop-in centre for children in street situations run by the NGO Zemlja Djece in Tuzla, a day-care centre for children run by the NGO Nova Generacija in Banja Luka, and a day-care centre for children in Sarajevo, which is a structural unit of the municipal disciplinary centre for juveniles. These facilities are used for short-term accommodation of child victims of trafficking referred by the police or the social service.
The visit was carried out by Ms Leonor Ladrón de Guevara y Guerrero and Mr Helmut Sax, members of GRETA, who were accompanied by Mr David Dolidze and Mr Markus Lehner of the Secretariat of the Convention.
Following the visit, GRETA will prepare a draft report, which will be sent to the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina for comments. GRETA will subsequently adopt a final report to be published in spring 2017.
