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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 Romania from 7 to 11 October 2024, as part of the fourth evaluation round of the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.

This new evaluation round of monitoring the implementation of the Convention focuses on vulnerabilities to human trafficking and measures taken by States Parties to prevent them, detect and support vulnerable victims, and punish the offenders. This includes the use of information and communication technology (ICT), which brings structural changes to the way offenders operate and exacerbates existing vulnerabilities.

Prior to the visit, the Romanian authorities provided a reply to GRETA’s questionnaire for the fourth evaluation round. In addition to the new thematic focus, GRETA examined how the main recommendations made in its third evaluation report have been implemented.

During the visit, the GRETA delegation met Mr Valentin Vătăjelu, State Counsellor and President of the Interministerial Committee for Strategic Intersectorial Coordination of the Fight against Trafficking in Persons, as well as officials from the Ministry of the Interior (including the National Agency against Trafficking in Persons, the General Inspectorate for Immigration, the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police, the Border Police and the Gendarmerie), the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity (including the Labour Inspectorate and the National Agency for Employment), the Ministry of Family, Youth and Equal Opportunities, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Health. Meetings were also held with representatives of the Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) of the Prosecutor’s Office, judges of the Superior Council of Magistracy, and officials from the National Agency for the Management of Seized Assets and the National Agency for Roma. Further, GRETA’s delegation met members of the Romanian Parliament’s Group for Combating Trafficking in Persons and representatives of the People’s Advocate Institution (Ombudsman).

In addition to having meetings in Bucharest, the delegation travelled to Brașov and Bacău where it met representatives of the regional and local authorities, including Mr Mihai-Cătălin Văsii, Prefect of Brașov, law enforcement officers, prosecutors and labour inspectors.

The GRETA delegation held separate meetings with representatives of non-governmental organisations and victims of human trafficking supported by them, as well as with researchers. Meetings were also held with representatives of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

In the course of the visit, the GRETA delegation visited an NGO-run shelter accommodating victims of human trafficking in Bacău, two shelters for children in need of protection in Brașov and Bacău, as well as the Edmond Nicolau accommodation centre for Ukrainian refugees in Bucharest.

The visit was carried out by Mr Sergey Ghazinyan, 2nd Vice-President of GRETA, and Ms Ia Dadunashvili, member of GRETA, who were accompanied by Mr Mesut Bedirhanoglu and Ms Asja Zujo from the Secretariat of the Convention.

Following the visit, GRETA will prepare a draft report which will be sent to the Romanian authorities for comments. GRETA will subsequently adopt a final report, to be published in 2025.