“Close and regular co-operation, both formal and informal, among main anti-trafficking stakeholders is key to preventing and combating human trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation effectively. A clear division of tasks among the actors is needed, as is a mutual recognition of their roles and the establishment of specialised labour inspectors”, stated the representatives of the Belgian National Social Security Office who participated in the study visit for Serbian anti-trafficking actors organised by the Council of Europe in co-operation with the Belgian Co-ordination Platform for the Fight against Trafficking in Human Beings in Brussels on 9-11 October 2018.

The aim of the study visit was to strengthen the capacities of Serbian anti-trafficking actors for an effective fight against trafficking in human beings for the purpose of labour exploitation. The Serbian Anti-trafficking Co-ordinator led a delegation composed of labour inspectors and police officers, as well as representatives of the Prosecutor’s Office, the Centre for Human Trafficking Victim’s Protection and the Serbian NGO Astra.

Belgian social inspectors, police officers and the National Rapporteur, as well as representatives of the Prosecutors Network against Human Trafficking, the Immigration Office and the Victims’ Assistance Centre shared their practices and experiences regarding labour inspections, referral of trafficking victims, inter-institutional cooperation, anti-trafficking legislation, criminal investigation and prosecution of human trafficking cases for the purpose of labour exploitation.

The event was organised as part of the “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey”, a cooperation initiative co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe, which aims at assisting beneficiaries in South-East Europe to comply with the Council of Europe standards and European Union acquis in the framework of the enlargement process