To support judges and prosecutors in effectively protecting victims of trafficking, a new HELP (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) course on combating trafficking in human beings and protecting victims was launched in Belgrade on 22 April within the Council of Europe's action “Strengthening anti-trafficking action in Serbia”.

Organised in cooperation with the Judicial Academy and the support of the action ‘HELP in the Western Balkans’, the course aims to strengthen the capacity of legal professionals to apply European standards in addressing one of the most serious forms of human rights violations.

Opening the event, Janos Babity, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Belgrade, underlined the importance of equipping legal professionals with the tools to effectively implement the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, to which Serbia is a party.

“Trafficking in human beings is a grave crime and a serious violation of human rights. It undermines human dignity and integrity. The Convention clearly sets out positive obligations for states, including the Republic of Serbia, to prevent trafficking, identify victims, investigate and prosecute cases, punish perpetrators, protect the rights of victims, provide them with assistance, and compensate them for the harm they have suffered,” Babity noted.

The course takes a human rights-based and victim-centred approach, drawing on Council of Europe standards, GRETA recommendations, and case law of the European Court of Human Rights. It also showcases promising practices from other countries and addresses new and emerging forms of exploitation.

Participants were introduced to the structure and goals of the HELP course and the specific adaptations of the course to the national legal context by the course tutors – retired Supreme Court judge and Judicial Academy lecturer Biljana Sinanović, and Marija Anđelković, director of the NGO ASTRA.

The action “Strengthening anti-trafficking action in Serbia” aims at strengthening prevention of trafficking in human beings, identification, and protection of victims of trafficking, prosecution and conviction of traffickers, and access to remedies for victims of trafficking. It is implemented within the joint programme of the European Union and the Council of Europe “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”.