32 Spanish judges and prosecutors attended the launch of the HELP course on Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings, held at the premises of the Spanish Judicial Council-Continuous Training, in Madrid. This course was organised within the framework of the EU-CoE project “HELP in the EU III”.

The launch event was opened by representatives of the three Spanish institutions participating in the course: Roberto Alonso on behalf of the Spanish Judicial Council-Judicial School, hosts; Francisco Segovia, representing the Spanish Bar Association (Fundación Abogacía); and Isabel Martín López, from the General Prosecutor’s Office.

Following an overview of the Council of Europe HELP Programme and of the HELP in the EU III project, participants had the opportunity to listen to top Spanish experts: María Dolores Hernández Rueda – Magistrate at the Spanish Special Criminal Court – and Capt. Vicente Calvo Vinagre – Guardia Civil Captain at the Technical Unit of the Judicial Police. They provided an interesting and comprehensive introduction to the fight against trafficking in human beings from two different, but complementary perspectives: judicial and law enforcement.

On the second day, participants shared their background, experience and expectations with the group, revealing their diverse profiles, which will contribute to a very rich exchange of knowledge and opinions during the course.

There was a specific group session with the course tutor, Diego Fernández, who explained the structure and content of the course, as well as all instructions to ensure that participants could follow and successfully complete it.

The event concluded with a Q&A session.

The HELP course on Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings is available on the Council of Europe HELP e-learning platform, in 5 languages. The course is free and accessible to anyone interested in this area in self-paced format. The length of the course is of 11 hours and, upon completion a statement of accomplishment can be downloaded from the platform.