The joint European Union/Council of Europe action "Preventing and combating trafficking in human beings in Bosnia and Herzegovina" organised two basic and one advanced training sessions on human trafficking for labour exploitation for labour inspectors and other frontline actors in November and December.
Thirty-two participants (labour inspections, prosecutors, police officers, representatives of social welfare centres and education institutions, NGOs) have increased their knowledge about the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights under Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the legal and institutional anti-trafficking frameworks in Bosnia and Herzegovina and indicators for labour exploitation during basic training held on 19 November in Vlašić and on 8 December in Doboj. They have also developed their capacity to detect, communicate with and refer potential victims of trafficking to the competent authorities. The total number of professionals who were trained by the anti-trafficking action is now 105 and includes 30 labour inspectors.
Eighteen labour inspectors and police officers underwent advanced training held on 17-18 November in Vlašić and 9-10 December in Doboj. They analysed fictive trafficking cases and discussed approaches and attitudes to adopt in working with potential victims. The participants heard from their Finish peer Katja-Pia Jenu examples of labour exploitation and good practice during labour inspections in Finland. Jenu underlined the importance of defining a clear mandate for labour inspectors and their role in the identification of victims. Deputy Senior Public Prosecutor from Novi Sad, Serbia, presented one real case of human trafficking for labour exploitation which had been prosecuted. Authentic photographs and statements of victims and perpetrators made his presentation very interesting and useful for educational purposes.
“I have learned more about the important role of labour inspectors in the detection of potential victims of trafficking. The practical exercises were very useful and offered the possibility to exchange with more experienced colleagues from inspectorates and police", said one of the labour inspectors participating in the training.
The action „Preventing and combating trafficking in human beings in Bosnia and Herzegovina“ is implemented under the joint European Union/Council of Europe programme „Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022“.
