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 Serbia from 1 to 5 December 2025 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 a focus on 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 Serbian 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 on Serbia have been implemented.
During the visit, the GRETA delegation held consultations with Mr Nenad Simić, National Coordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, and staff of the Office for Coordination of Activities in Combating THB at the Ministry of the Interior, representatives of law enforcement agencies and of the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration, as well as prosecutors and judges. The delegation also met with representatives of the Ministry of Labor, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs (including the Labour Inspectorate and the Sector for Social Protection), the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications (including the National Contact Centre for Child Online Safety), the Ministry of Internal and Foreign Trade (including the Market Inspectorate) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Further, the GRETA delegation met Mr Zoran Pašalić, Protector of Citizens (Ombudsperson), in his capacity as National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings, and representatives of his Office, as well as the Roma National Minority Council.
The visit provided an opportunity to visit the Centre for the Protection of Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings and the state shelter for victims of human trafficking in Belgrade.
In the course of the visit, the GRETA delegation travelled to Novi Sad where it met members of the local anti-trafficking team and visited a safe house for victims of domestic violence which also assists victims of human trafficking.
The GRETA delegation held separate meetings with representatives of non-governmental organisations and lawyers representing victims of trafficking. It also met representatives of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the German Agency for International Co-operation (GIZ).
The visit was carried out by Ms Conny Rijken, President of GRETA, and Ms Lynn Chircop Faure, member of GRETA, who were accompanied by Mr Elvin Aliyev of the Secretariat of the Convention.
Following the visit, GRETA will prepare a draft report, which will be sent to the Serbian authorities for comments. GRETA will subsequently adopt a final report which will be published.
