A new report by the Council of Europe’s anti-trafficking expert body GRETA, published today, evaluates the steps taken by Montenegro since 2021 to address risks of trafficking among the most vulnerable groups, to detect and support victims, and to punish the offenders.

The report welcomes the steps taken by the Montenegrin authorities to develop the legislative framework by adopting a specific provision on the non-punishment of victims of human trafficking for offences they were compelled to commit, the amendments to the Law on Free Legal Aid, and the conclusion of a revised agreement on mutual co-operation between the authorities and civil society in the area of combating human trafficking.

Montenegro is a country of origin, destination and transit for victims of trafficking. The number of formally identified victims of human trafficking has increased over the years. In the period 2021-2024, a total of 67 victims were identified, the majority of whom were children (79%). The main form of exploitation was forced begging, followed by forced marriage and sexual exploitation. 

The report notes that members of the Roma and Egyptian communities, in particular women and children, stateless persons, migrant workers and asylum seekers are particularly vulnerable to human trafficking in Montenegro.

The number of third-country migrant workers in Montenegro has increased, due to growing workforce shortages. GRETA considers that the authorities should reduce migrant workers’ dependency on their employers by issuing work permits that allow them to change employers, set up safe reporting mechanisms, and ensure the availability of interpreters for the languages commonly spoken by foreign workers during inspections. 

Further, GRETA considers that the Montenegrin authorities should take steps to prevent asylum seekers and refugees from becoming victims of trafficking in human beings, through improving their access to the labour market and health care. Moreover, GRETA calls upon the Montenegrin authorities to increase the human and financial resources of centres for social work with a view to ensuring that unaccompanied and separated children are provided with adequate protection by legal guardians.

While noting the measures taken to address the vulnerabilities of Roma and Egyptian children to human trafficking, the report stresses the need for further efforts to address their poverty and social exclusion, and to ensure that persons at a risk of statelessness have full access to civil registration procedures.

GRETA welcomes the multi-disciplinary approach to victim identification in Montenegro, which is independent of the initiation of criminal proceedings. Nevertheless, GRETA considers that the Montenegrin authorities should ensure that a proper procedure is in place for the identification of victims of trafficking among irregular migrants and asylum seekers, including unaccompanied and separated children, by the border police and in reception centres.

While welcoming the opening of a designated state shelter for child victims of trafficking, GRETA is concerned by the continuing absence of a shelter for male victims of trafficking. Consequently, GRETA calls upon the authorities to ensure the availability of accommodation for male victims and the transparency of the process of approval and revocation of licenses for NGOs which are running the shelters.

The Montenegrin authorities have stressed the increasing role of the internet in the recruitment and exploitation of victims, with children being particularly vulnerable. GRETA invites the authorities to develop further measures to prevent ICT-facilitated trafficking, including via capacity building and digital tools to conduct proactive investigations, and to enhance co-operation with ICT companies and Internet service providers.

Finally, GRETA repeats a certain number of recommendations already made in preceding reports which have not been implemented and should be addressed as a matter of priority:

• guarantee effective access to compensation for victims of trafficking, by making full use of the legislation on the seizure and confiscation of criminal assets, and bringing into force the Law on Compensation for Damages to Victims of Violent Crimes;
• ensure that whenever there are reasonable grounds to believe that a foreign national is a victim of human trafficking, the person concerned has access to a recovery and reflection period;
• proactively investigate cases of trafficking in human beings and ensure that sufficient human and financial resources are available to the police and prosecution.

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The Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) is an independent body which monitors the way countries implement the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. All 46 member states of the Council of Europe are bound by the Convention, as well as non-member states Belarus and Israel.