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SARAJEVO, October 24 (FENA) - New project "Prevention and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings in Bosnia and Herzegovina" under the joint program of the European Union (EU) and the Council of Europe (CoE) "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey II " was presented today in Sarajevo.
Ambassador Drahoslav Štefánek, Head of the Council of Europe office in BiH, officially launched the implementation of the project, worth EUR 700.000 pointing out that the focus of the project activities is focused on two fundamental issues - labor exploitation of victims of trafficking in BiH, but also of people from BiH who are taken overseas.
Another area that project promoters will pay attention to is trafficking in children and minors, and mapping the situation in BiH in this regard, that is, identifying victims of trafficking.
In this context, Ambassador Štefánek stressed the obligations arising from the CoE Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, ratified by 46 Member States, including Bosnia and Herzegovina (2008), which implies, among other things, the existence of bodies which monitors the implementation of the Convention and prepare reports and recommendations for each country.
At the same time, he announced that during the three-year implementation of the project, four public animation campaigns on the consequences of trafficking in human beings would be organized, as well as 12 trainings for employees of labor inspectorates and police officers, as well as health and education staff in BiH.
According to presented data, in the first six months of this year, 21 victims of human trafficking were identified in BiH, and BiH was designated as the country of 'source' when it comes to trafficking, not the country of destination.
Responding to press questions in the context of the current migrant crisis, Štefánek said that they are going to start working on a convention on combating trafficking in human beings soon, and that activities in this area include coordinated action of a wider range of institutions.
He also commented the fact that BiH does not currently have representatives in the CoE Parliamentary Assembly, underlining that another opportunity for BiH to submit a proposal / composition to the delegation follows in January.
The European Union/Council of Europe Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey (Horizontal Facility II) 2019-2022 is a cooperation initiative of the European Union and Council of Europe for the Western Balkans and Turkey.
This program supports the reform processes agreed upon the institutions, in line with the relevant recommendations of the Council of Europe bodies responsible for oversight and consultation in the fields of human rights, the rule of law and democracy.
The envelope of this facility amounts to ca. 41 Million EUR (85% funded by the EU, 15% by the CoE).
The main objective of the project "Prevention and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings in BiH" is to support institutions in preventing and combating trafficking in human beings through strengthening responses to trafficking in human beings and more effective victim protection measures.
(FENA) A. B.
