"Despite the victims’ identification mechanisms in place, enhancing joint efforts and continuous co-operation between main anti-trafficking partners, the main challenge of the anti-trafficking community remains", said Mr Mitar Đurašković at the opening of the second Steering Committee meeting of the Action on Preventing and combating trafficking in human beings in Serbia, held on 5 February.

The aim of the meeting was to present and to analyse the progress in the implementation of the Action’s activities and to agree on the forthcoming activities that will focus on building capacities of labour inspectors to combat and prevent human trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation and on raising awareness of education and health practitioners to prevent child trafficking. The victim-centered approach will remain at the heart of all activities with due attention given to the protection of the most vulnerable groups and persons at risks’ situations, as well as to gender aspects of the anti-trafficking action. Attention to specific needs of each gender is of particular importance to the work of the anti-trafficking practitioners, especially when providing adequate protection and assistance to victims.

The meeting, co-chaired by National Anti-trafficking Coordinator, was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Interior/National Anti-trafficking Co-ordination Office, Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs/ Labour Inspectorate and Centre for Human Trafficking Victims Protection, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, the European Union Delegation to Serbia, Ombudspersons’ Office as well as the civil society organizations ASTRA and ATINA. The next Steering Committee Meeting will take place in June 2020.

The Action “Preventing and combating trafficking in human beings in Serbia” is a part of the “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey II”, a co-operation initiative co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe, which aims at assisting beneficiaries in South-East Europe to comply with the Council of Europe standards and European Union acquis in the framework of the enlargement process, where relevant.