Nineteen newly appointed labour inspectors teamed up with police, civil society, and anti-trafficking experts in Vrnjačka Banja to boost their role in the fight against labour exploitation. The two-day training, organised under the Council of Europe action “Strengthening anti-trafficking action in Serbia,” equipped participants with tools to detect, report and respond to trafficking in human beings for the purpose of labour exploitation.

The training, which brought together inspectors and key actors in the fight against trafficking, including representatives of the Ministry of the Interior’s Criminal Police Directorate, the Centre for Human Trafficking Victims’ Protection, and NGO Atina, promoted a human rights-based and victim-centred approach, while encouraging stronger inter-institutional cooperation and the active role of labour inspectorates in detecting exploitation and assisting victims.

Participants learned about the legal and strategic frameworks guiding anti-trafficking efforts in Serbia, current risk factors and trends, and practical tools available to them. Through interactive sessions, case studies, and real-life scenarios, the inspectors were trained to apply indicators for detecting labour trafficking and refer suspected cases to the appropriate services within the national referral mechanism.

The training also featured the presentation of the Guide for labour inspectors on detection and preliminary identification of human trafficking victims, developed during the previous phase of the action. In addition, participants were introduced to the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings for the purpose of labour exploitation, the study “Labour trafficking in Serbia: risk factors, trends and challenges”, and the Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings third evaluation report for Serbia.

A notable segment of the agenda included a video presentation on Belgium’s good practices in labour inspection in the context of human trafficking, providing comparative insight and inspiration for further improving Serbia’s approach.

The action “Strengthening anti-trafficking action in Serbia” is implemented in the framework of the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”.