With the aim of strengthening the protection and access to justice for victims of human trafficking, 26 prosecutors - contact persons for combating human trafficking, the Centre for Protection of Trafficking Victims and NGOs Atina and Astra met in Belgrade on 16 October. They discussed the improvement of the Centre’s expert findings and opinions in order to make their usage more effective during the investigation, prosecution and court proceedings. The Centre is the body responsible for the official identification of victims of human trafficking in Serbia and the development of protection and assistance plans and services.  

The guide for improving the Centre’s findings and opinions, developed by a local consultant with the support of the European Union/Council of Europe joint action “Strengthening anti-trafficking action in Serbia”, was presented.  The guide was developed through consultations with Serbian prosecutors, the Supreme Court of Cassation and staff of the Centre. It takes into consideration the obligations of Serbia resulting from the Council of Europe Anti-Trafficking Convention and the recommendations to the authorities of Serbia from the third evaluation report of the Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA).  

The participants discussed about the structure and content that should contain the Centre’s findings and opinions. They shared their recommendations and examples and stressed the importance of implementing the victim-centred and protective approach in identifying trafficking victims and investigating and prosecuting trafficking cases.

The participants found the meeting practical and helpful for strengthening the co-operation between different anti-trafficking institutions and organisations.

The activity was organised within the “Strengthening anti-trafficking action in Serbia”, as part of the European Union and Council of Europe joint programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”.