Between 2019 and 2024, 46 victims of human trafficking for labour exploitation, mostly adult men, were identified in North Macedonia. ^[1] Reportedly, many of the victims of labour exploitation go undetected, as there is a lack of general understanding of the concept of forced labour, not only by the general public, but also by private sector and workers.

To raise awareness about the consequences of using services of human trafficking victims for labour exploitation and effectuate a cultural shift to end impunity, the civil society organisation “The Business Confederation of North Macedonia” successfully concluded the public awareness initiative entitled “Maybe you are also involved in human trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation”. The initiative informed and built the capacities of private sector, trade unions and anti-trafficking institutions on how to identify instances of forced labour, how and where to report them, as well as to shed light on the vulnerabilities of workers in specific fields such as construction, hospitality and agriculture.

“Everybody can become a victim of human trafficking. Therefore, we should take urgent and coordinated action to detect, identify and help presumed victims of human trafficking, as well as show caution to avoid using their services, which is punishable by law.”, affirmed Mile BOSHKOV, the Executive President of the Business Confederation of North Macedonia during one of the workshops attended by the representatives of the private sector, trade unions and the National Commission on fight against trafficking in human beings.  

The Business Confederation of North Macedonia implemented various awareness raising activities between October 2024 and May 2025 including a fully dedicated web page to forced labour and workshops. The initiative reached over 150,000 individuals via social media, while more than 179 representatives from the private sector, trade unions, labour inspectorate, the Ministry of interior, social workers and law students attended the workshops. The novelty of this awareness raising initiative was the tailoring of information and education materials on human trafficking for labour exploitation. They were prepared in a form of guides for different industries where there is a growing risk of forced labour. In addition, 600 leaflets and 30 posters warning the private sector, workers and local communities about the perils of human trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation, were shared with local partners and stakeholders and placed on municipal buildings.
All the main materials of the initiative are available at Maybe you are also involved in labour exploitation (NM) - Horizontal Facility

For more than 6 months, this public awareness initiative promoted a cultural shift in North Macedonia, encouraging private companies, trade unions, institutions and individuals to take responsibility to prevent human trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation. It aimed to empower private sector and trade unions to choose a proactive approach in the identification and reporting of cases of human trafficking for labour exploitation, as well as in assisting the victims of this crime. This initiative constitutes a key milestone towards a more effective and skilful prevention of human trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation in North Macedonia.

This initiative was implemented with the support of the action “Strengthening anti - trafficking action in North Macedonia”, within the European Union and Council of Europe joint programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”.