"The State Labour Inspectorate is no longer the missing link in the fight against trafficking in human being for the purpose of labour exploitation”, said Amir Imeri from State Labour Inspectorate on the occasion of the simulation training on trafficking in human beings (THB) for the purpose of labour exploitation, organised in Ohrid on 16-18 December 2019.
In fact, all over the Europe, there is an important investment in training police, the border control and other law enforcement agencies in ways to address trafficking in human beings for the purpose of labour exploitation. Yet, the key role of labour inspectors in preventing and combating THB for the purpose of labour exploitation has been overlooked, as underlined in the report by GRETA* on North Macedonia (GRETA (2017)39). The Report invites the national authorities to increase their efforts in preventing THB for labour exploitation by raising awareness of all relevant professionals – including labour inspectors, of the risks of this phenomenon in the country and abroad.
The purpose of the advanced simulation training in Ohrid was to assist the labour inspectors and other target groups (police officers, social workers, NGO representatives and lawyers) in the implementation of the domestic anti-trafficking legislation by way of organising a simulation training based on a real case scenario and a role play. The training built on a comprehensive and collaborative approach between labour inspectors and representatives from the National Task Force on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, the National Referral Mechanism and the Shelter for trafficking victims. This approach, often referred to as “cross-system” or “multidisciplinary,” requires co-operative work by relevant agencies and experts to identify potential victims, to refer them to assistance and protection, as well as to prosecute the perpetrators. The workshop also included discussions on the European framework for Action against trafficking in human beings, comparative examples of other Council of Europe member states, the key legal concepts and criminal procedure.
This training has been organised as a part of the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme - “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey II”, 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.
*Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings and the Report concerning the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings by “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”.