A roundtable on “The role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in combating trafficking in human beings in Turkey” took place online on 26 April 2021 with the initiative of the European Union and Council of Europe joint action “Strengthening the human rights protection of migrants and victims of human trafficking in Turkey”

The event gathered representatives from nine NGOs, the Directorate General of Migration Management (DGMM), several municipalities as well as international organisations.The Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings stipulates the need to promote partnerships with civil society organisations in dealing with the complex issue of trafficking in human beings. Such partnerships are even more important in crisis situations, such as the coronavirus pandemic.

Participants exchanged on good practices in the involvement of NGOs in the provision of assistance to victims of trafficking, awareness raising and other measures to combat human trafficking. The roundtable also provided an opportunity to discuss problems encountered by NGOs and ways to address them.

The meeting was conducted within the framework of the action “Strengthening the human rights protection of migrants and victims of human trafficking in Turkey”, as a part of the joint Council of Europe and European Union programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022”.