A public initiative to raise awareness on the fight against child trafficking for forced marriages to kick off in North Macedonia

"Change Your Mind - Stay Out of the Vicious Circle”

18 October 2024 North Macedonia

Forced child marriage is one of the common types of human trafficking, spiralling out of the circle of poverty. A significant number of the child trafficking victims in North Macedonia are victims of trafficking for forced marriage. To raise public awareness about this crime in North Macedonia,...

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HIGHLIGHTS

Promoting Dialogue and Combating Hate Speech in Bosnia and Herzegovina

July - September 2024 Western Balkans

Recent initiatives in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the field of tackling hate speech and discrimination, with a particular attention on LGBTI, were focused on promoting a culture of dialogue while empowering public authorities to effectively address discrimination. Civil servants were equipped with...

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Gearing up for Hackathon on inclusion and digital citizenship in Podgorica

11 October 2024 Podgorica

High school students from across Montenegro gathered on 11 October 2024 for an Info Day on the upcoming Hackathon on inclusion and digital citizenship. Organised by the Council of Europe’s Programme Office and the Science and Technology Park of Montenegro, the event introduced participants to the...

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Kragujevac schools celebrate the day of education for democratic culture

14 October 2024 Serbia

Mentor school for Democratic Culture, “Dragisa Lukovic Spanac” from Kragujevac, together with six local schools, marked the Day of Education for Democratic Culture with a series of creative, student-led activities aimed at promoting tolerance, diversity, and empathy in schools and the wider...

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Curricula working group of the state institute for education improvement finalised connecting reference framework of competences for democratic culture with selected subjects of national curricula in Serbia

11 October 2024 Belgrade

Schools across Serbia will soon have access to a valuable new resource: the second volume of Guidelines for the Integration of the Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (RFCDC) in National Curricula. Developed by a team of education experts from the State Institute for the...

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Towards reducing discrimination in sports in Bosnia and Herzegovina

4 October 2024 Sarajevo/Bosnia and Herzegovina

In an effort to promote respect and diversity in sports, the Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with support of the European Union and the Council of Europe, organised a workshop in Sarajevo on October 4. The workshop aimed at reducing homophobia and transphobia in sports...

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Psychological aid is changing lives of marginalised groups in Bosnia Herzegovina under the joint EU and Council of Europe programme "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye"

Free psychological support: A key to living authentically

10 October Bosnia and Herzegovina

"When I first consulted a psychologist, I felt lost. I couldn't openly talk about my feelings with anyone around me. I felt like I was suffocating in my own thoughts. Free psychological support was my only way out. Through conversations with a psychologist, I began to understand my feelings and...

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New platform for reporting violence against LGBTI

10 October 2024 Bosnia and Herzegovina

A new website, stopmrznji.ba, has been launched as a crucial tool for reporting hate crimes and hate speech against LGBTI individuals in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This platform provides vital information and contacts for those who have experienced violence due to their sexual orientation or gender...

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Raising awareness on free legal aid for human trafficking victims in Montenegro

05 October 2024 Montenegro

A new awareness raising initiative in Montenegro is putting the spotlight on free legal aid available to victims of human trafficking. An important part of this initiative are multilingual informational leaflets designed to inform victims about their legal rights. Created in collaboration with...

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Montenegro takes action to strengthen local response to human trafficking and boost victim support

4 October 2024 Montenegro

In a move to combat human trafficking and protect victims’ rights, three workshops were organised across Montenegro in September — gathering local authorities, social welfare centers, labour inspections, law enforcement, and judicial representatives. As part of the Strategy for the Fight Against...

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A public initiative to raise awareness on the fight against child trafficking for forced marriages to kick off in North Macedonia

"Change Your Mind - Stay Out of the Vicious Circle”

4 October 2024 North Macedonia

Forced child marriage is one of the common types of human trafficking, spiralling out of the circle of poverty. A significant number of the child trafficking victims in North Macedonia are victims of trafficking for forced marriage, who are often sexually abused and exploited for their labour. To...

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HIGHLIGHTS

Regional co-operation key to tackling discrimination and racism

26-28 September 2024 Podgorica

Law enforcement institutions and civil society organisations (CSOs) from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and the Republic of Moldova met in Podgorica on 26-28 September with the aim to address racism, discrimination, and the protection of minority groups, especially the LGBTI community. This...

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Strong joint action needed that will foremost protect youth and children

Traffickers easier recruit, control and exploit victims of human trafficking

3 October 2024 SARAJEVO, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

How to meet the challenges posed by the growing use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for the recruitment, control and exploitation of victims of human trafficking? More than 60 national and regional experts met at a two-day conference in Sarajevo on 2 and 3 October 2024 to...

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Göçle Türkiye’ye Gelen Çocukların Korunmasına Dair Mevzuat Rehberi Yayınlandı

Eylül 2024 Ankara

Göç bağlamında çocukların korunmasına ilişkin ulusal mevzuatın ve uluslararası insan hakları standartlarının derlendiği yeni bir rehber, Avrupa Birliği ve Avrupa Konseyi'nin “Türkiye'de göç bağlamında insan haklarının korunmasının güçlendirilmesi” ortak eyleminin uzman desteğiyle tamamlanarak...

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Advancing support to legal professionals in the efforts to improve women’s access to justice in the Western Balkans

17 September 2024 Western Balkans

The Mentoring Programme for legal professionals, an initiative of the EU and Council of Europe regional action “Women’s access to justice in the Western Balkans”, proved to be a unique tool for equipping justice professionals including judges and prosecutors with necessary resources to champion...

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Equality bodies, public authorities and civil society organisations in Albania to join forces in the efforts to combat discrimination and hatred

23 September 2024 Tirana

Partners and beneficiaries of the action on Advancing the Protection from Discrimination in Albania valued the contribution of this co-operation initiative of the European Union and Council of Europe, that aims to bring forward the effects of the reforms in the field of anti-discrimination and...

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New course on combating trafficking in human beings in Serbia

19 September 2024 Belgrade

To support lawyers in effective protection of victims of trafficking and prosecuting perpetrators, a new HELP (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) course has been launched within the action “Strengthening anti-trafficking action in Serbia”, in co-operation with the Serbian Bar...

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PRESS RELEASE

Advancing Albania’s Reform Agenda, in line with European values: Human Rights and Democracy in the Spotlight

24 September 2024 TIRANA

The programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”, a core co-operation initiative of the European Union and Council of Europe, is a fundamental instrument in the hands of the public authorities in Albania to bring forward protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms,...

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Türkiye’de Kadına Yönelik Şiddetle Mücadelede Kadın Örgütleri ile Güç Birliği

18 Eylül 2024, çevrim içi

Kadınlara yönelik adli yardım hizmetlerinin nitelik ve erişilebilirliğinin artırılması amacıyla Türkiye’deki sivil toplum kuruluşlarının desteklenmesine yönelik çalışmalar kapsamında, Avrupa Birliği ve Avrupa Konseyi’nin desteğiyle çevrim içi bir tartışma oturumu düzenlenmiştir. Toplantı...

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Study on preventing child trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation, begging and forced marriages in North Macedonia reveals factual situation and trends

10 September 2024 Skopje, North Macedonia

According to the 2023 third evaluation report on North Macedonia of the Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking of the Council of Europe, most of the trafficking victims are children. Although most of the trafficked children were subjected to sexual exploitation, child trafficking for the...

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