Trafficking in human beings for the purpose of labour exploitation - A ...

6. Addressing the different forms of labour exploitation in any strategic
documents dealing with migration, labour rights and integration of foreign
workers and their families. In addition to this, policy makers in the FBiH
should consider passing a new Law on the Employment of Foreigners in
compliance with the BiH Law on the Movement and Stay of Aliens thus
providing a comprehensive and coherent legal framework.
7. Conducting more detailed research on the profile of victims and perpetrators
and the specific features of labour trafficking.
The results of this paper do not indicate that organized crime is a prevalent form of
human trafficking for labour exploitation in BiH. Based on the available information
it seems that individuals are the most common perpetrators of this offence and the
main aim is gaining financial means for themselves. Cases in BiH usually involve
BiH citizens but occasionally persons from neighbouring countries are victims
of trafficking. Only one case appears to have a transnational character involving
perpetrators and victims from several countries. This paper did not identify any
activities by the authorities to ensure the safety of migrant workers or provide
information on the risks of becoming victims of trafficking.
While criminal legislation in BiH provides for the protection of workers through
provisions on the violation of labour rights, the trafficking provision will only
become relevant if other constituent elements of the crime are present. In any case,
the final qualification will depend on the circumstances of every single case and the
actors need to be aware of the connections between the two.
Practitioners should consider:
Paying special attention to the proper assessment of the consent or the lack thereof in
identifying instances of trafficking for labour exploitation. As long as the crime occurs
for an exploitative purpose (and by acts and means falling within the UNCTOC and
the CoE Convention) the question of consent by the victim to exploitation becomes
irrelevant. Besides, the component of means becomes superfluous when the victim
of the crime is below eighteen years of age, as it is deemed that they have not reached
a sufficient level of psycho-physical maturity.
An area of concern is the effectiveness of the referral mechanism for victims of
trafficking for labour exploitation. Accessibility of assistance and legal aid seems to
be a point of concern. A recent study 99 pointed to several factors that may contribute
to the process of identification: workers deported as illegal migrants, gender bias and
known types of victims (women and children for sexual exploitation). These factors
should be taken into account in understanding why labour exploitation is less visible
than other forms of exploitation. 100
99 USAID: Trafficking of Adult Men in Europe and Eurasia p. 7
100 UNODC Global report, page 51
OSCE BiH | July 2011
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