Trafficking in Human Beings in Southeastern Europe - Iom

Trafficking in Human Beingsin Southeastern EuropeRegionalInitiativesagainst Transnational Organised Crime and its two additional protocols 23 on13 December 2000 in Palermo. According to the Trafficking Protocol, all governmentsare obliged to elaborate a National Plan to prevent, suppress andpunish trafficking in persons. On the margins of the signing ceremony of thePalermo Convention the governments of SEE met in the first ministerial meetingof the SPTTF and committed themselves to appoint National Co-ordinatorsand to elaborate National Plans of Action to combat trafficking in humanbeings. 24To date, only FRY (excluding Kosovo) have ratified the Convention and its protocols.BiH is in the process of ratification.The early signature of the UN Crime Convention (Palermo Convention) and itsProtocols by all the countries of the region, shows their commitment to combattrafficking in human beings. However, it is difficult to estimate the effectivenessof the new measures or the way in which they will be implemented,as the process of creating regional and national structures has only juststarted.1.2. SEE Regional AgreementsWithin the framework of the Stability Pact Working Table III initiatives, thegovernments of the SEE countries have signed a number of co-operationagreements. In December 2000, all SEE countries signed the Palermo Anti-Trafficking Declaration of South Eastern Europe. 25 By signing the Anti-TraffickingDeclaration ministers committed their countries to implement effectiveprogrammes for prevention, victim assistance and protection, law enforcement,legislative reform and prosecution of traffickers. They also acknowledgedthe need for programmes to raise awareness, for training, and for cooperationand co-ordination among border officials, police judges, prosecutorsand consular personnel. They agreed to meet once a year to exchange informationon trafficking in human beings and the progress made in combating it.In May 1999, Albania, BiH, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, FYR Macedonia, Moldova,Romania and Turkey signed an Agreement of Co-operation to Prevent andCombat Trans-border Crime (the Southern European Cooperative Initiative[SECI] Agreement). 26 Croatia signed the document on 13 November 1999and Slovenia on 29 August 2000. The SECI Agreement entered into force inFebruary 2000.At the second SPTTF Ministerial Meeting in Zagreb in November 2001, the governmentsof SEE committed themselves to establishing an informationexchange mechanism.1.3. Stability Pact Task Force on Trafficking in HumanBeings (SPTTF)The Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe’s “Task Force on Trafficking inHuman Beings” was launched in September 2000 under Working Table III onSecurity Issues, sub-table on Justice and Home Affairs, The Austrian Chairmanshipof the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)seconded Minister Helga Konrad as the first chairperson. The governments of1423. See: http://www.uncjin.org/Documents/Conventions/conventions.html. The UN Protocol toPrevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons and the UN Protocol against theSmuggling of Migrants by Land, Air and Sea were presented in Palermo. A third protocolagainst the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms was only opened for signaturein June 2001.24. See: http://www.osce.org/odihr/attf/attf_pd.pdf25. See: http://www.legislationline.org/intstandard.php?StandardID=6326. See: http://www.unece.org/seci/crime/agreemnt.htm