Newsroom
Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina addresses issues relating to trafficking in human beings
SARAJEVO 19 June 2000
SARAJEVO, 19 June 2000 - The Chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation has invited all participating states and Field Missions to a Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting to be held today in Vienna. The follow-up meeting of the Conference on Trafficking in Women held in Oslo in May aims to adopt a common approach to the problem of human trafficking in human beings throughout the OSCE region.
"Trafficking is one of the most complex, pressing human rights issues in South-Eastern Europe, including Bosnia and Herzegovina," said Ambassador Robert L. Barry, Head of the OSCE Mission. "Traffickers often recruit their victims by promising good jobs, sometimes the victims are abducted or sold."
There appear to be numerous reasons why trafficking in human beings has spread rapidly. South-Eastern Europe is liable to be affected by trafficking owing to economic transition, which produces increasing poverty and the feminization of poverty.
"Women and children are particularly vulnerable and expressly targeted," added Barry.
The issue of trafficking in human beings, and in particular trafficking in women, has been raised at various times in the OSCE context. At the November OSCE Istanbul Summit it was decided to promote the adoption of legislation to hold persons responsible for these crimes as well as to strengthen the protection of victims.
Due to the vulnerability of the population in the affected countries, post-conflict situations are particularly ripe for the development of trafficking. The growing importance of the issue in South-Eastern Europe and the already existing expertise within different OSCE institutions calls for effective co-ordination among international institutions, governments, NGOs, as well as for increased information-sharing between countries of origin, transit and destination.
Following the lead of United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the OSCE Human Rights Department has been involved in drafting amendments to the Law on the Supreme Court and Federation Prosecutor, which will provide for the prosecution of trafficking cases.
OSCE Human Rights officers in the field refer cases of trafficking to the International Police Task Force (IPTF), while the OSCE Democratization Department is facilitating public information activities through local women NGOs and the Women in Politics Program.
Moreover, the OSCE Department of Media Affairs will include trafficking as one of the topics of their Journalists' Conferences and investigative journalism training program.
In addition to OSCE's participating states and Field Missions, representatives of NGOs specialized in the fight against trafficking in human beings will attend today's Meeting in Vienna where strategies and co-ordination mechanisms will be mapped out to combat trafficking on the
basis of concrete recommendations and examples of best practices.
Both the opening and the closing session of the meeting are open to media representatives.
"Trafficking is one of the most complex, pressing human rights issues in South-Eastern Europe, including Bosnia and Herzegovina," said Ambassador Robert L. Barry, Head of the OSCE Mission. "Traffickers often recruit their victims by promising good jobs, sometimes the victims are abducted or sold."
There appear to be numerous reasons why trafficking in human beings has spread rapidly. South-Eastern Europe is liable to be affected by trafficking owing to economic transition, which produces increasing poverty and the feminization of poverty.
"Women and children are particularly vulnerable and expressly targeted," added Barry.
The issue of trafficking in human beings, and in particular trafficking in women, has been raised at various times in the OSCE context. At the November OSCE Istanbul Summit it was decided to promote the adoption of legislation to hold persons responsible for these crimes as well as to strengthen the protection of victims.
Due to the vulnerability of the population in the affected countries, post-conflict situations are particularly ripe for the development of trafficking. The growing importance of the issue in South-Eastern Europe and the already existing expertise within different OSCE institutions calls for effective co-ordination among international institutions, governments, NGOs, as well as for increased information-sharing between countries of origin, transit and destination.
Following the lead of United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the OSCE Human Rights Department has been involved in drafting amendments to the Law on the Supreme Court and Federation Prosecutor, which will provide for the prosecution of trafficking cases.
OSCE Human Rights officers in the field refer cases of trafficking to the International Police Task Force (IPTF), while the OSCE Democratization Department is facilitating public information activities through local women NGOs and the Women in Politics Program.
Moreover, the OSCE Department of Media Affairs will include trafficking as one of the topics of their Journalists' Conferences and investigative journalism training program.
In addition to OSCE's participating states and Field Missions, representatives of NGOs specialized in the fight against trafficking in human beings will attend today's Meeting in Vienna where strategies and co-ordination mechanisms will be mapped out to combat trafficking on the
basis of concrete recommendations and examples of best practices.
Both the opening and the closing session of the meeting are open to media representatives.