OSCE Mission to Skopje supports trial observation on human trafficking-related cases

SKOPJE, 9 December, 2005 - A report from the OSCE-supported Coalition 'All for Fair Trials', which was presented today in Skopje, recommends improvements in national victim protection measures and stricter adherence to sentencing guidelines in human trafficking-related cases.

Ambassador Natalya Drozd, the Deputy Head of the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje, praised the report, which will be given to the Justice and Interior Ministry, other governmental officials, as well as all interested legal professionals and civil society leaders, for further action.

This report is the final product of the 'Countrywide Observation of Trafficking in Human Beings related Trials' project, which supports the implementation of the National Action Plan for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Illegal Migration. The Coalition implemented the project with support from the OSCE Mission.

Professor Oliver Bacanovic, a member of the working group on the preparation of the Strategy and the Plan, noted that the report "...is a serious attempt to create a picture of what is going on in the judicial practice regarding trafficking in human beings, and a suitable instrument for the legislation and judiciary for locating the problems that the country is facing while suppressing and sanctioning trafficking."

The report is an analysis by the Coalition of trials throughout the country related to trafficking in human beings; specially selected attorneys observed 32 trials related to the trafficking between January to September 2005.