OSCE Mission to Skopje supports training of NGOs dealing with human trafficking issues

SKOPJE, 22 August 2008 - Increasing awareness of human rights and gender sensitivity among the NGOs dealing with human trafficking issues is the aim of a training course that begins in Skopje tomorrow.

It will consist of five sessions, to be held over the course of four months, and provide participants with theoretical and practical skills.

"The training sessions will be an opportunity for participants to explore the meaning of the term "trafficking in women" and examine it as a form of gender-based violence and a violation of human rights," said Donald Bisson, Head of the Mission's Rule of Law Department.

Katerina Kolozova, Director of Euro-Balkan Centre, added: "The factors contributing to trafficking in women are varied and complex, they differ from country to country. The training programme will help identify what factors make women vulnerable to trafficking and help NGOs develop projects relevant in the fight against human trafficking and promote the protection of human rights, particularly, of women and children."

The project is organized by the Euro-Balkan Research Centre for Gender Studies, with support from the government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje.

Elisabeth Muller, acting German Ambassador to Skopje, said that her government supported this initiative in order to offer NGOs a training programme that would prepare and enable them to work efficiently in the field. "We consider the strengthening of civil society and especially women as an important priority in the fight against trafficking in human beings," she said. "The program will encourage interaction between NGOs active at grassroots level and provide a platform for future co-operation."