OSCE Mission to Skopje supports training on identifying cases of trafficking for labour exploitation

SKOPJE, 23 November 2009 - An OSCE Mission-supported workshop on identifying cases of trafficking in human beings for the purpose of labour exploitation started in Bitola today.

The two-day training course for some 100 labour inspectors and social workers from around the country is the second in a series of four workshops.

"Often the crime of trafficking for labour exploitation remains largely invisible, with a low number of properly identified and criminally prosecuted cases. The main reasons for this are the lack of awareness and low capacity on the part of law-enforcement agencies, mainly state labour inspectors with responsibility for identification of cases," says Lisa Tilney, the Head of the OSCE Mission's Rule of Law Department. "These workshops aim to support labour inspectors and social workers to gain the skills they need."

The workshops are being implemented by the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje in co-operation with the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy and its two bodies responsible for dealing with issues of labour and combating trafficking in human beings - the State Labour Inspectorate and the National Referral Mechanism Co-ordination Office.

Minister of Labour and Social Policy Xhelal Bajrami said : "The Ministry, through its Sector for Equal Opportunities and the National Referral Mechanism Co-ordination Office, has been continuously working on strengthening the capacities of the State Labour Inspectorate as part of its anti-trafficking activities. This training course is in line with the National Action Plan and Strategy to combat trafficking in human beings and illegal migration."