Regional Expert Meeting on "Access to Effective Remedies for Victims of Human Trafficking in South-Eastern Europe"

An online meeting on "Acess to Effective Remedie for Victims of Human Trafficking in South-Eastern Europe", organized by the National Commission for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Illegal Migration in the Republic of North Macedonia, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, was held on the 3rd and 4th of March 2021.

The meeting was attended by governmental and non-governmental representatives from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, France, Greece and Slovenia. Selected representatives from regional and international organizations and academia also contributed to the meeting.

On the Bulgarian side, representatives of the National Investigation Service, the General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime at the Ministry of the Interior, the National Commission for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, the Animus Association Foundation, and the Digital Foundation took part in the meeting, including as speakers in their respective sessions. Representatives from the A21 Campaign Foundation and Demetra Association also participated in the event.

During her speech, Ms. Maria Dimitrova, Chief Expert at the National Commission, gave a brief overview of the existing rights for victims of human trafficking, regulated by the Law on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, with a focus on the right to accommodation and unconditional support (psychological, social, legal, etc.) in the specialized services for victims of human trafficking, opened and functioning at the NCCTHB.

During the meeting, participants presented various initiatives to increase access to effective remedies for victims of human trafficking regionally and internationally, as well as the national context in relation to the implementation of procedural rights of access to justice for victims of human trafficking and existing protection mechanisms in their countries, by sharing their experiences, good practices, and the challenges they face.

Improving access to justice and effective remedies for victims of human trafficking is the focus of a number of international instruments and is essential to ensure respect for the rights of victims of trafficking and their full recovery, reintegration into society, and prevention of re-victimization. Despite the fact that each country has adopted relevant legislation in the area, in practice a number of challenges arise that hinder the effective implementation of the provisions and therefore victims' access to their rights is limited.