Dimitris Kourkoulas, Head of the European Commission Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina, together with RS Minister of Internal Affairs (MoI) Stanislav Cađo, opened on Wednesday a 2-day seminar called “Trafficking in human beings, from the perspective of criminal law”, at the RS National assembly in Banja Luka.

Emphasizing that the EU has noticed substantial progress in fighting trafficking in human beings in BiH, Mr. Kourkoulas welcomed efforts by the RS MoI in combating this kind of crime:

“Trafficking in human beings is an extremely serious problem, because it jeopardizes the physical and psychological integrity of human beings. But it is also connected to other kinds of crime, like money laundering, issuing false IDs and many others. This is the sixth seminar of the RS MoI and TAIEX and for us this is proof of how serious the local Institutions are about EU integration,” stated Kourkoulas.

He congratulated Minister Cađo for his proactive approach, encouraged him to continue on that path, calling on all BiH institutions to avail themselves of the EU’s assistance.

Cađo said that RS MoI is undertaking major efforts to make the environment, for which they are responsible, as safe as possible. The results are apparent from two actions last year, in which 11 persons were arrested for trafficking in human beings and sexual abuse.

“This is not a problem which occurred yesterday,” Cađo said. “The RS MoI is doing all we can to fight this kind of crime, and this seminar hosted by RS MoI will help.” He added that such events help the harmonization of local regulation and legislation with European legislation, so as to better fight these problems.

Dražen Bojić, RS MoI Inspector, stated that the victims of trafficking in human beings are often underage girls. According to Bojić, the girls are most often brought into the trade by those they live with, and then taken abroad for prostitution.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is currently amending the provision of its Criminal Code regarding the criminal offence of trafficking in human beings. The Seminar aimed at providing the audience with knowledge about the EU legislation in the field and its implementation in Member States. It gathered representatives of security agencies and prosecutors offices from the State, Federation of BiH, Republika Srpska and Brčko District as well as representatives of NGOs. Among the topics discussed were the EU legislative framework and its implementation in EU member states, protection of victims of trafficking and regional cooperation in the fight against trafficking in human beings, as well as how to facilitate the cooperation between trafficking victims and judicial authorities and cooperation between police and NGOs.

The seminar was organised with the support of TAIEX – Technical Assistance and Information Exchange, an instrument of the Directorate-General Enlargement of the European Commission. TAIEX helps countries harmonize, apply and enforce EU legislation.