All Contents

17 February 2022, The Anti-Trafficking Programme of ICMPD presents the Non-paper “Beyond Joint Actions: Towards integrated anti-trafficking responses of European Union Member States and Western Balkans”. The document identifies avenues of collaboration between anti-trafficking stakeholders in the Western Balkans (WB) and the European Union (EU), including its institutions and agencies as well as its Member States (MS), with a view to enhancing the quality and effectiveness of interventions to combat trafficking in human beings (THB) across Europe.

On 2 June 2022, in Budva, Montenegro, the Network of the Anti-Trafficking Coordinators of South-Eastern Europe met for their annual meeting. The rationale of the meeting was a discussion of the effects of the Ukrainian crisis on the trafficking in human beings in the region based on the network countries’ experience in the past months.

The annual World Day against Trafficking in Persons, marked on 30^th July, brings together policy-makers, operational specialists and the general public to reflect upon the response to trafficking in human beings (THB) in their own country, region and globally. This year, the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) marks this occasion by emphasising the importance of regional approaches in combatting THB and supporting its victims.

On 13-15 December 2023, a Moot Court Competition on Trafficking in Human Beings took place in a collaborative effort between the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), the Ministry of Justice of Georgia, and the Training Centre of Justice of Georgia. The event, held within the framework of the EU-funded STREAMinG Phase 2 project, aimed to raise awareness on the critical issue of human trafficking. 

Trafficking in human beings (THB) is a complex issue. At the heart of trafficking is the exploitation of one human being against their will by another, yet a large number of legal and social issues are linked with this process. As a result, trafficking can simultaneously be considered an organised crime challenge, a human rights violation, an issue linked with migration, labour market dynamics, gender or economic development. Each of these perspectives applies a different “narrative” to explain what human trafficking is and why it occurs. These different narratives sometimes present challenges for media professionals and journalists reporting on THB, and can lead to inaccurate or damaging representations of trafficking in the media.

The approach of states to managing immigration and asylum relies to a significant extent on the assignment of categories to people entering from abroad. Yet many adults and children travelling along migration routes do not fit neatly into just one of these categories. A new ICMPD Working Paper examines the challenges, and some possible ways forward, in dealing with the nexus between asylum, migrant smuggling and human trafficking in mixed migration contexts.

To mark World Day against Trafficking in Persons 2019, this ICMPD Expert Voice article puts the spotlight on a neglected and under-reported form of human trafficking in the context of mixed migration: trafficking for forced migrant smuggling. 

This article presents some of the findings from our in-depth, multi-country research project “Study on Trafficking Resilience and Vulnerability en route to Europe (STRIVE)”. The analysis of the research findings is still ongoing, however first results are ready to be shared. 

On 15 November 2021, the Third ICAT Principal Level Meeting took place. The meeting assessed the implementation of the group’s Plan of Action, adopted a joint statement related to the upcoming UN General Assembly’s High-Level meeting and endorsed ICMPD and UNODC as co-chairs of ICAT in 2022.

As a Secretariat of the Network of Anti-Trafficking Coordinators in South-East Europe (NATC SEE), ICMPD supports the Slovenian chairmanship of the Network to mark the EU Anti-trafficking day. The Network issued a Joint Statement addressing the vulnerability of the millions affected by the war in Ukraine to exploitation, abuse and human trafficking.

Between July and September 2022, under the scope of the KOMPLEKS project, ICMPD organised a first series of training on gender-based violence and risk of human trafficking of unaccompanied minors. 

On 28-29 November 2023, the Anti-Trafficking Programme (ATP) of ICMPD organised a training on managing shelters for trafficked persons, case management, and cooperation of shelters. The training took place in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire and participating organisations came from Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria, and Togo.