STOP HUMAN TRAFFICKING: More than 40 million people are enslaved | News

Yesterday was celebrated the World Day against Trafficking in Human Beings, created in 2013 by the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly, to raise public awareness of this global problem, which is a modern form d & # 39; slavery.

Acknowledging the situation of this problem, the United Nations has placed it among the goals of sustainable development in Goal 8 of the Agenda for Sustainable Development by 2030, by which the international community is committed to achieving the goals set for the year 2030.

The latest report of the International Labor Organization (ILO) for 2016 indicates that 40.3 million people worldwide are in some form of slavery, of which nearly 25 million are victims of exploitation (including sexual exploitation) the rest concerns victims of forced marriage.

According to the report of the Department of Human Trafficking in Serbia, Serbia has moved from the third group of "watch countries" to another group, including countries that do not respect minimum standards. people, but take significant steps in that direction. According to official data, for the first six months of this year, 28 victims of human trafficking in Serbia were identified, while in 2017, 20 victims of trafficking were identified, all Serb citizens, of which 13 minor. During the roundtable organized on Monday, the Ministry of Labor announced the opening of the first emergency shelter for victims of trafficking by the end of the year, marking the day. against trafficking in human beings.

Struggles to tackle this problem are taking place at the international and national levels, while civil society organizations play a huge role in tackling this problem. The Astra organization, founded in 2000, whose work was recognized by the State Department, Ivana Radovic, program coordinator of the organization AstrA, was awarded last month by the "hero" fight against trafficking in human beings "(TIP). Hero). Radovic is also the first winner of this award from Serbia and the only winner of this year's prize in Europe.

In his interview for the Kurir, Radović explains what this price means for his work, and what are the conditions of the problem of trafficking in human beings in Serbia:

– I recognize this award as a recognition of all the work of Astra over the last 20 years in the fight against trafficking, assistance and support to victims, the construction of a system of protection of victims in Serbia and I am very proud to be the first Serbian to receive the award.

What is the situation in Serbia concerning the fight against trafficking in human beings?

– Serbia is a country of origin and destination for victims of human trafficking. The majority of the victims are domestic citizens who are exploited in our country or abroad. What was once – that we are a transit country and a temporary destination on the way to the EU for the victims of Eastern Europe, has not been valid for more than ten years. Victims of human trafficking in our country are exploited in the EU countries (Austria, France, Slovenia, Sweden, Italy, Slovakia, etc.), in Russia and in neighboring countries.

With respect to human trafficking, the Criminal Code itself is not bad; In addition, other relevant laws are not as bad as they are not consistently applied in practice. For example, the penalty for trafficking in human beings is between three and twelve years of imprisonment and at least five years for child trafficking. In practice, in most cases, sentences range from three to five years, that is to say at the legal minimum. For example, in 2017, no human trafficker was sentenced to more than five years in prison. Moreover, they do not apply – or only formally apply – protective measures that may facilitate the position of victims in the criminal proceedings in which they must participate. If they refuse to appear as witnesses, they are punished and practice, despite the existence of a law, does not protect them in this process.

What is the most common form of human trafficking?

– Sexual exploitation in Serbia has always been the most prevalent, that is, forced prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation, and in recent years there has been there have been cases of abuse in pornography. However, each year she identifies several cases of all other forms of human trafficking, such as labor exploitation, forced begging, coercion to commit crimes, forced marriages, and so on. In addition, the vast majority of victims are women and girls. The most common commonality of women who have survived trafficking is the previous experience of family violence, domestic violence and the violence that children suffer in their families. Simply, girls and women, in an attempt to escape the violence that persists in the family, bonds or marriage, often become victims of trafficking.

To what extent has the situation changed or is the number of victims increasing or decreasing from year to year?

In recent years, there has been a decrease in the number of identified casualties, but this is unfortunately not a sign that there is little human trafficking. When the number of victims is reduced, without changing in other circumstances, it only says what is actually done in the investigation of this crime because the police is always an actor who reveals the greatest number of cases. Unfortunately, the police handling human trafficking investigations is the same as the one responsible for combating human trafficking and, in the light of the refugee crisis, it is not responsible for the trafficking of human beings. not just the ability to fight against human trafficking. Trafficking in human beings is characterized by a very high "gray number", that is, an estimated percentage of undeclared cases. So we can talk about the number of cases that have been discovered, not the number of cases that have been discovered or not.

What is the position of victims of human trafficking in Serbia?

The situation of the victims is not satisfactory. We always thought that when we get out of the traffic chain, that's all. In practice, it is the end of a fight, but also the beginning of a struggle for recovery and struggles with the institutions that should help you and protect you. For example, the victim must testify in criminal proceedings against traffickers, his testimony is often the only evidence, and the proceedings know that they have lasted for years, which means that you must appear several times a year. Victims never exercise the right to compensation, while the procedures are laborious, costly and uncertain, and the material, psychological and physical recovery takes a very long time.

Victims of human trafficking have become victims in trying to solve their own problems. When they are saved, the problem is still there, but their ability to solve it is greatly reduced. In this sense, it is very important that the victims reinforce and maintain that their trafficking does not happen again, and in the society of rather limited opportunities, this risk is always present.

How has Astra contributed to the fight against human trafficking and what has changed since your inception so far?

Astra started working in 2000 and Serbia did not exist with regard to the fight against trafficking in human beings and the protection of victims, laws, institutions and experts. In this respect, the situation has changed dramatically. However, we were expecting more and faster. We repeat a lot of remarks and recommendations from year to year, always supporting them with new evidence and new examples, and nothing changes. It is often thought that things do not change because there is no money, but here I am talking about things that do not require money, but only about money. agreement and consistent implementation of the existing regulations in Serbia.

Radenkovic Marina – Diane Glogonjac

Kurir