News and press releases

STOCKHOLM, 29 March 2023 – The OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Valiant Richey, and UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, expressed their grave concern about the harm of sexual exploitation, and sexual violence and its cost for the whole of society, as a result of the ongoing war against Ukraine.

The OSCE Border Management Staff College (BMSC) concluded its 34th Staff Course on 24 March 2023. Twenty-three mid to senior-ranking security and management officials from border, customs, migration, internal affairs, maritime security, and drug control agencies attended the course.

More than 40 representatives of the BiH Border Police, BiH State Investigation and Protection Agency, Service for Foreigners' Affairs and BiH Prosecutor’s Office attended a three-day, multi-sectoral training course on the differences between trafficking in human beings and the smuggling of migrants, which concluded on 22 March 2023 in Sarajevo. The course was organized by the OSCE Mission to BiH, in co-ordination with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje, Ambassador Killian Wahl, invited the Gender Equality Platform and women’s rights activists to hear first-hand about their initiatives, activities, challenges and advocacy efforts. The event helped us to identify

BISHKEK, 17 February 2023 – Valiant Richey, OSCE Special Representative for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, concluded his three-day visit to Kyrgyzstan today. He highlighted the country’s comprehensive legal and policy framework including a dedicated anti-trafficking law, regional coordination councils and a National Rapporteur established under the Parliament. He also called for the proactive identification of victims, increased prosecutions of trafficking offenders and improvement of the mandate of labour inspectors to identify human trafficking.

The efforts of the Office of the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings to advance the dialogue on combating the misuse of technology by traffickers to exploit victims are being complemented by OSCE field operations. In this view, the OSCE Programme Office in Astana in partnership with the Office of the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, and the Law Enforcement Academy under the Prosecutor General’s Office of Kazakhstan organized a regional roundtable on combatting tech-facilitated trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

SOFIA, 31 January 2023- OSCE Special Representative Valiant Richey and the Executive Secretary to the Council of Europe Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) Petya Nestorova called on Bulgaria to take urgent measures to strengthen its prevention and response to trafficking in human beings.