News and press releases

A roundtable discussion on forced begging and labor exploitation in the Central Asian context concluded on 28 January 2022. The OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan organized the online event in partnership with the Law Enforcement Academy under the Prosecutor General’s Office.

VIENNA / LONDON / NEW YORK, 2 December 2021 – Valiant Richey, OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Dame Sara Thornton, United Kingdom Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC) and Daniel Thelesklaf, Project Director of Finance Against Slavery and Trafficking (FAST) Initiative at United Nations University Centre for Policy Research, issued the following statement after the conclusion of a roundtable on the critical role of the financial sector in combating trafficking in human beings and modern-day slavery:

STRASBOURG, 16 November 2021- The largest annual gathering of National Anti-trafficking Co-ordinators and Rapporteurs took place this week in Strasbourg. Representatives from 60 countries across the OSCE region discussed how to address current human trafficking-related challenges and implement international commitments, policies and standards set forth by the OSCE and the Council of Europe’s Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.

Impunity of human traffickers remains a crucial and persisting challenge in the OSCE area. The Office of the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings hosted a roundtable discussion, on 8 and 9 November 2021, on effective prosecution strategies, in line with the recommendation stemming from the 20th Alliance Conference.

A four-day national simulation-based training on combating trafficking in persons concluded on 29 October 2021 in Safed-Dara, Tajikistan. The event was co-organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe and the OSCE’s Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings.

A simulation-based training on combating human trafficking — the first of this kind in Albania — took place from 18 to 21 October 2021 in Tirana. The training, organized by the OSCE Presence and the Office of the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, promoted an innovative approach to the capacity development of anti-trafficking practitioners...

An OSCE-organized week-long simulation exercise on combating human trafficking along migration routes, hosted by the Almaty Police Academy under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, started on 11 October 2021 in Almaty.