OSCE supported second workshop on identification guidelines to better assist victims of trafficking among migrants and refugees

The second in a series of OSCE workshops on the development of guidelines and a training module for better co-ordinated, harmonized and victim-centred identification of human trafficking cases among mixed migration flows concluded in Athens on 20 June 2018. The one-day event was organized jointly by the OSCE Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings (OSR/CTHB) and the Office of the National Rapporteur on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece.

The workshop gathered national practitioners whose professional duties require daily interaction with people on the move in the context of the current migration and refugee crisis. They included representatives of law enforcement bodies, migration agencies, public social services and civil society.   

The participants discussed how recommendations from a recent OSCE report “From Reception to Recognition: Identifying and Protecting Human Trafficking Victims in Mixed Migration Flows - A Focus on First Identification and Reception Facilities for Refugees and Migrants in the OSCE Region” can be translated into practice. The discussion also focused on contextualizing the findings of a similar workshop held in Skopje in March this year. A particular emphasis was placed on the available referral scenarios for victims of human trafficking identified among new arrivals and the pre-requisites for these scenarios to be fully operational and effective.

“The current migrant reception frameworks in the OSCE region require a stronger focus on the identification of victims of trafficking in human beings from every single stakeholder involved,” said the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Madina Jarbussynova. “I believe that the uniform guidelines that my Office is developing together with the national governmental and non-governmental partners will be highly instrumental in ensuring that such focus is unreservedly maintained throughout all the migrant reception procedures.”

“Greece acquired a solid, hands-on experience on addressing a variety of issues related to the management of mixed migration flows in reception and identification centres (hotspots).  Victim identification amid large numbers of vulnerable population groups, at risk of being trafficked, remains a challenge and referrals of potential victims are limited and not commensurate with the perceived magnitude of the problem,” said Heracles Moskoff, National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings in the Foreign Ministry of Greece. “Yet, well-co-ordinated and harmonized procedures of reception, specialized training on human trafficking issues addressing all front-line professionals, and a genuine will for synergy among all actors working in the hotspots will positively contribute to identifying more victims during the reception and asylum procedures,” he added.

The first draft of the guidelines will be presented for fine-tuning and finalization at a concluding workshop in Italy later this year.