Bosnia and Herzegovina has improved legislation to combat human trafficking but needs to do more to protect the victims, many of whom are vulnerable children, says a new expert report for the Council of Europe.
Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France. Photo: EPA/PATRICK SEEGER
The Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, GRETA, an independent monitoring group, said in a report for the Council of Europe published on Tuesday that Bosnia and Herzegovina’s has improved legislation to combat human trafficking but it needs to be implemented more effectively to ensure protection and justice for victims.
The report said that 306 potential victims of human trafficking were identified in the period from 2017 to 2021. A total of
191 of them were children, many of whom were exploited by being forced to beg, primarily by family members.
Due to their difficult socio-economic situation, members of the Roma community are particularly vulnerable to this form of exploitation, the report said.
“GRETA urges the authorities to strengthen the prevention of child trafficking, including by providing adequate financial support to day-care centres for children in street situations,” the report said.
GRETA is an independent body which monitors the way countries implement the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. Its report was based on a visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina in September last year and information provided by the authorities and civil society organisations.
“As regards other forms of exploitation, GRETA was informed that sexual exploitation mostly took place in private accommodation, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the report said.
It noted that some improvements have been made to the criminal code of the Republika Srpska entity, which was amended to include the terms “servitude”, “forced begging” and “other forms of sexual exploitation”.
It also noted that the state-level Justice Ministry plans to propose amendments to the criminal code of Bosnia and Herzegovina “which would introduce forced begging as a form of exploitation”.
Improvements need to be made when it comes to immediate access to legal assistance and information about the right to legal representation, the report said.
“Access to compensation remains rare and GRETA calls on the authorities to ensure that trafficking victims obtain a decision on compensation from the offender as part of the criminal trial,” it said.
A total of 282 out of the 306 potential victims of human trafficking in the 2017-2021 period were citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while foreign victims originated from Serbia, North Macedonia, Libya, Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Sri Lanka and the Netherlands.
The country saw a rise in cases in the 2017-2021 period compared to the 2013-2017 period, when there were 145 identified potential victims. But it has also seen institutional improvements including the creation of the Strike Force for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings which co-ordinates the criminal justice response to trafficking in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has experienced an influx of migrants and refugees since 2018, as part of the increased migratory flows in the region towards Western Europe. Approximately 70 000 migrants, including many unaccompanied children, entered the country between January 2018 and the end of December 2020. Only a small percentage of them decided to seek asylum in Bosnia and Herzegovina, however. According to the authorities, staff of the agencies in charge of dealing with migrants and asylum-seekers have been trained to recognise signs of human trafficking.
However, as of the end of 2020, no victims of trafficking had been identified as part of the asylum procedure.
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