4.2 Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mission helped to define the agenda, identify the competent
participants and co-chair the event. Sharing best practice
from the field, participants expressed an interest in further
training on the identification of potential trafficking victims
within migrant communities.
Throughout 2019, the Mission participated in police and rule
of law co-ordination meetings with international partners,
providing legal analysis, including on issues related to the
proposed changes to the RS Law on Policing and Internal
Affairs. In June and August, the Mission hosted several
senior-level meetings in Mission offices, gathering the
directors of SIPA, BiH Intelligence and Security Agency, BiH
Prosecutors’ Office, and BiH Court, who discussed ways to
strengthen co-operation.
Throughout 2019, the Mission supported cantonal police
in planning and delivering workshops and trainings on rule
of law related topics. Based on this, the Mission and Tuzla
Canton Police Administration both agreed to conduct
seminars for newly recruited officers and investigators on
investigating corruption, gender-based violence, and THB,
with a focus on child begging. As result, some 120 police
officers were familiarized with the key concepts, legal
provisions, and practices of the judiciary in FBIH relating to
processing specific crimes.
Cybercrime
During 2019, the Mission supported the implementation
of the “Capacity-Building for Criminal Justice Practitioners
Combating Cybercrime and Cyber-enabled Crime in SouthEastern Europe”, led by TNTD/SPMU and implemented in
co-ordination with FOs in the region.
From February to December, the Mission contributed to
the organization of four training sessions in Banja Luka
and Sarajevo, aimed at improving the capacities of some
100 law enforcement and criminal justice practitioners
to counter cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime10. Each
session was organized in co-operation with entity-level
police authorities and police academies and facilitated by
an expert who had undergone the project’s ToT programme.
During each training session, participants acquired the
necessary understanding, knowledge, and skills to counter
criminal misuse of IT through the more effective prevention,
investigation, prosecution, and application of contemporary
techniques. All the training materials were translated into
local languages and handed over to entity-level authorities to
be incorporated into their respective training programmes.
10 The Mission monitored and assessed the quality of the training concept and
presentation skills of trainers in accordance with an assessment methodology.
54
On 24 May, the Mission sponsored six representatives from
the BiH MoS and entity MoI’s to participate in the project’s
concluding conference on “Crime in the Digital Age” held
in Vienna. The event gathered 130 participants, including
trainers, MoI representatives, international cybercrime
experts, members of the Project’s Co-ordination Board
and FOs.
Border Security and Management /
Customs
From 27 to 28 February, the Mission supported the work of
the co-ordination body of the BiH CoM in drafting an action
plan to implement the new BiH 2019-2023 IBM Strategy by
co-organizing a workshop in Trebinje. Experts from IOM
and EU assisted in the drafting of the document, which was
additionally subjected to consultations involving all relevant
institutions. The strategy and its action plan have now been
tabled for adoption by the BiH CoM.
On 12 and 13 November, in co-operation with the Centre
against Trafficking in Works of Art and the BiH MoS, Agency
for Education and Professional Training and French Embassy,
the Mission organized the second in a series of training
courses in Sarajevo on countering illicit trafficking in cultural
property. The participants were representatives of BiH Border
Police, Indirect Taxation Authority, State Investigation and
Protection Agency and the entities’ Centres for Judicial
and Prosecutorial Training who all gained valuable insights
on countering this criminal activity at first and second
line of border checks, enhancing also the investigative and
prosecutorial skills of participants. In addition, participants
were faced with cases of art smuggling and gained knowledge
from French Customs professionals and local art experts. The
Agency for Education and Professional Training has formally
certified the training, thereby confirming the significance
of countering illicit trafficking in cultural property, and
preventing transnational threats financed through it.
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents