POLICE-RELATED ACTIVITIES OF FIELD OPERATIONS SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE and established a good foundation for partnership and joint action in P/C VERLT. Since the Co-ordinating Body is tasked with planning and overseeing the implementation of P/C VERLT activities, the event helped ensure that all members better understand the sensitivities and complexities related to the subject, as well as the necessity of tailoring P/C VERLT activities to the specific needs of a given location, based on a thorough conflict analysis and in line with human rights standards, also in order to avoid causing unintended harm. Trafficking in Human Beings & Migrationrelated Crime In 2018, the Mission paid particular attention to migrationrelated challenges and continued its efforts to strengthen the domestic authorities’ capacity to counter THB. The Mission supported in particular the enhancement of the institutional and policy framework and promoted the professional development of law enforcement officers. As the number of migrants and refugees entering Bosnia and Herzegovina began to steadily rise at the beginning of the year, the Mission conducted an assessment of the refugee and migrant situation in BiH. This assessment is based on data collected by the Mission during the first six months of 2018 and contains specific recommendations for the BiH Border Police and other law enforcement agencies. Overall, the Mission sees the need for more effective and clear communication and the dissemination of clear guidelines and training for law enforcement officers, with a particular focus on identifying victims of THB among the migrant and refugee population. At the beginning of the year, the Mission provided police authorities in Tuzla with a leaflet aimed at improving their practical capacity to identify victims of trafficking and investigate THB cases. This activity is a direct result of a training event organized by the Mission for 40 in-service police officers of Tuzla Canton on THB in May 2017. At that event, it was concluded that proper understanding of the relevant legal norms by the police is vital for their efforts to detect and report THB cases to the prosecution, especially when they manifest as (child) begging and labour exploitation. Throughout the year, the Mission trained more than 80 law enforcement officers from all over the country on capacitybuilding THB for the purpose of forced begging and sexual exploitation. These capacity-building events were organized in Tuzla in March, in Livno in June and in Bijeljina and Banja Luka in December. Owing to the continuous capacity-building efforts of the Mission, the police in Tuzla Canton ultimately identified two alleged perpetrators and five presumed child victims of human trafficking for the purpose of forced begging. In its wider efforts to advocate for a victim-centred approach toward child trafficking cases, the Mission assisted relevant authorities in their efforts to tackle the widespread problem of child begging on the streets of the country’s capital. This activity resulted in the development of the country’s firstever protocol that defines and details the steps relevant authorities have to take in cases involving child victims of crimes and other illegal actions. The Protocol was signed by representatives of police and other relevant institutions of the Sarajevo Canton on 2 October in the presence of the Head of the OSCE Mission. Finally, the Mission also provided support to authorities, including the police in the BosnaPodrinje Canton and the municipalities of Žepče, Maglaj and Zavidovići, in their efforts to create similar protocols. Cybercrime Throughout the year, in co-ordination with the TNTD/ SPMU, the Mission supported the regional SEE project aimed at increasing the capacities of criminal justice practitioners, including police, prosecutors, judges and defence lawyers, to counter cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime through ToT programmes. This three-year capacity-building project, which ends in April 2019, has helped develop and enhance the responsiveness, professional knowledge and skills of the participants. The project’s ToT component allowed two police practitioners from FBiH and RS to become trainers of a wider group of police beneficiaries and police academia teachers, thereby assuring sustainability and continuity of the training process. On 17 September and 11 and 12 October, the Mission supported the first in-country courses on cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime at the FBiH Police Academy and RS Police Training Centre. More than 30 beneficiaries were given an opportunity to broaden their knowledge and skills in fighting cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime more effectively and within the framework of human rights and the rule of law. The Mission will continue to support the follow-up in-country training courses in 2019 and will explore whether the relevant training institutions can incorporate classes and training materials on cybercrime into their standard curricula. In the course of 2018, the Mission initiated an inclusive discussion among an informal group of experts and practitioners toward the development of an adequate framework for a comprehensive and strategic approach to cyber-related matters in BiH. Representatives of the RS and FBiH Ministries of Interior, the State Investigation and Protection Agency of BiH, the Intelligence-Security Agency of BiH, the Directorate for the Co-ordination of Police Bodies in BiH, Police of Brčko District of BiH, and the Border Police of BiH participated in the work of the group and engaged 55