POLICE-RELATED ACTIVITIES OF FIELD OPERATIONS SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE Illicit Drugs and Chemical Precursors From 17 to 21 September in Moscow, the Russian Federation, the Mission, in partnership with Serbia’s MoI, facilitated the participation of Serbian police officers in an intensive training on countering online drug trafficking. Eight members of the MoI’s Service for Combating Organized Crime and the Service for the Prevention of Drug Addiction and Suppression of Drug Trafficking were trained alongside Russian specialized operational services. The participants also shared experiences in this area and gained knowledge about specific measures used in investigating drug trafficking on the internet. The Mission plans to continue the co-operation with the training institutions from the Russian Federation in the area of the detection of security threats in operating systems. Trafficking in Human Beings & Migrationrelated Crime On 28 March, the Mission supported the participation of three Serbian representatives (the Director of the Centre for Human Trafficking Victims’ Protection (CHTVP), a representative of the MoI, and the Director of the CSO ASTRA) to attend the regional workshop “Towards OSCE-wide guidelines for the identification of victims of trafficking among migrants and refugees at the reception phase: Western Balkan perspective” in Skopje, North Macedonia. The event was organized by the OSR/CTHB. On 30 March, the Mission facilitated a regional operational meeting in Skopje of prosecutors and police investigators in charge of investigating and prosecuting organized crime groups dealing with the smuggling of migrants from Serbia and North Macedonia. The meeting enabled the participants to present their national legislation and efforts to counter migrant smuggling in their respective countries, present the statistical data in relation to illegal migration, exchange operational information in relation to the ongoing investigations on smuggling and trafficking of migrants, and identify cases for potential joint investigations. From 15 to 17 May, the Mission organized a study visit to Austria for six representatives of the newly formed Department for Combating THB and Human Smuggling within the MoI’s Service for Combating Organized Crime. The study visit took place at the Joint Operation Office for Combatting THB and Human Smuggling of the Austrian Federal Police. The event enabled the participants to exchange experiences and further explore opportunities for future co-operation between the police services of Serbia and Austria in this field. This visit to Austria was the final activity of the project on strengthening regional co-operation to fight organized crime groups involved in the smuggling of migrants, implemented since 2016. During the project, the Mission assisted the Task Force on Combatting Human Smuggling (consisting of representatives of the police and the Prosecutor’s office) to build its capacities and foster operational co-operation with authorities from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Hungary and Romania through bilateral and multilateral meetings and events. From 13 to 16 November, the Mission supported the CSO ASTRA in organizing a four-day training event on “Working on the SOS Hotline for victims of trafficking and exploitation in human beings”. The event gathered 23 participants, students and graduate students of law and humanities from different cities in Serbia. The participants gained basic knowledge about THB, human rights, sexual and labour exploitation of TBH victims, protection of victims and THB regulatory mechanisms in judiciary and police. They also learned how to offer services to victims and potential victims of THB, as well as to interested citizens. After this initial training, the most successful participants will be offered an internship with ASTRA to work with individual mentors from the ASTRA SOS Hotline, which started operating in 2002. From 26 to 27 November, the Mission and the MoI organized a regional meeting of prosecutors and police investigators from Hungary, North Macedonia and Serbia who deal with organized crime groups involved in the smuggling of migrants. The purpose of this activity was to ensure faster identification, arrest and processing of smugglers through regional co-operation. The participants discussed the current situation and trends in migrant smuggling, including actions against foreign citizens taking part in this illegal activity. They also discussed how smugglers use available money transfer systems. On 3 and 4 and on 10 and 11 November, the Mission organized two rounds of training courses for six employees of the CHTVP on enhancing their communication and presentation skills. The role of these CHTVP employees is to further train the Centres for Social Care staff on THB-related issues throughout Serbia. From 3 to 5 December, the Mission organized three training seminars on techniques for interviewing sexually abused children. Fifteen participants who conduct interviews with child victims in their daily work, including employees of the CHTVP, local Centers for Social Care and two CSOs, were taught about the latest developments in child psychology and psychotherapy, along with the best methodologies for interviewing child victims of sexual abuse. This training seminar was a continuation of the Mission’s long-standing support to local institutions to increase their capacities in providing support and protect the rights of THB victims. 93