prosecution services via training and awareness raising to promote an interpretation of the
definition of trafficking in human beings in line with the evolving international jurisprudence.
The OSR/CTHB contributed to capacity building through various trainings for professionals
(e.g., border guards, judiciary, law enforcement, military personnel and prosecutors),
organized in the participating States. These included a capacity building training in the NATO
Partnership for Peace Training Centre on 12-14 February and 7 October in Ankara and the
European Union Police Services Training (EUPST) on 9 April in Vicenza. The EUPST
training contributed to strengthening the civilian crisis management capacities of the police
forces of the participating countries, in particular with a view to the needs of women, children,
elderly people, indigenous people, local authorities, refugees and displaced persons and
victims of trafficking. Additionally, the Office of the SR contributed to the specialized training
courses for FRONTEX on 28-29 January in Warsaw, 7 May in Warsaw and 28-29 May in
Espoo.
In co-operation with UNODC and IOM, and together with Israel’s Agency for International
Development Cooperation (MASHAV) and the Israeli Ministry of Justice, the OSR/CTHB
organized an international judicial training seminar on 27-30 October in Haifa. More than 30
high-level criminal court judges from around the globe actively participated in the
comprehensive seminar, which culminated in a mock trial where the judges had the
opportunity to put into practice the course materials.
The OSR/CTHB also conducted a train-the-trainers event for more than 40
lawyers/prosecutors on 30 June to 2 July in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, at the request of the
OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Tashkent. The three-day programme included all aspects of
investigating and prosecuting a THB case, including practical exercises, with a special focus
on the non-punishment of victims of trafficking, as well as access to justice and
compensation for victims. As a concrete result of the training, the Uzbek bar association has
now included a 12-hour curriculum on THB for all qualifying lawyers within their legal training
programme.
The OSR/CTHB also continued to promote the implementation of the principle of the nonpunishment of victims of THB with judges and prosecutors. On 9-10 October, together with
the Council of Europe, the OSR/CTHB convened a workshop for more than 35 judges and
prosecutors from the OSCE/Council of Europe regions. The workshop builds on an
enhanced platform for co-operation with the Council of Europe, the Framework for Joint
Action. For the first time, a sitting judge from the European Court of Human Rights, Judge
Päivi Hirvelä of Finland, addressed the issue of the non-punishment of victims in THB cases.
Leading prosecutors and practitioners also helped the participants to work through practical
exercises to see how the principle works in actual cases.
Ways and means to further enhance co-operation between police and social workers was
also discussed in the framework of the OSCE FOs Anti-Trafficking Focal Points Meeting of 67 November. The Swedish National Co-ordinator against prostitution and THB, Mr. Patrik
Cederlöf, contributed to the meeting.
Moreover, the OSR/CTHB has contributed to the IOM-OSCE-UNODC project “Strengthening
Understanding of the Link between Irregular Migration and Transnational Crimes Impacting
Migrants in Irregular Situation”. The project was aimed at enhancing capacity of migration
authorities and criminal justice actors who deal with transnational crimes that effect migrants
in irregular situations (migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings) from countries of
origin, transit and destination along the Eastern Mediterranean migration route.
Finally, the OSR/CTHB continued to improve external co-operation with important partners in
the framework of the Alliance against Trafficking in Persons. The 2014 Alliance against
Trafficking in Persons high-level conference focused on ethical principles and considerations
49
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents