Police-Related Activities of other Thematic Units “Combating Human Trafficking along Migration Routes”. Having the goal to enhance the capacity of the OSCE participating States to identify victims of THB in a timely fashion and effectively prosecute traffickers, the project broadened its scope in 2018 by developing and conducting simulation-based exercises tailored to different national and sub-regional contexts and delivered in the OSCE’s official languages. From 22 to 26 January, 59 participants from all over Italy took part in the OSCE’s first national live simulation-based exercise in Italian. The exercise, conducted in the premises of the Centre of Excellence for Stability Police Units in Vicenza, gathered a multi-stakeholder group of trainees, including law enforcement officials, prosecutors, labour inspectors, financial investigators, lawyers, social service providers, civil society representatives, cultural mediators and asylum authority officers. From 24 to 28 September, the OSR/CTHB organized a first international simulation-based training in Russian, which engaged 58 participants from 13 participating States and one Partner for Co-operation (Israel). The event took place in NurSultan, in the Regional Hub for Countering Global Threats established within the Academy of Law Enforcement Agencies under the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan. To develop the exercise based on regional human trafficking and migration patterns, four co-ordination and consultation meetings were conducted by a group of experts. The exercise generated great interest and was organized with support from Kazakhstan’s authorities, civil society and academia, including the MoI and its Academy in Karaganda, as well as from the relevant OSCE field operations (Centre in Ashgabat, Programme Office in Bishkek, Programme Office in Dushanbe, Programme Office in Nur-Sultan, Project Coordinator in Ukraine and Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan) and international partners, such as UNHCR and the United States Embassy in Nur-Sultan. An overwhelming majority of the trainees, including specialized police detectives and investigators, prosecutors, financial investigators, migration officials, labour inspectors, lawyers, members of antitrafficking NGOs and of public social services providers, reported that they would recommend this exercise to their colleagues. To meet high demand, the OSR/CTHB is planning to conduct a second training seminar for a Russian-speaking multi-disciplinary group of approximately 70 participants, planned to take place from 24 to 28 June 2019. From 10 to 14 December, a fifth international simulationbased exercise in English took place, involving 75 beneficiaries from 31 countries, including three Partners for Co-operation (Israel, Egypt and Australia) and four participating States, who took part for the first time in these live simulations (Andorra, Czech Republic, Holy See and Switzerland). In addition, about 200 individuals from the Italian Carabinieri and other authorities of the host country, UNHCR, the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), the University of Padova, and the municipalities of Venice and Vicenza, provided their support and expertise. In 2018, the OSR/CTHB undertook country visits to Austria and Cyprus and a follow-up visit to Uzbekistan. Each visit encompassed a discussion with government representatives, parliamentarians, members of law enforcement and judiciary, international organizations, and NGOs. These discussions focused on the countries’ efforts on preventing and combating human trafficking and protecting the rights of trafficking victims. The reports following these visits highlight promising practices present in the countries, along with challenges and areas where anti-trafficking policy has the potential to be enhanced. On 12 April, the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings (SR/CTHB) delivered a key note address at the conference “Trafficking of human beings from a human rights perspective. Local experiences in a multi-level governance framework”, organized by the Municipality of Venice and attended by representatives of the Italian Carabinieri, judges and prosecutors. On 18 April, the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings (SR/CTHB) contributed to a roundtable event on “Strengthening the Role of Municipalities and Cities in Preventing and Combating Human Trafficking and Exploitation: The Importance of a Co-ordinated and Integrated Approach”. The event, which was organized in the framework of the project “Danube Cities against Human Trafficking”, featured the participation of municipalities, local authorities, civil society, academia and law enforcement offices from Austria, Hungary, Italy, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain and the United Kingdom. From 23 to 24 April, the OSR/CTHB organized the 18th Alliance against Trafficking in Persons conference under the title, “Everyone Has a Role: How to Make a Difference Together”. The event was aimed at promoting the importance of inclusive partnerships to further enhance the coherence of anti-trafficking efforts and to strengthen co-operation at the local, national, regional and international level. The two intensive days of discussion demonstrated the crucial value of complementarity and co-ordination mechanisms in detecting the crime, protecting victims and ensuring their referral, compensation and reintegration. A special emphasis was placed on new actors whose engagement would bring added value to anti-trafficking responses. The audience learned of a number of pioneering projects, national experiences and 39

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