The Council of Europe’s Anti-trafficking body urges Serbia to strengthen criminal justice response to human trafficking

19-06-2023 

Sofía Medina Sánchez 

International Justice and Human Rights Researcher 

Global Human Rights Defence 

On the 16th of June, the Council of Europe's Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) issued a new evaluation report assessing Serbia’s trafficking victims’ access to justice and effective remedies. The report acknowledges the positive measures undertaken by Serbian authorities over the past five years to enhance the legal framework combating trafficking. These include the incorporation of a recovery and reflection period and a temporary residence permit based on humanitarian grounds within the Law of Foreigners, as well as provisions pertaining to trafficking victims in the Law on Health Care and the Law on Free Legal Aid. An additional encouraging advancement is the establishment of the National Rapporteur position on human trafficking, to be fulfilled by the Ombudsman. 

Nonetheless, the report emphasises the need for further action to ensure improved access to justice and effective remedies for trafficking victims. It specifically underscores the importance of lawyers representing human trafficking victims to have comprehensive knowledge of trafficking issues, while urging the State to reimburse the costs of legal aid and assistance provided by NGOs. Access to compensation for victims remains infrequent, prompting GRETA to call upon Serbian authorities to systematically inform trafficking victims of their entitlement to compensation and to fully use legislation pertaining to the seizure and confiscation of assets from perpetrators to secure compensation for victims. Furthermore, GRETA urges the expeditious establishment of a state compensation scheme, accessible to all trafficking victims. GRETA also calls for the Serbian authorities to enhance their efforts in preventing and combating trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation, given the rise in migrant workers and reports of labour exploitation on construction sites employing such workers. Moreover, the report urges Serbia to give greater attention to identifying trafficking victims amongst migrant and asylum seekers. Adequate staffing and resources should be allocated to the Centre for the Protection of Victims of Trafficking to ensure timely identification of trafficking victims. 

Serbia predominantly serves as a country of origin for human trafficking victims, although it also functions to some extent as a destination and transit country. According to the statistics provided by Serbian authorities for the period between 2017 and 2022, there were a total of 320 officially identified victims of trafficking and 367 presumed victims. The most prevalent form of exploitation constituted sexual exploitation. However, cases involving labour exploitation, forced begging, and forced criminality were also identified. Undoubtedly, additional measures are needed to improve the current situation and protect human trafficking victims further. 

Sources and Further Readings: 

Council of Europe, Newsroom, Serbia urged to strengthen criminal justice response to human trafficking, improve assistance to victims, 16 June 2023 https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/serbia-urged-to-strengthen-criminal-justice-response-to-human-trafficking-improve-assistance-to-victims. 

GRETA Evaluation Report on Serbia: 3rd Evaluation Round (2023), available at: https://rm.coe.int/greta-evaluation-report-on-serbia-3rd-evaluation-round-greta-2023-09-a/1680ab9bc6 

Council of Europe Portal, Media Release, Ref. DC 142(2023) Serbia urged to strengthen criminal justice response to human trafficking, improve assistance to victims, Strasbourg  16.06.2023: https://search.coe.int/directorate_of_communications/Pages/result_details.aspx?ObjectId=0900001680ab9dd2