Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings

Duration: 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2009

IOM Vienna and Austrian experts from the Federal Ministry of the Interior/Criminal Intelligence Service, civil society and the judicial sector participated in the fourth phase of the programme “Training to Combat Trafficking in Persons: Strengthening of Operational Network and Cooperation Mechanisms through Joint Multidisciplinary Training Process”. The programm was implemented by the Belgian Police in collaboration with IOM Brussels and the Italian Ministry of the Interior.

Eleven EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Romania and Slovakia) as well as Belarus, Croatia, FYRO Macedonia, Moldova, Turkey and Ukraine were included in the regional operational networking process.

The project supported and encouraged operational networking and cooperation between EU Member States, Candidate and Neighbouring Countries, and furthermore aimed to reinforce the national counter-trafficking responses in the participating countries and enhance the protection of victims. The key feature of the project was a multi-disciplinary approach with a specific focus on bridging the gap commonly found between NGOs and law enforcement/judicial practitioners in participating countries, particularly in the field of victim identification and protection.

The main components of this phase of the project comprised:

• Updating/upgrading of the training material
• National Joint Multi-Disciplinary Trainings
• Operational Networking and Co-operation at the national and regional levels

This initiative was co-funded by the European Commission, Prevention of and Fight Against Crime 2007 with financial support from the Prevention of and Fight Against Crime Programme- Directorate General Justice, Freedom and Security.