Trafficking human beings is the third most common criminal activity in the world (immediately behind drug trafficking and arms trafficking) with an annual illicit income of $ 32 billion. Due to the position of women and children, widespread poverty (with high unemployment rates), prejudice towards members of national minorities and people with special needs trafficking in human beings is represented and widespread in our country.
By 2014, 348 cases of trafficking in human beings were recorded in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the purpose of prostitution, forced labor or forcible marriage. The statistical number of victims of trafficking in human beings is decreasing, and in 2016, 48 potential victims of trafficking were identified, among which seven were sexually exploited, 12 were exploited for work, 22 were used for begging, and one was registered of sale for forced marriage, one for work exploitation combined with sexual exploitation, five of exploitation in begging in combination with sexual exploitation. But quantitative data does not prove that the extent of trafficking in human beings is declining as a phenomenon, but only in the past two years, the number of identified cases has decreased.
Nevertheless, from the analysis of the data, the profile of victims and the form of trafficking in human beings, from the security point of view, the possibility of abuse of victims of trafficking human beings for the commission of criminal offenses should not be ignored, with the emphasis on the conduct of terrorist activities. In this regard, it is necessary to work on prevention and raising awareness of the general public about the problem of human trafficking in our society, and about what forms it is.
- GRETA’s report and recommendations
The Group of Experts of the Council of Europe (GRETA) on the basis of monitoring the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (2008) drafted its report on its implementation in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was published on July 17th. It is the second round of evaluation of the implementation of that Convention, which includes new recommendations to our country but also reviews the status of activities undertaken following the submission of the first set of recommendations from 2013. Namely, GRETA welcomed the legal changes that were introduced after the publication of their first BiH report in May 2013. By introducing criminal responsibility in relation to human trafficking in the Criminal Code of the Federation of BiH, the Republika Srpska and the Brčko District, it ensures the consistent criminalization of trafficking in human beings throughout the country. The introduction of legal provisions regarding the impunity of victims of trafficking in human beings for crimes that committed victims as a consequence of trafficking in human beings, as well as the establishment of the rights of victims for the period of recovery and review in accordance with the new Law on Foreigners, was appreciated as positive.
Also, GRETA recommends to the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to establish a comprehensive statistical system with data related to measures taken in the field of protection and promotion of victims’ rights. The data should be collected from the competent institutions in the country at the state, entity and at the level of the Brcko District and should be sorted according to sex, age, type of exploitation of the victim, country of origin and the country where the exploitation occurred. This complete process should be followed by measures of protection of personal data of victims, which are obligatory for everyone to respect, including cases when non-governmental organizations working with victims will provide data for the state base.
- Contribution of Global Analytics
Trafficking in human beings is not an unknown problem in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and many institutions and experts have encountered this problem, but there is always scope to act preventively. In this regard, the activities of Global Analytics in relation to trafficking in human beings, with an emphasis on children victims of trafficking in human beings, continuously contributes to prevention activities as well as raising the awareness of the general public on human trafficking issues.
Global Analytics as a research organization, its recommendations and activities are based on its own research results, which are publicly available.
In the past period, Global Analytics has contributed to raising public awareness of the problems and consequences of trafficking in human beings, as well as the complexity and importance of protecting the rights of children victims of trafficking in human beings through the implementation of informative and educational workshops, as well as through participation in national and international expert conferences.
