The BiH State Coordinator for Combatting Human Trafficking Samir Rizvo and the OSCE Mission to BiH presented results in Sarajevo regarding the harmonization of criminal legislation in BiH on human trafficking and related crimes.
‘’Human trafficking is not only a crime, but also a grave violation of human rights. In BiH there are four criminal laws, and so far the legislative activities of the Criminal Code of BiH have managed to fulfill all international standards’’, said Rizvo.
However, the criminal laws of the Brčko District entity have failed to do so, which is why severe criticism has been levied on BiH in recent years.
‘’This was started a few years ago, which resulted in the consent of the Ministry of Justice on all levels and prosecutors on how to do it. We already have finished documents, which indicate how to do it. We think that we will manage to do it quickly, because individual parliaments have already done it in that way. I hope that we manage to fulfill international standards’’, said Rizvo.
The struggle against human trafficking is already one of the top priorities for the OSCE Mission to BiH, and it will continue to be a priority, according to the Head of the OSCE in BiH, Fletcher M. Burton.
Stressing that human trafficking is a trade that represents human misery and unhappiness, he says that for this serious criminal offense, there has to be a response in a coordinated and harmonized manner.
Speaking about the Convention of the Council of Europe that deals with human trafficking, the Head of the Office of the Council of Europe in BiH, Mary Ann Hennessey, said that BiH is a signatory to the Convention since 2008.
‘In talks is the procedure for the monitoring of the level of compliance with the Convention and the report on that process will be ready in a few months. This Convention represents a very important document that all member states possess, and because they take into account human rights, as well as the position of victims in the struggle against this crime’’, adds Hennessey.
For this reason, it is important that criminal laws at all levels recognize human trafficking as a very serious crime and to provide treatment to all victims, and at the same time to prosecute people who use the services that the victims of human trafficking are forced to provide.
In the process of monitoring the implementation of this Convention, she expressed good cooperation between the Council of Europe and the BiH Ministry of Security.
Richard Wood, the Chief of the Department for Internal Affairs and Public Security in the EU Delegation in BiH, believes that only by talking with the victims of human trafficking can we come to believe what kind of horrible experiences they endured, and the seriousness of this phenomena in today’s society.
‘’The EU is pleased to note the progress that has been made in prescribing criminal sanctions for the perpetrators of these criminal acts’’, said Wood.
The US Ambassador to BiH Patrick Moon concluded that BiH has a very good history of addressing this issue and managed to improve the means to fight against human trafficking, so that the country had a very good position in the ranking system of the US regarding human trafficking.
Unfortunately, last year the US had to lower BiH’s position, due to a lack of continued progress in the fight against human trafficking.
‘’It is most important that BiH harmonizes its laws at the entity and Brčko District level in order to be in compliance with state laws, which is related to the prosecution of people involved in human trafficking’’, said Moon.
