According to the Global Organized Crime Index for 2021, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) ranked 5th in Europe with 5.89 index points.
The report is divided into two parts – crime and resilience, which further address issues of people, trade, drugs, environment, criminal actors as well as leadership and management, justice and security, economic and financial environment, as well as civil society and social protection.
“BiH serves as a country of origin, transit point, and destination (albeit to a lesser extent) for human trafficking. Victims are trafficked mainly for sexual exploitation and forced labor. BiH is a transit country for victims of Chinese, Indian, and Turkish origin, as well as for victims from the countries of the Middle East and the Gulf trying to enter Europe. Bosnians are often victims of forced labor in the construction industry and other sectors in neighboring Balkan and European countries. Within the country, Bosnian women and girls are trafficked for sexual exploitation in private residences and motels,” the report stated.
They added that especially marginalized Roma and other children are forced to flee, are sexually exploited, and are forced to do household chores.
“Child trafficking is reportedly a significant problem and is on the rise. The number of foreign victims of human trafficking within BiH is low, but there have been cases where the victims were from Afghanistan, Cuba, Gambia, Libya, and Sri Lanka. Smuggled persons mostly come from the Middle East and North Africa, and most often enter BiH from Serbia and Montenegro. Organized crime actors with ties to the political elite are known to assist smugglers in entering and exiting the country, but local populations acting opportunistically also play an important role in the crime market,” the report added.
Arms trafficking has been highlighted as a significant problem in the country, where many weapons from the 1990s remain in circulation, making BiH one of the leading countries in the world in terms of legal and illegal firearms in civilian possession.
It is also located along one of the smuggling routes between major arms suppliers countries, such as Serbia and Montenegro, and destination countries for illegal firearms in Europe, the report said.
According to the Global Organized Crime Index, mafia groups, criminal networks, state actors, and foreign criminal groups are present in BiH, whereby mafia groups are heavily involved in drug trafficking, especially heroin, and arms trafficking.
The report also explains the country’s complex political structure and governance, which makes it difficult for its authorities to deal with the above-mentioned problems.
According to the same data, the country with the highest crime rate in Europe is Russia, while the second place on this infamous list was taken by Serbia. As for the rest of the neighborhood, Croatia is 13th and Montenegro is fourth, Klix.ba reports.
E.Dz.
