First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Ivica Dacic stated that over the last several years the police have achieved important results in combating human trafficking.

Opening a “Combating Human Trafficking in Serbia” conference, Dacic underlined that the large number of resolved cases and identified victims is a result of a proactive approach from the police to this problem and educational programmes conducted to instruct the police, prosecution and courts on this matter.

International NGOs have also played a critical role in this process and together with them we have learned about human trafficking and its victims, said Dacic, who is also President of the Council for Combating Human Trafficking.

He stressed that this cooperation has enabled the police to better recognise cases of human trafficking for the purpose of both sexual exploitation and forced labour, including vagrancy.

It is greatly disturbing that almost half of the identified victims are below 18 years of age, Dacic observed.

This problem is present in all states of the region, Europe and the world, and Serbia is addressing it very seriously, regardless of the level of its economic development, Dacic stressed.

In order to be more successful, we must establish a stronger and more formal partnership at a national level, between government organs and international NGOs, as well as at regional, European and international levels, he specified.

Dacic declared that today’s conference is yet more proof of the good cooperation between executive and legislative authorities in Serbia and their direct cooperation with partners from the EU and international organisations.

Serbian Parliament Speaker Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic noted that the Parliament is an important factor in the implementation of national mechanisms for preventing human trafficking, because without concrete laws there can be no effective protection of victims or successful procedures against those who exploit others.

She recalled that the Parliament has adopted a number of laws which provided a basis for combating human trafficking.