Photo: Personal archive

Two meetings were held in Vranje, between representatives of the Local Team for Prevention and Combating Human Trafficking, Citizens' Association Atina and their partners, aimed to introduce the entire team to the project itself and planned activities, as well as to determine current local capacities and response mechanisms in cases of labor exploitation.

This project is being implemented within the Joint Programme of the European Union/Council of Europe "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey II" and the action "Prevention and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings in Serbia", which is carried out by Citizens' Association Atina in the period from March to October 2020 in five cities in Serbia - Subotica, Sremska Mitrovica, Šabac, Niš, and Vranje.

During the first meeting, upcoming project activities were agreed upon, aimed to "raise the awareness of general public about the issue of labor exploitation".

The second meeting supported the research related to the analysis of available services for victims of human trafficking at the local level, formed on the basis of Decisions on the establishment of local services within the social protection system, as well as other relevant documents of importance to the protection of victims of human trafficking.

For these purposes, a questionnaire was created, which is primarily intended for professionals in the field of social protection, but also other systems that have a mandate and experience in providing support to victims of human trafficking at the local level.

A discussion / group interview was organized with professionals from the social protection system, but also other protection and support systems that provide services to victims of human trafficking or services that can be useful to victims (healthcare, education, legal aid and counseling, local civil society organizations, Roma organizations, Red Cross).

Through the adoption of Declaration on Combating All Forms of Trafficking in Human Beings in the City Assembly, the City of Vranje has clearly declared its intention to live in accordance with the principles of a free society where basic human rights are respected - the right to life, freedom of choice, and freedom of movement. Local Team for Prevention and Combating Human Trafficking continuously works on improving the existing prevention mechanisms, as well as on combating human trafficking - as stated in the announcement of the Local Network.

For NGO Atina, text translated by Marija Pantelić.

The original text can be found via the following link: https://www.vranjenews.rs/news/i-vranje-sprovodi-projekat-prevencije-u-borbi-protiv-trgovine-ljudima