For the third year in a row, Serbia has the same status in the State Department's annual report on human trafficking, i.e. it remained in category two, and avoided falling back to category three because the authorities "allocated significant resources for a plan that, if implemented, will represent a significant effort to meet minimum standards in the fight against human trafficking" it was stated in the report presented by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Monday afternoon, June 24. writes Voice of America.
The report states that the Government of Serbia does not fully meet the minimum standards for combating human trafficking, but that it is making significant efforts to do so.
The State Department said those efforts include the prosecution of human trafficking suspects, the conviction of several and compensation for three victims.
It was assessed that the Government of Serbia did not show greater efforts compared to the previous reporting period, because the investigation was conducted against fewer suspects, and they were punished with lighter sentences in the process of criminal prosecution of human traffickers.
No funding to the non-governmental sector
The Serbian authorities did not provide funds to the non-governmental sector, although they largely relied, sometimes exclusively, on the support that victims received from it.
The Center for Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings lacked the staff, expertise, and resources necessary to identify victims, provide care, and manage the center's run shelter, which temporarily shut down due to non-compliance with sanitation standards.
The document points out that victims, although they were granted a special status, were not provided with adequate access to justice.
The State Department indicated that the measures to protect the confidentiality of information about victims were insufficient and that child victims of human trafficking were not provided with adequate legal protection.
Unexplored forced labor in a Chinese factory
It was emphasized that the office of the National Coordinator for Combating Human Trafficking did not adequately cooperate with civil society in efforts aimed at combating human trafficking.
"Credible allegations that around 500 Vietnamese and 14 Indian workers were subjected to forced labor at the Chinese-owned factory have not been investigated." Instead, they continued to claim that the workers were not victims of human trafficking," the report stated.
It was noted that an application was developed that the staff of the Center for Helping Victims of Human Trafficking uses in their work, that four additional social workers were hired and funds for the fight against human trafficking were slightly increased.
The State Department also assessed that the Serbian authorities have reduced their efforts to implement the law and states that the police filed criminal charges against 16 new suspects, compared to 21 in 2022, the public prosecutor's office launched an investigation against 28 suspects, while in 2022 that figure was 31, and the prosecution continued the investigation against 58 suspects from previous years.
Exploitation of both women and men and children
The State Department's report stated that in the last five years, human traffickers have been exploiting domestic and foreign citizens in Serbia, as well as Serbian citizens abroad.
They exploit women and girls for prostitution in Serbia, neighboring countries and throughout Europe, and their victims are also men whom they force to work in the construction industry of Austria, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Russia, Switzerland and United Arab Emirates.
It was stated that children, especially Roma, are exploited in the sex industry, and that they are forced to work and beg.
Source: Voice of America
