Participants examining papers to help them prepare their arguments for a mock trial underway in South Eastern Europe.
Montenegro and Serbia, 15 May 2023 – In the South Eastern Europe region – and worldwide - trafficking in persons remains one of the most serious crimes and human rights violations, noted a report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) last year.
The report went on to state that the region remains largely a source of trafficking victims in Western and Southern Europe. At the same time, South Eastern Europe is recording high levels of domestic trafficking.
And according to the UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2022, most victims of domestic and cross-border trafficking in the region are young women or girls who have been sexually exploited.
While legislative and institutional frameworks on addressing human trafficking are in place and in line with international standards, there are gaps in their adequate implementation and operationalization. In many cases, these challenges result from lack of ability of first responders and criminal justice practitioners to identify instances of trafficking in persons, distinguish them from other offences, apply victim-centred approaches, and substantiate cases by collecting adequate evidence.
Mock trials are an innovative and effective tool which allow criminal justice practitioners from all over the world to come together and simulate a criminal trial, with victims, witnesses, defendants, and evidence examination. They are used to engage professionals to work on real cases and simulate decision-making processes while dealing directly with the complexity of combatting human trafficking.
UNODC has developed a mock trial methodology specialized on real human trafficking cases and has successfully held multi-disciplinary capacity building activities based on this methodology extensively in many countries, including Montenegro and Serbia.
Namely, under the auspices of the Governments of Montenegro and the Republic of Serbia, and in synergy with the Centre for Education in Judiciary and State Prosecution of Montenegro and the Judicial Academy of Serbia, UNODC conducted a series of four multi-disciplinary trainings using the methodology of mock trials focused on improving the successful investigation, prosecution and conviction of human trafficking cases, as well as improving the identification and care of trafficking victims.
Organized mock trials targeting more than 100 judges, prosecutors, investigators, and other relevant actors were tailored to the countries’ context, their legal system, culture and resources.
“All prosecutors and judges should be sensitized to understand the crime of human trafficking and to implement access to justice measures and victim-centered approaches, while preventing re-traumatization and intimidation of victims,” said Mr. Nenad Vujic, Director of the Judicial Academy of the Republic of Serbia.
“Investigating human trafficking cases by using a victim-centred approach increases victim identification, strengthens prosecutions and results in convictions of traffickers,” said Milenka-Seka Zizic, Judge at Supreme Court of Montenegro and facilitator of the Mock trial exercises in her respective country.
In March 2023, follow-up meetings were organized for practitioners who took part in last year’s June mock trial sessions. The meetings provided participants with an opportunity to discuss the training effectiveness and operational results, share knowledge, experiences, and innovative approaches on anti-trafficking response at the national level, as well as discuss current trafficking trends.
“The greatest value of the training was the increased courage and confidence to deal with various forms of human trafficking. The prosecutors in my country had been afraid to enter and initiate such cases before,” stated Ms. Olivera Sekulic Sosdean, Deputy Prosecutor from Pancevo District Prosecutor’s Office in Serbia during the follow-up meeting.
“After the training in June last year, two cases were initiated in my jurisdiction,” she added. “In one of the cases, torture and abuse were initially reported. However, the prosecutor and the policeman who participated in the training immediately recognized the elements of human trafficking offense.”
Participants will remain connected to each other through the criminal justice practitioners’ communities of practice, established within the ongoing initiative UN.locking Impunity of Traffickers and Supporting Justice for Victims of Trafficking in Persons in South Eastern Europe, funded by the U.S. Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP), and will continue to share best practices and create new knowledge to advance a national anti-trafficking response on a regular basis.
Human trafficking and migrant smuggling are global and widespread crimes that use men, women and children for profit. The organized networks or individuals behind these lucrative crimes take advantage of people who are vulnerable, desperate or simply seeking a better life. UNODC strives for the eradication of these crimes through the dismantling of the criminal enterprises that trade in people and the conviction of the main perpetrators. Ultimately, our work safeguards people from the abuse, neglect, exploitation or even death that is associated with these crimes. For more information, click here.
