Deputy State Secretary Mátyás Hegyaljai participated in an online meeting with the U.S. Department of State's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.
At the meeting initiated by the American side, Andrea Reed, Deputy Director of the TIP Office of the United States Department of State, emphasized that Hungary was considered an important strategic partner. She indicated that the State Department appreciated the progress made by Hungary in the fight against trafficking in human beings, highlighting the increase in the number of investigations and convictions, the ongoing two-year reintegration project and the 2020 legislative amendments. However, she emphasized the need for further progress in a number of areas, such as the identification of victims among asylum seekers, children living in institutions and domestic workers, the improvement of services for victims, the extension of the national referral mechanism to third-country nationals and amending the legal framework regarding child victims of sex trafficking.
The Deputy State reaffirmed that the government of Hungary was committed to curbing trafficking in human beings and looked forward to continuing the excellent cooperation with both the US State Department and the US Embassy in Budapest. He provided information on the main achievements, including the implementation of the National Anti-trafficking Strategy for 2020-2023 and the related Action Plan for 2020-2021, the training activities of the Ministry of the Interior, and the progress made in the identification of third-country national victims mentioned by the Deputy Director.
Following the report of the Ministry of Interior, further ministries involved in the recommendations of the TIP Report, including the Ministry of Human Capacities, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Innovation and Technology, as well as the National Police Headquarters and the National Bureau of Investigation briefed the US representatives on results in combatting trafficking.