The Ministry of Interior's National Coordination Mechanism and the NGO Roundtable met on 17 March 2022 to review recent issues related to human trafficking.
In the first half of the meeting, held in a hybrid format, National Anti-Trafficking Coordinator Dr. Mátyás Hegyaljai, deputy state secretary of the Ministry of Interior reported on the refugee situation at the Hungarian-Ukrainian border, which raises the possibility that refugees are at higher risk of trafficking due to their vulnerable situation. He informed participants about the meeting convened by the EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator on 9 March, at which the Member States reviewed the current situation.
The members of the National Coordination Mechanism then reported on their practical work and experiences with refugees from Ukraine.
As regards the Action Plan of the 2020-2023National Anti-Trafficking Strategy, it was mentioned that the Government will provide a substantial financial envelope for its implementation in 2023. In addition, from next year, resources from the second period of the Swiss-Hungarian Cooperation Program may also be available; we are in constant consultation with the bodies responsible for implementation and with the Swiss side as well.
As regards the possibilities for calls for proposals, it was noted that the resources available in this field are expected to be even greater than in the past, but that the date of the first calls is not yet known, given that the conciliation process with the European Commission has not yet been completed.
Following the presentation by the Ministry of the Interior, the members of the Coordination Mechanism and the NGO Round Table provided information on the projects they have implemented and the thematic issue of Belügyi Szemle examining different aspects of human trafficking was presented.