The European Commission hosted a meeting of the Network of National Rapporteurs and Equivalent Mechanisms (NREM) and the European Union Civil Society Platform on 26-27 October in Brussels with the representatives of EU Member States and civil society organisations on the fight against trafficking in human beings.
The first day of the meeting was opened by a video message from Ylva Johansson, European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Vít Rakušan, Minister of the Interior of the Czech Republic, representing the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The session was chaired and moderated by Diane Schmitt, EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator.
The main topics of the first session were the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on trafficking in human beings, support for potential victims fleeing the war in Ukraine, and an assessment of the measures and challenges related to the conflict and the sharing of experiences so far. In this section, in addition to speakers from the Czechia and Poland, a representative of EUROPOL and the Ukrainian NGO “La Strada” presented the activities of their organisations.
On 27 October, the focus was on the cooperation between public authorities, civil society and the non-profit sector in the implementation of the EU strategy to combat trafficking in human beings. Speakers from the Czechia, Belgium and Germany presented examples of good practices in cooperation in the fields of prevention and awareness raising, demand reduction and assistance to victims.
A two-member delegation representing the Anti-Trafficking Coordinator of the Ministry of Interior participated in the meetings. We emphasised our commitment in the field of prevention, social sensitation, victim identification and victim support. We also presented Hungarian programmes organized on the occasion of the European Day against Trafficking in Human Beings (18 October), such as the international conference held with the participation of several countries and international organizations and the awareness-raising plays organized by the National Police Headquarters.