The meeting participants were addressed by the US Ambassador to BiH, H.E. Eric G. Nelson, as well as Mr. Peter Van Der Auweraert, Head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Sub-regional Coordinator for the Western Balkans.

The Chief Prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, Gordana Tadić, presented the activities and the current situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina with regards to combating trafficking in persons, international operations conducted in human trafficking and illegal migration, as well as activities to be implemented within the Network of Specialized Prosecutors and Investigators.

The initial activities on the formation of this network were undertaken end of last year and prosecutors and police officers within represent institutions from the state level, both entities and the Brčko District of BiH.

The network consists of prosecutors and investigators from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina, who are nominated contact persons on behalf of the institutions they come from and who will significantly improve the prosecution of these crimes and ensure active, fast and efficient communication in investigation and prosecution of those particular cases.

The participants were also addressed by Mr. Samir Rizvo, State Coordinator for Combating Trafficking in Persons within the Ministry of Security of BiH, who spoke about the model network of specialized prosecutors and investigators.

The implementation of this project is supported by the State Department, through U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training (DoJ / OPDAT), as well as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) through a project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID BiH).