CHIEF PROSECUTOR MET WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF THE U.S. EMBASSY IN BIH TO DISCUSS URGENT ACTIVITIES NEEDED IN THE FIGHT AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING

The Chief Prosecutor of  the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina - Goran Salihović and his associates met with the representatives of the U.S. Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Mr. Robert Thomson, resident legal advisor at the U.S. Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Mr. Ante Miliša, assistant in the Political Department and discussed the possibilities and modalities of activities that  judicial and law enforcement agencies can undertake in Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to combat human trafficking more effectively and to protect victims of such criminal offenses.

The issue of prosecution and in general the fight against trafficking in persons for the purposes of various exploitation directly affect the status of our country on the list of the countries with significant rates of trafficking in persons made by the U.S. Government.

The Chief Prosecutor informed the representatives of the U.S. Embassy that the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH actively participates in the work of the Task Force to combat human trafficking and illegal migration, and that it prosecutes several cases related to trafficking for sexual and labor exploitation, as well as begging.

The Prosecutor’s Office of BiH is prepared to work together with judicial, police and security agencies in our country in the future and to lead the initiative to effectively prosecute perpetrators of human trafficking for which it will require the assistance and support of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the international community.

The meeting participants also expressed their confidence in BiH in terms of its ability to achieve significant results in this area in the upcoming period thus improving its status on the list of countries with significant rates of trafficking crimes, which will require coordinated activities and efforts of all institutions involved in the issue.