Nineteen judges and public prosecutors in Serbia successfully completed a specialized courseCouncil of Europe The fight against human trafficking and protecting victims, and strengthened the capacity to fight one of the most serious forms of human rights violations.

Organized within the project "Strengthening the fight against human trafficking in Serbia"I HELP Council of Europe (Human Rights Education for Legal Experts), a two-month course started on April 22, in Belgrade, in cooperation with the Judicial Academy and with the support of the project"Help in the Western Balkans". The goal of the course was to strengthen the capacity of legal experts for the implementation of the Council of Europe and European standards in the field of combating human trafficking.

During the course, participants have deepened the knowledge of the Council of Europe Convention on the Suppression of Trafficking and Trafficked in Human Rights-Based Access and Oriented to Victims. Their active participation shows strong commitment to improving victims and efficient prosecution of traffickers in accordance with European standards.

The course was conducted by experienced mentors - Biljana Sinanović, judge of the Supreme Court in Pension and Permanent Lecturer at the Judicial Academy, and Marija Anđelković, DirectorNGO Astra, which have adapted it to the legal and institutional context of Serbia. It included key topics such as identification and support to victims, the principle of impunity, efficient implementation of investigations and prosecution, the right to compensation, as well as new forms of exploitation.

This activity is part of a joint program of the European Union and the Council of Europe "Horizontal facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey", Which provides support to national institutions in Serbia in strengthening institutional capacities and harmonizing practices with European standards, including the recommendations of a group of experts against trafficking in human beings (GRETA).

The news was taken from the Council of Europe's site -You can see in more detail here