17 May 2006

IOM Organised Police/Judicial Training Workshop on EU Best Practices on Combating Illegal Migration, Trafficking, and Smuggling of Migrants

Organised crime, in particular trafficking and smuggling of persons, continues to flourish in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the wider region of the Western Balkans. In view of the enhanced partnership and future integration of this region into the EU, law enforcement officers and members of the judiciary received training on how to fight these crimes based on the EU standards and best practices. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, 40 officers from the border police, specialised anti-trafficking units, and basic rank frontline police officers participated in a five-day workshop organised jointly by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Vraca Police Academy from 8 to 12 May, 2006.

The trainers of this pilot workshop took part in a regional train-the-trainer event in Budapest, Hungary, as well as in a regional study visit there in 2005. They had the opportunity to enhance their training skills under the guidance of international experts and to exchange information and experience with colleagues from Albania, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Serbia and Montenegro (including the Province of Kosovo). The workshop is to be seen as a pilot event which will lay the basis for including regionally harmonised training curricula on combating illegal migration and smuggling of migrants as well as combating trafficking in persons into the regular study program of law enforcement officers from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

These activities are undertaken in the framework of the Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development, and Stabilisation (CARDS) Regional Police Project, funded by the European Commission and the Council of Europe and managed by IOM.

For more information please contact Ms. Edita Selimbegović, Press Officer, IOM Sarajevo.