On the occasion of the 25th OSCE Alliance against Trafficking in Persons conference, the Council of Europe organised a side-event, in Vienna, on 1 April 2025, on preventing trafficking and online exploitation among displaced children of Ukraine.
War and mass displacement heighten the risks of human trafficking, and children are particularly vulnerable to such risks. Furthermore, as children increasingly use the internet for education and socialising, they face new risks.
Since the start of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation, millions of children are estimated to have been forced to flee Ukraine, the vast majority of them being hosted in Council of Europe member States. Using the Ukrainian context as a case study, the event examined how the Council of Europe standards can be applied to protect children from human trafficking and online exploitation. It highlighted existing tools and support mechanisms designed to prevent further victimisation through information and communication technologies.
Panellists included Dorothea Czarnecki, member of the Council of Europe Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA), Head of anti-human trafficking/child protection at FORENSIK.IT, Berlin; Corah Caples, member of the Lanzarote Committee, Assistant Principal Officer, Criminal Justice Policy, Department of Justice of Ireland; Julia Sachenko, Director of Child Protection and Anti-Trafficking, Save Ukraine; and Virgil Spiridon, Head of Operations, Cybercrime Programme Office of the Council of Europe. The discussion was moderated by Petya Nestorova, Executive Secretary of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.
