The obligations assumed by Bosnia and Herzegovina by ratifying the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings in 2008 clearly stipulate that victims should have the right to compensation and that there should be a mechanism for compensation for victims (Article 15 of the Convention).

Initiating a conversation on possibilities of establishing a mechanism for compensation of human trafficking victims using confiscated assets from traffickers, the Council of Europe anti-trafficking action organised the workshop "Trafficking in human beings, financial investigations, and confiscation and use of confiscated property for compensation of victims of human trafficking" on 30-31 October in Jahorina. The focus was on specific challenges in conducting financial investigations, identifying, locating, and assessing specific forms of assets acquired through human trafficking, prevention, as well as suppression measures against money laundering in the context of human trafficking as a predicate crime.

The workshop gathered 25 experts, among whom were representatives of the Ministries of Security and Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Ministries of Interior of the Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska, Zenica-Doboj, Tuzla, and Sarajevo Cantons, the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), the FBiH Police Administration, the FBiH Agency for the Management of Confiscated Assets, the Financial Police of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tax Administrations of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, the Indirect Taxation Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina, State and Cantonal Prosecutor’s Offices, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Service for Foreigners’ Affairs, the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the NGO Centre for Human Rights from Mostar.

Participants further underscored the importance of cross-institutional and international cooperation in the detection, monitoring, and temporary and permanent confiscation of property acquired through human trafficking. The workshop also touched upon the management of confiscated property and the possibilities of social re-use of confiscated profits with the aim of assisting, rehabilitating and compensating victims of human trafficking. Presentations included the practice of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina in this regard, as well as good practices when it comes to the permanent confiscation of illegal assets obtained through human trafficking.

The workshop was organised by the Council of Europe anti-trafficking activity “Strengthening anti-trafficking action in Bosnia and Herzegovina” funded by voluntary contributions under the framework of the Action Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina (2022-2025).