SOFIA, June 1 (Xinhua) -- A two-day international forum on fighting human trafficking in southeastern Europe closed on Friday with a call for joint efforts to ensure the security of the region's peoples.
The forum titled "The Western Balkans and the European Union: systems for combating human trafficking in southeastern Europe within the context of the pre-accession process" was organized by Bulgaria's National Commission for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings in partnership with the Vienna-based International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD).
Addressing the forum, Bulgarian deputy justice minister Nikolai Prodanov said human trafficking was a grave violation of human rights and a serious personal offence, which is why the European agenda requires targeted measures for combating it and joint efforts to ensure security of the local people.
Tackling organized crime and trafficking in human beings is a key criterion laid down in the recently adopted European Commission strategy for a credible enlargement perspective for and enhanced EU engagement with the Western Balkans, Prodanov said.
Last year, Bulgaria doubled its capacity for providing specialized support to victims of trafficking, Prodanov told the forum. This topic was on the official program of the Bulgarian presidency of the EU Council.
EU anti-trafficking coordinator Maria Vassiliadou, who also attended the forum, discussed with Prodanov the support and reintegration of trafficking victims and the activity of the National Commission for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, according to a press release from the Bulgarian justice ministry.
