Italy: OSCE Special Representative held a seminar on preventing Human Trafficking in Mediterranean Region

More than 100 governmental and non-governmental representatives from the Mediterranean Countries were presents on February 8 in Rome for assisting the seminar held by OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for combating trafficking in human beings, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, on preventing human trafficking in the Region. The seminar was one of the firsts initiative to examine the phenomenon of human trafficking in the southern Mediterranean, with a particular focus on labour exploitation of migrants.

The OSCE Special Representative, in particular, called for greater dialogue and co-operation among Mediterranean Countries and their civil societies. According to Giammarinaro, the cooperation between States is vital because “what often appears as irregular migration is in fact the exploitation of individuals by organized crime and unscrupulous employers” and the need for sustainable and more effectively cooperation in essential in order “to bring perpetrators to justice”. OSCE Secretary-General, Lamberto Zannier, added that there is the need of a security community based on trust and of a partnership among States from the Region.

The high-level seminar, beside shedding light on the exploitation of migrants, also aimed at finding ways to ensure the protection of their rights as well as well as to find out new ways for a sustainable prevention.

The seminar on Human Trafficking in Mediterranean region convened by OSCE was funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, and hosted by the Italian Chamber of Deputies.