The Italian Embassy and the International Organisation for Migrations (IOM) presented the project, drafted for Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia and Hungary, and a TV video aimed at raising the awareness of the public and potential victims about this form of modern slavery.
"Prevention is the most important step in the struggle against people trafficking," said Ugo Righini, deputy prefect for human rights and immigration at the Italian Interior Ministry.
Trafficking in humans is a profitable illegal "branch of the economy", third according to profits, right after drugs and arms smuggling. A total of 900,000 people are affected by people smuggling every year, while profits from this form of modern slavery amount to seven billion dollars, according to a brochure issued by the Croatian branch of the IMO, which closely cooperates with governments in fighting and preventing people trafficking.
A representatives of the Croatian IMO, Lovorka Marinovic, said Croatia had integrated into its penal code a regulation stating explicitly that people trafficking is a crime. She said that amendments to the law on foreign nationals envisaging care for the victims of people trafficking would soon be adopted.
Croatia is obliged to adopt the said amendments as part of the process of adjustment to the acquis communautaire so that it could join the EU, Marinovic said.
Croatia has organised training programmes for 26 police officers, who have passed their experience about the problem of people smuggling onto another 1,600 police officers, Croatian Interior Ministry official Emina Lisic said.