Development of transnational mechanisms to fight against human trafficking in Romania and in Bulgaria

This project is financed by European Commission, Directorate – General Justice, Freedom and Security, Agreement number: JLS/2007/ISEC/486 and it is also co-financed by Secours Catholique/Caritas France, under the EU reference IP40230.

The project is to be implemented in the three countries, France, Romania and Bulgaria for a 26 month period starting form December 31, 2008 until February 28, 2011.

Main goal: To create a safer environment of both sides of the Danube River through joint efforts against the risks of trafficking in human beings in the new context of integration of Bulgaria and Romania in the European Union.

Objectives:

• to promote and develop coordination, cooperation and mutual understanding among law enforcement agencies, other national authorities and related Union bodies and

• to promote and develop best practices for the protection of crime victims.

Methodology:

The project is based on 4 pillars:

• networking;

• analyze and horizontal cooperation;

• awareness and civic participation;

• advocacy;

The project partners will use the existing structures on human trafficking to strengthen a reliable network. Caritas Bucharest - Romania and Caritas Ruse - Bulgaria will specifically work in the field, at school level while France will focus on advocacy and lobby at European level.

The horizontal cooperation will be completed by direct contacts with legal and competent authorities in order to take precedence over the use of complex procedures and structures.

This exchange of experience will permit to analyze the new situation met by Bulgaria and Romania, as new members of EU, and develop best practices in order to guarantee the protection of victims, enforce human rights education.

Concerning the awareness, the approach will be realistic and factual, and focused on the gender issues. This on-going process will also go by the website, multimedia format, videos, printed materials.

Groups of Activities:

1. Training activities in Ruse and Bucharest for mixed groups - youths, representatives of different institutions, NGO’s, authorities and media.

• Analyzing the impact of BG and RO accession in EU upon human trafficking from the perspective of sifting from origin / transit to destination countries, seminar in BG/RO

1.  

   • Identification of the dimensions, new trends and shapes of the phenomenon under the new European context, seminar BG/RO;

   • Sharing the successful experiences from previous similar activities undertaken by the partners focusing more on customer education, training BG/RO

   • Human Trafficking from the perspective of Human and Child’s rights based on the experience of France, including customer education, training BG/RO

   • Interactive workshop on ‘peer-to-peer’ best practices, Paris

   • Workshop with the youth volunteer, in RO and BG

1. Information and knowledge dissemination trough awareness raising campaign in Giurgiu and Ruse region identified as a major trafficking risks region, extending www.antitrafficking.info site to the beneficiaries of this project by adding new features and sections to best serve as a tool of information for visitors and forum discussions among the project partners.

2. Survey among students in 50 schools in Bulgaria and Romania;

3. Exchange of experience, Paris, Bucharest, Ruse;

4. Advocacy actions on local, national and international level;

5. Final Conference in Ruse city, Bulgaria.

Expected results and sustainability:

• Prevention: To strengthen the prevention of organized crime in human trafficking between RO and BG through an effective and better cooperation between public and private authorities at the cross border region (Police, justice, social organizations, so on).

• The law: The project will encourage the implementation and improvement of the law. The results of the project will find its sustainability in the involvement of the states institutions in the network and between the border authorities.

• The youth volunteers will have built a strong knowledge on human rights and gender transferable to new youth members to the network which will enable the dissemination of the information. School directors will facilitate the organization of the human rights classes in the spare hours as they will have been involved from the beginning. The schools will become reliable public authorities fighting in counter trafficking able to disseminate the information through the youth community of the region.

Target Group:

• Youths;

• School and local communities

• Judicial authorities;

• Law enforcement;

• Institutions and local authorities;

• National and International authorities;

• Civil society associations, NGOs.

Project Partners,

Secours Catolique – Caritas France

Caritas Ruse – Bulgaria

Caritas Bucharest – Romania