Victims First: Simulation Training Strengthens International Anti-Trafficking Cooperation

Fifty anti-trafficking practitioners are now equipped with new tools to identify, investigate, and disrupt human trafficking networks, while ensuring strong protections and assistance to victims. This expertise was gained through an intensive international training that concluded today in Brühl, Germany, with participants from Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Poland, and Bulgaria.

International cooperation was at the heart of the training, as participants learned to navigate different legal systems and enforcement priorities. "You cannot combat human trafficking effectively without understanding the legal mandates and priorities of other countries and agencies, as trafficking often involves cross-border elements," said Jean-Benoit Manhes, Deputy Co-Ordinator of the OSCE Office for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, during the closing press conference.

The five-day training was co-organized by the OSCE Office of the Special Representative for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and the International Justice Mission (IJM). It was held at the premises of the State Bureau for Training, Education and Personnel of the North Rhine-Westphalian Police.

Throughout the week, participants immersed themselves in realistic scenarios that mirrored the complex realities faced by trafficking victims today. They tackled cases involving sexual exploitation in nightclubs, labour exploitation at carwash sites, child trafficking, forced criminality, and online exploitation.

The training brought together a wide range of professionals, including prosecutors, labour inspectors, social workers, criminal and financial investigators, lawyers, NGO representatives, and migration officers, who worked side by side to strengthen their individual expertise and their ability to collaborate across agencies.

Launched in 2016, the OSCE simulation-based training exercises have become essential for building the skills and networks needed to identify and assist victims and bring perpetrators to justice, using multi-agency, victim-centered, trauma-informed, gender-sensitive, and human rights-based approaches.

This training was made possible through financial support from the Governments of France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, Switzerland, and the United States.

For more information on simulation-based training exercises, please visit Simulation-based training | OSCE