Report by the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings

Report by the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings

OSCE Permanent Council No. 1545, Vienna, 11 December 2025

1. The European Union thanks Dr Kari Johnstone for presenting her annual report and commend her continued commitment to preventing and combating trafficking in human beings across the OSCE region. We acknowledge the professionalism and dedication of her team.

2. We recognise the impressive breadth of activities undertaken in 2025 with all participating States and Partners for Co-operation, despite persisting budgetary challenges. The engagement of 55 participating States in the OSCE-wide survey on trafficking in human beings - the highest number to date - demonstrates that the work of the Office is valued and much needed.

3. Trafficking in human beings remains a grave violation of human rights and a serious crime that continues to evolve through new technologies, and is exacerbated by systemic vulnerabilities, crises and conflicts. Preventing and combating trafficking in human beings, and supporting the victims of trafficking, regardless of their country of origin, remains a priority for the European Union and its Member States.

4. The EU has a solid legal and policy framework in place to address trafficking in human beings, under the horizontal mandate of the EU Anti-trafficking Coordinator. In this regard, the revised EU Anti-trafficking Directive includes new rules that reinforce the fight against trafficking in human beings. These rules provide stronger tools for law enforcement and judicial authorities to investigate and prosecute new forms of exploitation, including those that take place online, and to ensure a higher level of assistance and support to victims. The EU Strategy on Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings (2021 - 2025) provides a comprehensive response to trafficking, from preventing the crime, and protecting and empowering victims to bringing traffickers to justice. The EU and its Member States will work in 2026 towards a renewed EU Strategy to better take into account remaining shortcomings and emerging challenges. A public consultation for contributions has been launched on 3 December 2025.

5. The EU shares the concerns expressed regarding the misuse of digital tools, including artificial intelligence, by traffickers. We strongly support the Office's work in developing evidence-based guidance, building law-enforcement capacity, and engaging the private sector in preventing and disrupting technology-facilitated trafficking.

6. We also welcome the focus on financial investigations and commend efforts to strengthen cooperation with Financial Intelligence Units and the banking sector. Following the money is essential to dismantle criminal networks and deprive traffickers of their illicit profits. Worth €29.4 billion globally, trafficking involves actors ranging from gangs to seemingly legitimate companies. These efforts are fully aligned with EU priorities on financial investigation, anti-money-laundering and financial transparency.

7. The EU values the Office's leadership on responsible supply chains and its contribution to embedding anti-trafficking safeguards in procurement and labour frameworks. Within our own legal architecture, we are advancing complementary measures through the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and the Regulation on banning products made with forced labour, which entered into force in November 2024.

8. We strongly support the Office's survivor-centred approach and the integration of lived-experience expertise into national and OSCE frameworks. Meaningful survivor participation enhances both the effectiveness and the sustainability of anti-trafficking policies.

9. As underlined in the report, armed conflicts continue to amplify trafficking risks. Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has displaced millions, creating acute vulnerabilities, particularly for women and children. The war has strained institutional resources, impeding victim-centered responses and increasing impunity for traffickers. We also remain deeply concerned about the fate of the Ukrainian children deported to Russia or forcibly transferred within temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories and call for their immediate and safe return to Ukraine. We continue to support initiatives such as Bring Kids Back UA and the Group of Friends on Children and Armed Conflict in Ukraine.

10. As national contingency response plans for the event of major emergencies are also a priority in the EU legislation, we further commend the Office's efforts to integrate crisis preparedness and resilience into anti-trafficking strategies, as well as its practical support through simulation-based training exercises.

11. We commend the full use of the OSCE tools, strengthening partnerships across the OSCE, with participating States, OSCE field operations and autonomous institutions, civil society, and other international organizations. We welcome the excellent cooperation with the EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator.

12. The EU and its Member States remain firmly committed to working with the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and her team to ensure that victims are identified and assisted, perpetrators are held accountable, and prevention is strengthened through cooperation, innovation, and respect for human rights.

Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Monaco, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, San Marino and Ukraine align themselves with this statement.