Are OSCE countries making progress on combating trafficking in human beings? Launch of the 2026 Survey Report

VIENNA, 19 March 2026 - The OSCE Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings will launch the 2026 OSCE Survey Report on Monday, 23 March 2026, providing the most comprehensive assessment to date of anti-trafficking efforts across the region.

The Report will be presented at a public launch event on 23 March 2026, 14:30-16:00 (CET), at the Bibliotheksaal, Hofburg, Vienna, and streamed online via Zoom. The event will feature opening remarks by Kari Johnstone, OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, a presentation of key findings by Dr. Dorothea Czarniecki, and a panel discussion with government ministers, national rapporteurs, civil society representatives, and experts with lived experience from Romania, the Netherlands, the United States, Italy, and Albania.

Media representatives are invited to attend and can register via the following link.

The 2026 Survey Report highlights key trends and challenges in combating trafficking in human beings across the OSCE region. Among the findings: during 2021-2024, participating States reported recording approximately 102,000 trafficking victims. Emerging forms of exploitation are rising sharply. Investigations into online sexual exploitation and live web sexual abuse, for example, increased from 9 in 2021 to 1,665 in 2025. These trends point to a rapidly evolving crime that is outpacing prosecution response.

A troubling paradox persists in child trafficking: while formal institutional frameworks for child protection are at an all-time high, practical, on-the-ground measures are declining, a contradiction explored in depth in the Survey.

About the OSCE OSR/CTHBOSR/CTHB
Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings

The OSCE Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings assists OSCE participating States in implementing their commitments to combat human trafficking. The Office conducts research, provides technical assistance, promotes policy dialogue, and supports the development of victim-centered, rights-based approaches across the 57-State OSCE region. The 2026 Survey is the latest in a series of periodic assessments that have tracked the implementation of OSCE anti-trafficking commitments over the past ten years.

For media inquiries, please contact Lilia Rotoloni, Public Information Officer, OSCE Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings at [email protected], [email protected].