{"id":5611,"date":"2026-04-02T14:27:37","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T12:27:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/delegazioneosce.esteri.it\/?page_id=5611"},"modified":"2026-04-08T18:09:44","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T16:09:44","slug":"italy-osce-cooperation-for-international-training-in-the-fight-against-human-trafficking","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/delegazioneosce.esteri.it\/en\/litalia-e-losce\/italian-initiatives\/italy-osce-cooperation-for-international-training-in-the-fight-against-human-trafficking\/","title":{"rendered":"Italy-OSCE cooperation for international training in the fight against human trafficking"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The fight against trafficking in human beings is a central issue on the OSCE&#8217;s agenda. In 2003, the Organization established the Office and the position of Special Representative and Coordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings (OCTHB), in order to assist participating States in developing and implementing effective policies, based on a victim-centered and human rights approach. The OCTHB produces annual reports that are publicly available at <a href=\"https:\/\/cthb.osce.org\/cthb\/107391\">this address<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Italy has always been at the forefront of supporting the OSCE in this sector, which requires strengthened international cooperation and a coordinated and multidisciplinary approach. The practical applications of this Italian commitment include training activities for the development of skills and capacities in favour of national anti-trafficking institutions and operators in OSCE countries (police forces, labour inspectors, prosecutors and magistrates, but also civil society and social workers).<\/p>\n<p>Thanks to the close collaboration with the Office of the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for the fight against trafficking in human beings, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osce.org\/projects\/cthblivex\"><strong>Italy hosted numerous training activities<\/strong><\/a>, focused on an innovative practical and inter-agency simulation exercise, at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.coespu.org\/\"><strong>Centre of Excellence for Stability Police Units<\/strong><\/a> (CoESPU) of the Carabinieri, an international training center established in Vicenza in 2005.<\/p>\n<p>The international training and training courses carried out by the OSCE at the CoESPU aim to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>develop state-of-the-art investigative capacities and key indicators to identify trafficked persons along migration routes in a timely manner;<\/li>\n<li>carry out first aid operations aimed at respecting the rights and protection of the victim;<\/li>\n<li>apply standard operating procedures in reporting suspected or identified victims of trafficking to the services that deal with assistance and support to them;<\/li>\n<li>make the best use of the tools offered by international cooperation, both police and judicial, and in particular the instrument of financial investigations, to deal with the phenomenon.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Part of the training is given through immersion in realistic simulations of concrete cases of exploitation, both labor and sexual, to the detriment of migrants, including minors. Each simulated scenario highlights the constituent elements of human trafficking (the act, the means and the purpose).<\/p>\n<p>In light of the success of the international simulations developed in Vicenza, the OSCE&#8217;s efforts are also progressively focusing on strengthening national training courses, in support of the anti-trafficking state sector of the participating States concerned.<\/p>\n<p>From 7 to 11 October 2024, an OSCE live simulation training course was held at the CoESPU in Vicenza &#8220;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/cthb.osce.org\/cthb\/578104\">Mediterranean Regional Simulation-Based Training<\/a><\/strong>&#8220;, aimed at strengthening the operational capacities of anti-trafficking operators in the fight against trafficking in human beings along the Mediterranean migration routes. It was the first live simulation exercise at regional level entirely dedicated to the Mediterranean region. The event involved more than 50 anti-trafficking actors from six OSCE Member States and co-operation partners from both sides of the Mediterranean: Italy, Malta, Spain, Algeria, Egypt and Tunisia. The exercise was also attended by 11 experts, 19 trainers and 14 international observers, together with 26 students from the University of Padua in the role of &#8220;actors&#8221;, for a total of about 120 participants in addition to 30 specialized members of the Carabinieri Corps for technical and logistical support. The closing sessions of the training and the closing ceremony were attended by Italy&#8217;s Special Envoy on Human Trafficking, Stefano Pizzicannella, the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Kari Johnstone, and Ambassador Andrea Cascone, Permanent Representative of Italy to the OSCE.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, on 12 December 2025, a symposium was held at the CoESPU as an operational follow-up to the October 2024 regional simulation: the event \u2013 organized by the Permanent Mission of Italy to the OSCE, OCTHB and the Equal Opportunities Department with the fundamental contribution of the CoESPU \u2013 was attended by national representatives from Italy, Spain, Malta, Algeria, Tunisia,\u00a0 Egypt and \u2013 in addition to the 2024 simulation \u2013 Greece, as well as the main international organizations (IOM, UNODC and ICMPD).<\/p>\n<p>The symposium allowed participants of the 2024 simulation to reflect on the lessons learned on that occasion, in particular with regard to strengthening inter-agency coordination and interaction with civil society organisations working in support of victims of human trafficking, as well as on international cooperation mechanisms. The discussion confirmed the validity of simulation as an effective training tool, capable of increasing the awareness of national actors on the critical issues that need to be addressed in order to improve national capacities to respond to the phenomenon of human trafficking. The symposium also provided the opportunity for Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt to present their respective national regulatory and operational frameworks, as well as to analyze the main trends in the Mediterranean region, thus giving participants the opportunity to discuss operational issues, also through the presentation of projects and good practices (IOM presented the MEDEA project carried out in Italy).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The fight against trafficking in human beings is a central issue on the OSCE&#8217;s agenda. In 2003, the Organization established the Office and the position of Special Representative and Coordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings (OCTHB), in order to assist participating States in developing and implementing effective policies, based on a victim-centered and human [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"parent":759,"menu_order":7,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5611","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/delegazioneosce.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/delegazioneosce.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/delegazioneosce.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/delegazioneosce.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/delegazioneosce.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5611"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/delegazioneosce.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5611\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5617,"href":"https:\/\/delegazioneosce.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5611\/revisions\/5617"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/delegazioneosce.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/delegazioneosce.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}