CBSS co-hosts anti-trafficking side event in Vienna

On 20 April 2026, the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) and the Council of Europe co-hosted a side event at the 26th Conference of the Alliance against Trafficking in Persons organised by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna.

The event focused on identifying victims of trafficking and the application of the non-punishment principle in complex cases, including in detention settings and financially exploitative schemes.

Speakers highlighted how authorities can sometimes fail to identify signs of exploitation and wrongly treat trafficked persons as offenders. This can lead to detention or prosecution, discourage victims from cooperating with investigations, and allow traffickers to avoid accountability.

The principle of non-punishment of victims of trafficking, enshrined in Article 26 of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, is an essential element of the human rights-based approach to combatting human trafficking.

Participants also discussed how monitoring bodies visiting places of detention can help identify victims and refer them to protection and assistance services.

The side event further addressed trafficking linked to benefit fraud. In such cases, traffickers may coerce vulnerable people into handing over personal data, bank accounts or welfare claims for criminal gain, leaving victims at risk of being wrongly seen as perpetrators.

Speakers at the event, titled "Identification and Non-punishment of Victims of Human Trafficking in Complex Cases, Including in Detention Settings and Financially Exploitative Schemes", notably included representatives of the Council of Europe, HM Prison and Probation Service (United Kingdom), National Police Directorate in Norway, Örebro University and NGOs.