VICTOR PROJECT FIRST MEETING

Summary: Kick – off meeting for project VICTOR VIctims of Child Trafficking – Our Responsibility, Bucharest, June 17 -19 2013.

«VICTOR» Project against Child Trafficking in Southeast Europe kicked off in Bucharest Faced with the harsh reality and the ever increasing dimension of child trafficking phenomenon, "The Smile of the Child" as the leader partner and in collaboration with a number of significant actors in trafficking implements the EU project VICTOR “Victims of Child Trafficking – Our Responsibility”. The kick-off event of this initiative was held in Bucharest, Romania on the 17th and 18th of June. Besides the Greek Organization, the meeting was attended by representatives of a total of 15 members of the partnership from different countries of Southeastern Europe. The focus of the participants was on the planning and implementation of the actions to be developed in the upcoming months within the framework of the project. Different studies and figures at national and international level demonstrate the size of child trafficking problem nowadays:

● Child trafficking is estimated to generate $ 12 billion annually at a global level (UNICEF);

● 200.000 women and girls are trafficked every year in the Balkan region for prostitution (US Department of State);

● There has been a 18% rise in victims of trafficking in the Member States over the 3 years period 2008-2010 (Eurostat);

● 15% of trafficking victims are children (Eurostat). Bringing together a wide range of active and well established national and international organizations working in the field of child trafficking in Southeastern Europe, VICTOR project is expected to foster the transnational cooperation in the region and contribute to the fight against trafficking in children. Among the partners to this project are public authorities such as the Ministry of Public Order and Citizen Protection and the Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights of Greece, the National Commission Combating THB of Bulgaria, the National Agency against Trafficking in Persons of Romania and the Southeast European Law Enforcement Centre (SELEC). The participation of national and international NGOs from Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Slovenia, Ukraine, Serbia, Greece and Hungary enrich equally the dynamism of the project. Towards addressing the phenomenon, the specific objectives of the project are the following:

● The development of information desks on child trafficking in four countries in the region;

● The organization of trainings for state officials and professionals active in the fight against trafficking in children;

● The implementation of an awareness campaign that will cover both countries of origin and countries of destination with the aim of informing the public, the vulnerable groups / potential victims and reducing the demand;

● The enforcement of the Centre for Southeast Europe for Missing and Exploited Children (SEEC) coordinated by "The Smile of the Child” and active over the last 3 years.

VICTOR is implemented in the region of Southeastern Europe where many similar notable initiatives have been taken by important NGOs in the same field. As one of the project objectives is to support the cooperation between actors, the VICTOR comes to join efforts with those already existing national and regional initiatives and provide them with its added value. The strong partnership of the project on one hand brings together the experience of “Terre des hommes” and MARIO project and on the other the valuable expertise of the organizations which run the Missing Children Helplines in their respective countries; furthermore, it demonstrates the commitment of all involved actors to work and cooperate towards our common responsibility to protect children victims and potential victims of trafficking.

The partners of VICTOR project are the following: Leader Partner: The Smile of the Child - Greece Full Partners Nadja Center Foundation - Bulgaria National Commission Combating THB - Bulgaria Save the Children - Romania Society Kljuc - Slovenia Ministry of Public Order and Citizen Protection - Greece Terre des hommes - Regional Office in Budapest Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights – Greece Associate Partners Southeast European Law Enforcement Centre (SELEC) - Romania Astra - Serbia La Strada Moldova – Moldova Child Well Being Fund – Ukraine Experts EPLO - European Public Law Organization – Greece Centre for Southeast Europe for Missing and Exploited Children (SEEC) – Greece The VICTOR – Victims of Child Trafficking – Our Responsibility” project will have duration of 21 months (2013-2015) and is funded by the DG Home Affairs "Prevention and Fight against Crime Action Grants 2012” Programme of the European Commission.

For more information about the project please contact: "The Smile of the Child", International Projects Department & Southeastern Europe Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (SEEC) Tel: +30 210 33 06 140 - emails: [email protected], [email protected] [email protected]