Yuri Sterk: “Countering human trafficking is a priority of the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council”
20 October 2017 News
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Yuri Sterk today opened an expert forum entitled “Internet and Human Trafficking: Mechanisms, Counteraction and Prevention”, organised by the National Commission for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings (NCCTHB) jointly with the British Embassy in Sofia and the Hanns Seidel Foundation Bulgaria.
In his remarks at the forum’s first panel, Sterk noted that the fight against human trafficking is among the priorities of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2018. “Early prevention, support for and reintegration of victims (considering the vulnerable situation of women and children), and prosecution of traffickers are among the prime objectives of the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking in Bulgaria 2017-2021, adopted in July 2017,” said Yuri Sterk, who is also a member of the NCCTHB, presenting the Bulgarian Government’s long-term anti-trafficking vision. He added that Bulgaria has traditions in applying the principles of respect for human rights, support for the weaker and a just punishment for the culprits, citing provisions of the first Bulgarian Constitution of 1879. These principles are also fundamental to present-day Bulgarian legislation, he added, emphasising that “with a special Combating Trafficking in Human Beings Act, with a coordinating agency under the Council of Ministers and local commissions in various parts of the country, as well as with two specialised coordinating mechanisms, Bulgaria has one of Europe’s most comprehensive institutional and legal anti-trafficking frameworks”. Deputy Minister Sterk stressed the importance of the Internet as a source of risks as well as an opportunity to combat trafficking and stressed that “Bulgaria calls for more active international cooperation and resolute action for the eradication of trafficking and other forms of modern slavery, in accordance with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”
H. E. Emma Hopkins, British Ambassador to Bulgaria, spoke at the opening of the forum. She shared the understanding that the Internet is an environment and a tool for the practice of trafficking as well as a means for its prevention and combating. The Bulgarian EU Commissioner Mariya Gabriel, responsible for Digital Economy and Society, also greeted the participants in a special address from Brussels.
The international expert forum was organised on the occasion of the 11th EU Anti-Trafficking Day, marked on October 18, and representatives of institutions, the academic community and civil society will deliver expert reports in the panels until the end of the day.
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