The Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so. The government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period, considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, if any, on its anti-trafficking capacity; therefore Bosnia and Herzegovina remained on Tier 2, states the State Department’s Human Trafficking report for BiH.

While the Federation entity and the Brcko district have prosecuted some traffickers, the Republika Srpska (RS) entity did not convict any.

“Law enforcement continued to lack capacity, resources, and technical knowledge, which hindered their ability to conduct effective and victim-centred investigations and prosecutions. The government lacked proactive identification efforts, resulting in victims sometimes being penalized for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked, particularly with misdemeanour charges for petty crimes or begging,” the State Department wrote.

The Report states that law enforcement and social workers sometimes justified cases of potential forced child begging and forced child labour involving members of the Romani community as traditional cultural practices and customs and sometimes returned children to their families even when their parents were involved in their exploitation.

They also noted that the government penalized victims for unlawful acts that traffickers compelled them to commit due to inadequate identification efforts. Authorities penalized victims of sex trafficking, forced begging, and forced criminality with misdemeanour charges for petty crimes; some victims owed 10,000 to 15,000 Bosnian marks ($5,470 to $8,200) after receiving multiple fines.

In 2022, the Report notes, traffickers exploited foreign victims from Afghanistan and Pakistan in sex trafficking. In previous years, victims from Afghanistan, Cuba, The Gambia, Libya, Serbia, Sri Lanka, and neighbouring Balkan countries were exploited in BiH. Traffickers exploit BiH women and girls in sex trafficking within the country in private residences and motels. Romani children are exploited in forced begging, forced criminality, sex trafficking, and domestic servitude in forced marriages. Foreign women and girls from other European countries are vulnerable to sex trafficking within the country.