26th Conference of the Alliance against Trafficking in Persons The Rise of Forced Criminality: Addressing a Security Blind Spot
Hofburg, 5th floor, Vienna, Austria & online via Zoom (CET)
The side event is organised on 21st of April between 13.45 – 14.45 CET.
Children Trafficked for Criminal Activities: Strengthening Identification and Justice Responses
Co-organisers: Missing Children Europe, Terre des hommes Foundation, and the European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control (HEUNI), bringing together operational experience, research expertise, and cross-border cooperation initiatives addressing child criminal exploitation.
Trafficking for the purpose of forced criminality is an increasingly visible form of exploitation affecting children across the OSCE region. Evidence from several European countries highlights cases where children are coerced into organised theft, drug distribution, and other illicit activities. Often, these children are treated as offenders rather than recognised as victims. Persistent operational gaps exist in victim identification, awareness of trafficking indicators among criminal justice actors, and cross-border cooperation. These gaps result in detention, prosecution, disrupted education, and long-term vulnerability. The side event will examine trends, identification challenges, and operational responses to child trafficking for the purpose of forced criminality. It will draw on pilot cross-border cooperation initiatives between Albania and France, Albania and Greece, and Albania and the United Kingdom, as well as findings from HEUNI’s Nordic scoping study, highlighting practical lessons for prevention, identification, and transnational coordination, while emphasising child-centred approaches and the non-punishment principle. By bringing together practitioners, prosecutors, and researchers, the session aims to strengthen understanding of indicators of forced criminality, promote improved cross-border case cooperation, and support identification practices.
Agenda
1. Opening and Context Setting (5 minutes)
Alyona Samar, Senior Programmes Officer, Missing Children Europe
Brief framing of the topic and emerging trends in child trafficking for the purpose of forced criminality followed by introduction of the speakers.
2. Strengthening Cross‑Border Action to Protect Children: Lessons from Albania’s Pilot Cooperations (10 minutes)
Olsi Dudumi, Regional Innovation & Youth Empowerment Advisor, Terre des hommes
Presentation of findings from pilot cooperation initiatives between Albania and France, Albania and Greece, both implemented with the support of Permanent Representation of France to the United Nations and international organizations in Vienna (PP UN Vienna), and Albania and the United Kingdom supported by UK International Development of the British Government.
The presentation will highlight:
• How transnational criminal networks exploit children for criminal activities
• Challenges in recognising indicators of trafficking among children involved in crime
• Gaps in cross-border information exchange and victim referral mechanisms
3. Representative of the Albanian Prosecutor’s Office (online – tbc) (5 min)
Reflections on lessons learned from these initiatives and practical considerations for improving transnational cooperation and case coordination, including approaches to applying the non-punishment principle in cases involving children coerced into criminal activities.
4. Exploring the Links Between Youth Criminal Exploitation and Trafficking: Nordic Perspectives (15 minutes)
Anniina Jokinen, Senior Programme Officer, European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control (HEUNI)
Presentation of findings from “Between Victimhood and Offending: A Nordic Scoping Study on the Links Between Youth Criminal Exploitation and Trafficking.” The study highlights the growing recruitment of children into organised crime, the exploitation of vulnerabilities, and the risks of misidentifying exploited children as offenders, which can lead to criminal records and increased vulnerability to re-victimisation. The presentation will emphasise how applying a trafficking lens can improve identification and protection of offending children.
5. Identifying Child Trafficking in Cases of Forced Criminality in the Context of War (10 min)
Julia Sachenko, Founder and Head of Libera
This intervention will highlight an emerging and under-recognised form of trafficking in the context of the war against Ukraine, where children are recruited through digital platforms into criminal and violent activities, including acts of sabotage. Drawing on field experience and research prepared for GRETA, it will show how such cases are often treated primarily as national security threats, leading to children being prosecuted as offenders rather than identified as potential victims of trafficking. It will underline how this trend reflects broader shifts in forced criminality across the OSCE region, particularly in conflict settings, and will examine gaps in the application of the non-punishment principle, proposing elements of a more balanced, child-centred approach that addresses both protection and security concerns.
6. Discussion (15 minutes)
Moderated discussion and Q&A
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