ABA ROLI Hosts Seminar on Human Trafficking in Kosovo

August 2008

The American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI), the United States Department of Justice and the ABA Section on Litigation recently conducted a 2-day advocacy skills workshop for Kosovo judges, prosecutors, lawyers, police and others involved in the prosecution of human trafficking cases.  The seminar, “Pursuing Confiscation in Human Trafficking and other Cases,” was held in early June at the Legal Clinic Center at the University of Pristina. 

The workshop was timely, coinciding with the publication of the U.S. StateDepartment’s annual report on global human trafficking, which found Kosovo tobe a source, transit and destination country for human trafficking. About 50 professionals attended the event, with all participants indicating that the content was very relevant to their day-to-day work.

“It was a fantastic experience to hear how the US and regional courts, police and lawyers treat these cases. Many of these issues in Kosovo are unexplored yet we have to deal with a great number of them. We’re living in aregion facing major human trafficking cases; this is why seminars like thiscome as a great benefit for us,” said Ramadan Ahmeti from the Kosovo Police Service’s Human Trafficking Unit.

The seminar was led by Assistant United States Attorneys Jim Russell, Michael Frank and T. Markus Funk, who is also a former U.S. resident legal advisor for Kosovo. Anjali Chaturvedi, a partner at the Washington, DC-based law firm of Nixon Peabody, and Joshua Orr, an associate attorney with the same firm, also gave presentations.

For more information about the ABA Rule of Law Initiative’s work in Kosovo please contact Kosovo Country Director David Sip at office@ceelikosovo.org.