Workshop "Operation of the National Referral System for the Protection and Assistance of Victims and Potential Victims of Human Trafficking in the Republic of Moldova"

As part of the national campaign "Anti-Human Trafficking Week," on October 20, the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Social Protection (MSMPS), with support from the International Organization for Migration in Moldova, organized the workshop "Operation of the National Referral System (NRS) for the Protection and Assistance of Victims and Potential Victims of Human Trafficking in the Republic of Moldova." Heads of territorial social assistance structures and coordinators of multidisciplinary territorial teams (EMT) participated.

The event covered:

• Achievements in implementing the NRS Strategy (2009–2016);


• The current situation and findings from an in-depth study on the NRS operation in Moldova;


• Conceptual aspects of the NRS and the specific features of Moldova’s NRS model.

Relevant topics were also presented regarding MSMPS reform, protecting victims' rights, ensuring access to necessary services, and developing a unified system for collecting statistical data and tracking all social assistance beneficiaries.

Thematic working groups (EMT activity coordination; identification of human trafficking victims at the local level, granting victim status, and access to necessary assistance; aligning NRS policy development with other social assistance policies; reintegration and monitoring of beneficiaries' cases) discussed issues identified in the NRS operation and developed recommendations to address existing gaps.