Vigorously investigate and prosecute trafficking crimes and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, including complicit government officials, which should involve significant prison terms. * Proactively identify trafficking victims by screening for trafficking indicators among vulnerable populations, including individuals involved in commercial sex; children; and Romani, Ashkali, and Albanian Egyptian communities. * Develop written guidance and enhance efforts to identify and assist children exploited in forced begging. * Continue providing advanced training to judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement on trafficking investigations and prosecutions. * Allocate sufficient resources to the Centers for Social Welfare (CSW) to enable them to fulfill their responsibilities. * Increase resources for NGO-run shelters to provide victim assistance. * Strengthen victim confidentiality and privacy measures and ensure private information is not shared. * Increase government support for comprehensive vocational training and reintegration services for victims. * Provide anti-trafficking training to hotline operators, including on victim identification and referral to services.

The government slightly decreased law enforcement efforts. Article 165 of the criminal code criminalized sex trafficking and labor trafficking and prescribed punishments of five to 12 years’ imprisonment and a fine for offenses involving adult victims and five to 15 years’ imprisonment and a fine for offenses involving child victims. These punishments were sufficiently stringent and, with regard to sex trafficking, commensurate with those prescribed for other grave crimes, such as rape. Police investigated 6 cases with 17 suspects (three cases with 13 suspects for sex trafficking and three cases with four suspects for labor trafficking), compared with 16 new cases with 39 suspects in 2022. Police continued to investigate one sex trafficking case with five suspects from previous years. Authorities prosecuted eight new cases with 10 defendants (all for sex trafficking), compared with 50 new cases with 79 defendants in 2022. Authorities continued to prosecute 19 cases with 21 defendants from previous years. Courts convicted 14 traffickers (12 for sex trafficking and two for labor trafficking), the same number of convictions as in 2022. Unlike previous years, judges did not issue sentences of fines alone and issued stronger sentences with all convicted traffickers receiving prison time. However, judges issued sentences below the minimum penalty of five years’ imprisonment. Sentences below minimum penalties and of fines alone undercut efforts to hold traffickers accountable, weakened deterrence, created potential security and safety concerns for victims, and was not equal to the graveness of the crime. Observers reported a lack of training and experience among most prosecutors and judges, especially on crimes involving emotional control or psychological coercion of a victim, resulted in weak sentences or cases charged as offenses with lower penalties than human trafficking. Police also investigated 13 additional suspects for “utilizing sexual services from a trafficking victim,” compared with 16 suspects in 2022. Authorities prosecuted 35 defendants and convicted 12 perpetrators who “utilized sexual services from a trafficking victim,” compared with 138 defendants and 20 perpetrators in 2022.

THBD of the Kosovo Police (KP) investigated all trafficking cases through its eight regional units with 45 officers, and it also maintained a unit in the predominantly ethnic Serb northern municipalities. The Office of the State Prosecutor (OSP) continued to designate a special coordinator for trafficking cases and maintained a trafficking point of contact in all seven basic prosecution offices. The special coordinator for trafficking monitored cases, provided guidance, participated in the anti-trafficking law enforcement task force, and organized trainings and workshops. The THBD cooperated with the Labor Inspectorate, Ministry of Trade and Industry, and Tax Administration to conduct 283 joint inspections of bars, nightclubs, restaurants, and massage parlors (194 in 2022), which led to the closure of 66 premises (74 in 2022). The government maintained institutionalized training programs at the Justice Academy, and the OSP trained prosecutors, judges, and victims’ advocates on various trafficking issues. The government, in cooperation with international organizations and NGOs, also trained police and health professionals. The government exchanged information with foreign governments on 52 trafficking-related cases. The THBD, OSP, and KP Inspectorate cooperated to investigate government employees potentially complicit in trafficking offenses but did not report any new cases, nor did the government report any prosecutions or convictions of government employees complicit in human trafficking crimes.

The government slightly increased victim protection efforts. The government identified 17 victims, compared with 21 victims in 2022. Of the 17 victims identified, traffickers exploited six in sex trafficking, six in labor trafficking, and five in unspecified forms of trafficking; seven were women, four were men, five were girls, and one was a boy; and 16 were Kosovan and one was a foreign national. First responders used standard indicators to screen vulnerable populations however, observers reported a lack of guidance and proactive identification efforts for forced begging victims, especially children. The KP and border police continued to classify forced begging of children by their parents as parental neglect or abuse rather than trafficking, stating that, according to Kosovo legislation, children accompanied by their parents did not meet the definition of trafficking. A multi-disciplinary NRM provided SOPs for identifying and referring victims to services. The NRM required an investigator from the THBD and a victim’s advocate from the Victim’s Assistance and Advocacy Office to convene, conduct a comprehensive risk assessment, and coordinate victim care and referrals. The NRM also required a social worker to participate in assessments for child victims. NGOs reported the referral process functioned well. KP created pamphlets to inform victims about their rights and available services and the government also translated the pamphlets into Ukrainian.

The government funded and ran a specialized Interim Security Facility (ISF) to provide services to high-risk victims and also licensed and partially funded two NGO-run shelters to provide services to low and medium risk victims. The government allocated €75,000 ($82,870) to the ISF, and the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (MLSW) allocated €65,000 ($71,820) to one NGO-run shelter and €97,500 ($107,730) to the other. In 2022, the government provided €100,000 ($110,500) to the ISF and €40,000 ($44,200) and €45,000 ($49,720) respectively to NGO-run shelters. The Pristina municipal government also provided one of the NGO-run shelters with €14,000 ($15,470), compared with €16,000 ($17,680) in 2022. In 2022, the Fushe Kosove municipal government provided the same NGO-run shelter with €2,000 ($2,210). One NGO-run shelter received government funding for 2023; however, due to continued delays in funding, it closed the shelter in February of 2024. The three shelters provided legal assistance, medical and psychological services, counseling, education, recreational services, and reintegration support; the three shelters assisted 70 victims. The ISF temporarily accommodated victims assessed as high risk, such as victims of cases with the trafficker still at-large, victims testifying in court proceedings, or those awaiting repatriation; the ISF assisted 16 victims (14 in 2022). Authorities required victims to have a police escort outside the ISF while court proceedings were ongoing and required an approval from a prosecutor and the KP for victims assessed as high risk to permanently leave the ISF. The facility had the capacity to assist 40 victims for up to 90 days with separate rooms for women, men, and families. Eleven staff members worked at the ISF, including the director, victim advocates, nurses, and a teacher, but it did not employ an in-house psychologist. The two government-funded, NGO-run shelters accommodated victims assessed as low and medium risk and focused more on reintegration support; the two shelters assisted 28 victims (25 in 2022). The CSW appointed case managers who prepared care plans in cooperation with the victim and shelter staff. The CSW provided services to child victims and also acted as legal guardians, but observers reported the CSW did not have enough staff to handle all their responsibilities. Civil society reported good quality of care for victims, but reintegration programs had limited success because of a lack of resources and high overall unemployment.

In previous years, GRETA reported representatives from the THBD and OSP had a good understanding of the principles surrounding non-penalization of trafficking victims. However, due to a lack of consistent screening and identification procedures for forced begging, authorities likely deported some unidentified trafficking victims. The government updated SOPs to increase the reflection period for victims from 30 days to 90 days in which victims could recover before deciding whether to cooperate with law enforcement. Authorities afforded foreign victims the same rights and services as internal victims, and the law entitled foreign victims to a temporary residence permit for at least six months; no foreign victims requested a permit in 2023 or 2022. The government assisted with repatriating two victims in both 2023, and 2022. The government required a psychologist and prosecutor attend interviews with victims in addition to a victim advocate and police. The government reported suspected traffickers were not present when victims provided statements, and foreign victims could return to their countries of origin after testifying without waiting for the conclusion of the trial. The Victim Assistance and Advocacy Office maintained seven offices and provided free legal aid and represented trafficking victims throughout the criminal justice process. The law provided witness protection and confidentiality of a victim’s identify; no victims required witness protection. In previous years, the KP reported a municipal official unknowingly provided a victim’s birth certificate to a suspected trafficker. The government reported 13 victims participated in investigations and prosecutions (21 in 2022). The law allowed judges to issue restitution in criminal cases or victims to receive compensation from a government-financed compensation program if the victim was unable to obtain restitution from the traffickers; judges did not issue restitution to any victims, but the compensation program granted two victims compensation of €4,000 ($4,420). In addition, the government allocated a confiscated apartment to a family of a child trafficking victim. In 2022, judges did not issue restitution, but the compensation program granted to one victim compensation of €3,500 ($3,870).

The government increased efforts to prevent trafficking. The National Authority Against Trafficking in Persons (NAATIP), composed of representatives from eight government ministries, the judiciary, municipal offices, victim advocates, NGOs, and international observers, coordinated interagency efforts; the NAATIP held quarterly meetings in addition to ad hoc meetings and produced quarterly reports. The government implemented the Anti-Trafficking National Strategy for 2022-2026 and a NAP for implementation between 2022 and 2024. The OSP maintained local multi-disciplinary teams comprising a prosecutor, police, victim advocates, social workers, and shelter representatives to improve coordination on trafficking cases in three regions. The government allocated €8,175 ($9,030) for awareness campaigns targeting children, students, and the public and allocated €2,000 ($2,210) to print handbooks for teachers on preventing child trafficking. This was an increase compared with €8,180 ($9,040) allocated to prevention efforts in 2022. The NAATIP partnered with a mobile operator to send text messages to its subscribers with the number to the national hotline and KP email address. The government-operated hotline for victims of domestic violence and other crimes received nine calls involving potential trafficking cases (five in 2022). Observers reported operators lacked the capacity to understand and respond to trafficking-related calls and needed specialized training, particularly for calls concerning potential child forced begging. The MLSW maintained a legal framework for the registration and licensing of private-sector employers, including foreign employment agencies. The law prohibited agencies from charging recruitment fees, but the government did not report efforts to monitor recruitment agencies. The government made efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex act, including by prosecuting and convicting perpetrators who “utilized sexual services from a trafficking victim” and organizing awareness campaigns targeting purchasers of commercial sex.

As reported over the past five years, human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Kosovo, and traffickers exploit victims from Kosovo abroad. Criminal networks exploit victims in sex trafficking internally. Many sex trafficking victims in Kosovo are girls, although traffickers also force women from Albania, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and other European countries into sex trafficking. Traffickers recruit women and girls with promises of marriage or employment as dancers and singers and force victims into sex trafficking in private homes and apartments, nightclubs, and massage parlors. Traffickers exploit children from Kosovo, Albania, and other neighboring countries in forced begging. Traffickers subject Kosovans to sex trafficking and forced labor throughout Europe. Marginalized Romani, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities, particularly children, are vulnerable to forced begging and sex trafficking, including by traffickers who are often their parents or relatives. LGBTQI+ persons, migrants, asylum-seekers, and refugees also experience a higher risk of trafficking.