Fight against illegal migration, as well as implementation, especially at times of traumatic events leading to mass displacement of people across borders, as often led to instances of abuse of means such as detention, use of force by security forces, administrative expulsions, by many States interested by such phenomena, including OSCE States. In many OSCE documents, however, general principles, which can however be applied also in situations connected with migration phenomena, are stated which regulated the exercise of power by State authorities and their security forces on  relevant issues  such as detention (including administrative detention and at border detention) and the use of force.

Freedom from arbitrary arrest or detention and pretrial detention is treated in the document “Questions relating to Security in Europe”, paragraphs. 23.1 to 23.3 (Vienna, 1989) and  in the Final Document of the Copenhagen Meeting, 1990, (paragraphs 5.15, 5.17, 11 and 11.1). These documents focus on the right of every person to be brought promptly before a judge or other authorized officer, to defend him/herself in person or through legal assistance and to be given free legal assistance in case s/he does not have sufficient means to pay for it. Paragraph 5.19 states that everyone will be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law. Paragraphs 23 to 23.2.ii of the of the Moscow Meeting Document of 1991 is about human treatment of all persons deprived of their liberty and in the section about Civil and Political Rights the are several commitments related to their rights, among them the right to be brought promptly before a judge or an authorized officer to determine the lawfulness of his/her arrest or detention, the right to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing or, free legal assistance if s/he has not sufficient means to pay for it and the right to notify appropriate persons of his/her choice of his arrest, detention, imprisonment and whereabouts.

Several OSCE documents deal with the issue of torture, cruel inhuman and degrading punishment and excessive use of force. Amongst them are the Vienna Document of 1989, the Final Document of the Copenhagen Meeting of 1990 (paragraph 16), The Budapest 1994 document, the Istanbul document of 1999 (Charter for European Security)

Following the creation of the OSCE Advisory Panel on the Prevention of Torture in 1998, the ODIHR has given particular focus to projects aimed at the prevention of torture. The Panel is comprised of high-level experts in their individual capacity. Its function is mainly that of a think tank for ODIHR activities in fighting torture and degrading and inhuman treatment. The ODIHR's work in this area is based on the fundamental belief that torture and degrading and inhuman treatment is never justified under any circumstances. Moreover, torture cases often indicate more systemic difficulties of the Rule of Law in a given participating State. Prohibition of torture and other inhuman treatments are important commitments dealing with aliens, since NGOs often appeal to these principles when cases of ill-treatment of illegal migrants are denounced.

Issue of illegal migraiton are inextricably to a growing degree linked to issues of organized trafficing of human beings. All OSCE States are committed to fight trafficking in human beings, and its prevention is a commitment reiterated in several official OSCE documents: in the Document of the Moscow Meeting 1991, (paragraph 40.7) the participating States commit to eliminate all forms of violence against women, and all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution. In the Istanbul Charter for European Security,1999 (paragraph 21) they reaffirm this principle, by specifying their intention to fight against all forms of trafficking in human beings. In 2000 a specific Ministerial Council Decision was taken to enhance OSCE’s efforts to combat trafficking in human beings, recalling the Charter for European Security and the Moscow Document of 1991. A second Ministerial Council Decision about the commitment against trafficking was signed in Bucharest in December 2001.

The OSCE has published an official Reference Guide for Anti-Trafficking Legislative Review, a framework for comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation conceived to assist law and policy makers in the entire OSCE region in their efforts to adopt or review anti-trafficking legislation. It consists of an analysis of the areas that must be addressed by effective anti-trafficking legislation, as well as guidelines and recommendations for model legislation.

At the Porto Ministerial Council in December 2002, the 55 OSCE foreign ministers recognized the human suffering and the destabilizing effects caused by human trafficking and recommended that the Office of the Coordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities play an increased role in addressing all economic aspects of trafficking.

Because trafficking in human beings and the criminal structures supporting it have become a key problem for many OSCE states, OSCE organizes several events whose aim is fighting against it at several levels: in February 2003 there was a seminar in Ioannina, Greece, focused on the economic impact of human trafficking. The experts also formulated a policy agenda that can be adopted by the OSCE participating States to combat this blight more efficiently.

International experts and policy makers from throughout the OSCE region gathered in May 2003 in Prague for the 11th OSCE Economic Forum to suggest concrete measures for states to counter this trend more efficiently. In September 2003 OSCE Strategic Police Matters Unit in co-operation with the Chairmanship organizes a Meeting of Police Experts which will focus on improving the effectiveness of law enforcement in preventing and combating trafficking in persons, especially women and children. . In a series of initiatives to fight trafficking in human beings in Kosovo, the OSCE assisted in the founding of a new Interim Secure Facility (ISF) to help victims.

Analysis provided by: Antonella C. Attardo PhD (History of Law), Italy.