Non-governmental Research Articles

Locked-down learning amid COVID-19: young refugees in Greece and their supporters co-navigating a new crisis

ABSTRACT Greece, and the hundreds of thousands of refugees currently trapped in the country, are no strangers to ‘crisis’. Financial collapse and migration mismanagement were already severely impacting newcomers’ ability to participate in education before COVID-19 lockdowns made the situation even more dire. Based on interviews from a study on young refugees’ (aged 15–25) engagement with education in Greece, this paper explores how exactly lockdowns impacted learning and compounded pre-existing issues. It details how crisis was felt at the micro level as lost and disrupted learning opportunities, and as uncertainty and immobility – demonstrating the social, material and affective impacts of crises in the everyday. The paper also shows how youth expressed their relational agency by navigating constraints with the support of peers, educators and non-governmental organisations, even as technological and family-related issues came into play and supporters (or ‘co-navigators’) faced their own bureaucratic and practical hurdles. It concludes by arguing for sustained financial and political support for refugee-serving organisations, alongside greater flexibility and accessibility in the public education system.

Collaborative design of a care pathway for pharmacy-based PrEP delivery in Nigeria: insights from stakeholder consultation

BackgroundHIV remains a significant public health problem, particularly in Africa, where two-thirds of global cases occur. Nigeria is among the three countries with the highest burden. Despite free access to pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP and PEP) in Nigerian hospitals, stigma, distance, and restrictive clinic hours hinder uptake, especially among vulnerable populations. Building on the successful pilot implementation of pharmacy-based PrEP delivery in Kenya, we engaged Nigerian stakeholders in adapting the model, addressing user and provider concerns to ensure effective implementation in Nigeria.MethodsThe stakeholder meeting took place in Abuja, Nigeria, which is selected for its central location and accessibility to various stakeholders, particularly those involved in HIV prevention efforts. The participants were purposefully selected to ensure diverse representations, including youth who are potential PrEP users, pharmacy providers, regulators, and representatives from civil society organizations. The meeting utilized the Nominal Group Technique (NGT)—a structured method for facilitating group decision-making and prioritizing ideas—to adapt the Kenyan pharmacy-delivered PrEP model for implementation in the Nigerian context. Mock role play was conducted to help participants understand the care pathway. The discussions culminated in identifying challenges and viable strategies for implementing the model in Nigeria.ResultsThe one-day stakeholder meeting on 9 October 2024 was attended by 20 participants from various sectors involved in HIV prevention services. Stakeholders expressed enthusiasm for pharmacy-based PrEP delivery while acknowledging challenges associated with clinic-based services, such as stigma, limited hours, and long wait times. The key recommendations included training pharmacy providers, increasing awareness, ensuring confidentiality, establishing referral linkages, and integrating program data into the Health Management Information System (HMIS) as well as ensuring commodity availability and access. To enhance the success of the pilot study, stakeholders proposed engaging a research assistant, forming a monitoring team, and submitting the results to the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) for review.ConclusionsThe identified challenges and strategies for implementing the model in Nigeria will inform the development of a refined pharmacy-delivered PrEP framework that is ready for pilot testing and potential scaling across the country.

To Form From The Administration of Environmental Resources For the Care of The Habitat

Objective: Based on the provided text, a central concern emerges: the need to improve natural resource management and habitat conservation. The importance of environmental management as a tool to achieve sustainability and guarantee the well-being of future generations is highlighted. Theoretical Framework: Research in environmental resource management draws on a wide range of concepts and theories from various disciplines, such as ecology, economics, sociology, and administration. Method: The research employed both quantitative and qualitative methods. It was a descriptive study, and data was collected through surveys, which helped to gather information related to the proposed objective. Results and Discussion: The research has highlighted the crucial importance of environmental education and natural resource management to ensure a sustainable future. It has been evidenced that environmental education is fundamental to raising awareness and promoting sustainable practices, while resource management is essential for optimizing their use and achieving sustainable development goals. Implications: The implications of this research transcend academic spheres and extend to the political, business, and social realms, demanding a profound transformation towards development models that prioritize human well-being and planetary protection. In this sense, the research urges greater collaboration among governments, businesses, civil society organizations, and citizens to build a more sustainable future. Originality/Value: The originality of this research lies in its interdisciplinary approach, integrating ecological, economic, social, and administrative perspectives to offer a comprehensive view of natural resource management. By connecting theory with practice and emphasizing citizen participation, this research provides a novel and relevant perspective. Its value lies in its capacity to generate scientific knowledge, inform policymaking, and promote changes in management practices.

Explaining civilian control of militarisation in Indonesia: The case of military law amendment

This study explores the civilian control of militarisation practice in Indonesia, which refers to the discursive politics involving citizenry in the legitimisation mechanism of the use of military force for defence and non-defence objectives. To explore the empirical manifestation of the concept, the study applies the discourse network analysis method, which combines qualitative content analysis and social network analysis to investigate the public debates over the military law amendment. Accordingly, the study collected a dataset of 227 statements from 55 actors in 118 news articles on the military law amendment from May to July 2023. The analysis reveals that, first, the discourse was dominated by actors from non-governmental organisations, think tanks, and academia. Second, the discourse was driven by several main concerns, such as the return of military dual-function doctrine, the current state of military personnel occupying civilian posts, and the urgency of public participation in the deliberation process of the amendment. This article argues that the configuration of the dominant actors and the prominent issues reflect the prevalence of inward-looking defence policy orientation issue in Indonesia.

ON THE ISSUE OF THE LEGAL STATUS OF THE OPERATOR OF THE «UNIFIED REGISTER OF INTERNET ADVERTISING» AS AN ORGANISATION EXERCISING CERTAIN STATE POWERS

In the article, the author points out the problem of the lack of not only legal consolidation, but also a clear understanding of the mechanism of vertical delegation of certain state powers to non-governmental organisations in terms of functioning of a unified information system for advertising accounting in the information and telecommunications world wide web “Internet”. The study found that such a transfer of powers by the Russian communication regulator “Roskomnadzor” to commercial organisations is designed to increase the effectiveness of advertising campaigns and limit illegitimate schemes related to tax evasion. The description of the legal status of the operator of the Unified Register of Internet Advertising is given. In this regard, it is concluded that the status of such an operator has significant similarities with the position of an entity performing publicly significant functions, due to the presence of special legal capacity. In addition, it is assumed that the acquisition of such a status by a non-governmental organisation is carried out by issuing an appropriate order by an authorised state body without concluding a contract to be concluded in order to detail the procedure for exercising the transferred individual state powers, including clarifying the amount of financing and responsibility for improper performance of the contract.

Phronetic Risk in Research Agenda Setting – the Case of Nutrition Science and Public Health

ABSTRACT Justin Biddle and Quill Kukla have introduced the concept of phronetic risk to refer to epistemic risks emerging in activities that either are conditions for empirical reasoning or included in empirical reasoning and that have to be weighted according to different values and interests. In this paper, I show how a phronetic risk arises in research agenda setting. Given the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases associated with diet, there is a need for science-based nutritional public health interventions. However, how the relation between nutrition and health should be studied is a contested matter. I argue that the choice between different approaches of studying nutrition-related disease causation involves considerable phronetic risks that cannot be managed by researchers alone. Funding agencies, non-governmental organisations and science policy decision makers should be considered epistemically relevant actors.

Report of the First ONTOX Hackathon: Hack to Save Lives and Avoid Animal Suffering. The Use of Artificial Intelligence in Toxicology - A Potential Driver for Reducing/Replacing Laboratory Animals in the Future.

The first ONTOX Hackathon of the EU Horizon 2020-funded ONTOX project was held on 21-23 April 2024 in Utrecht, The Netherlands (https://ontox-project.eu/hackathon/). This participatory event aimed to collectively advance innovation for human safety through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and hence significantly reduce reliance on animal-based testing. Expert scientists, industry leaders, young investigators, members of animal welfare organisations and academics alike, joined the hackathon. Eight teams were stimulated to find innovative solutions for challenging themes, that were selected based on previous discussions between stakeholders, namely: How to drive the use of AI in chemical risk assessment?; To predict or protect?; How can we secure human health and environmental protection at the same time?; and How can we facilitate the transition from animal tests to full implementation of human-relevant methods? The hackathon ended with a pitching contest, where the teams presented their solutions to a jury. The most promising solutions will be presented to regulatory authorities, industry, academia and non-governmental organisations at the next ONTOX Stakeholder Network meeting and taken up by the ONTOX project in order to tackle the above-mentioned challenges further. This report comprises two parts: The first part highlights some of the lessons learnt during the planning and execution of the hackathon; the second part presents the outcome of the ONTOX Hackathon, which resulted in several innovative and promising solutions based on New Approach Methodologies (NAMs), and outlines ONTOX's intended way forward.

Digital Rural Construction and the Welfare of Disadvantaged Children: Exploring the Roles of Government and NGOs

As global sustainable development goals progress, improving the welfare of vulnerable rural populations has become a critical issue for many countries. Using data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) from 2014 to 2022, this paper examines the impact of Digital Rural Construction (DRC) on the welfare of disadvantaged rural children. Specifically, it explores the mechanisms through which DRC enhances child welfare, focusing on information access, educational resource availability, and medical service accessibility. Additionally, the roles of government and non-governmental organizations in moderating this process are analyzed. The findings show that DRC significantly improves children’s health, education, and psychological well-being. Furthermore, interventions by governments and non-governmental organizations amplify these positive effects, with non-governmental interventions proving particularly effective. This study not only addresses a gap in the literature on the mechanisms linking DRC and child welfare but also offers valuable insights for policymakers from a sustainability perspective.

Lessons from an intervention study on the sustainability of after-school comprehensive sexuality education in Zambia: the perspectives of teachers, health workers and guardians

BackgroundComprehensive sexuality education (CSE) has been introduced in many sub-Saharan African countries, but limited political interest and insufficient funding have resulted in many CSE initiatives being dependent on donor funding or non-governmental organisations (NGOs) supporting its implementation. This has created concerns about the sustainability of the programmes. The objective of this study was to explore factors affecting the sustainability of CSE delivered through a youth club organized after school hours in Zambia.MethodsWe interviewed teachers and community health workers (CHWs) who had implemented CSE as part of an after-school youth club set up as part of a cluster randomized controlled trial. The trial evaluated the effectiveness of economic support for adolescent girls, CSE and community dialogue meetings on adolescent childbearing. Teachers and CHWs in 63 schools were trained to facilitate the CSE youth clubs, and they were given economic incentives during the trial´s two-year intervention period to organize meetings every fortnight. Two years after the external support for the youth clubs ended, we conducted qualitative interviews with the facilitators in 15 of the 63 schools, interviews with some head teachers, and focus group discussions with guardians of adolescent girls.ResultsWhereas CHWs were generally supportive of teaching adolescents about contraception, some of the teachers stressed that abstinence was the most effective method to avoid pregnancy and diseases. The respondents’ diverging points of view did not affect their willingness to continue teaching CSE, including contraception. However, the youth club meetings were only continued in a few schools after the external support period ended. This was attributed to transfers of trained teachers and a lack of training among the remaining staff; lapse of moral support, resources and incentives; limited involvement of the school management in the CSE initiative; and attention shifting to other projects.ConclusionTo ensure the sustainability of CSE initiatives for adolescents, emphasis should be placed on training several teachers in each school, and continued moral support and encouragement also appeared essential.Trial registration: ISRCTN (ISRCTN12727868).

Assessment of meteorological and socioeconomic drought conditions in the Tekeze watershed, northern Ethiopia

In northern Ethiopia, meteorological droughts overwhelm crops and often lead people to food insecurity and poverty traps. Socioeconomic droughts similarly aggravate poverty and impact livelihoods; causing significant challenge on communities. Such issues in the area were not researched and not well addressed. Hence, the objective of this study was to evaluate the temporal and spatial trends of meteorological drought and the implied socioeconomic drought impacts in the Tekeze Watershed. The main data sources for this study included survey questionnaires, field observations, and CHIRPS data. Precipitation data from various stations were also employed to validate the CHIRPS data using a random forest regression model. The results revealed a strong coefficient of determination for the model, with values of 0.88, 0.87, 0.88, and 0.84 for the Mekele Obseva, Sekota, Yichila, and Ashere stations, respectively. This indicates that the precipitation recorded at these stations can be well-explained by the CHIRPS data. The temporal trends of meteorological drought showed that most of the years faced shortage of rainfall, where the year 2015 exceptionally faced a severe drought. The drought conditions in the area were exacerbating from time to time with a drought reoccurrence period of 2 years. The socioeconomic drought also found similar results within the agricultural drought that the years 2000, 2002, 2004–5, 2009–11, 2013–15, 2017, and 2021–23 were affected by droughts of different severity levels and associated socioeconomic impacts. Accordingly, almost all (99.5%) of the respondents reported that they were personally experiencing droughts. The major causes of drought in the study watershed were climate variability, land use changes, land degradation, water mismanagement, deforestation, war, and desert locusts. The consequences of these overlapping crises include pandemics, malnutrition, displacement, crop losses, desertification, and conflicts over resource use. While proposed interventions like improved irrigation, water infrastructure, drought-resistant crops, and emergency relief were intended to address these issues, ill-guided procedures and inadequate execution have undermined their effectiveness. Thus, these measures have not been successfully implemented and have fallen short of addressing the tangible impacts of drought. To this end, the study recommends effective implementation of the mitigation measures initially implemented by the government and nongovernmental organizations, emphasizing the active involvement of the local community.

An exploratory qualitative study of inter-agency health and social service partnerships focused on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients

BackgroundThe siloed nature of the health and social service system threatens access for clients engaging numerous organisations. Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people face adverse circumstances which contribute to multiple health and social needs. Effective relationships between health and social services are integral to coordinated service provision to meet the diverse needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients. Place-specific insights into inter-agency relationships are needed to inform targeted strategies that bolster service coordination to benefit Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.MethodsThis study sought to understand experiences of inter-agency partnerships among health and social service providers on Kaurna Country in northern Adelaide using semi-structured interviews and yarning circles to explore partnership actions, outcomes, enablers, challenges, and identify strategies to strengthen partnerships. Fifty-nine service providers (78% female, 62% Aboriginal) participated including six from non-government organisations, 17 from Aboriginal community-controlled services and 36 from government organisations.ResultsA content analysis identified partnership actions such as client advocacy, referrals, sharing information, case management meetings and collaborative tender submissions which were seen to improve client access, navigation and outcomes and strengthen worker connectedness and job satisfaction. Motivated workers, listening to Aboriginal people, shared goals and values, and partnership agreements (e.g., memorandum of understanding, service contracts) were identified enablers of partnerships. Racism and ignorance, lack of networking events, communication breakdown, red tape and administrative barriers, competition between services, short-term funding, high turnover of staff and a focus on key performance indicators rather than community needs were among the challenges. Effective partnerships to benefit Aboriginal communities in northern Adelaide was reported to require aligned intersectoral strategic intentions, reforms to service commissioning processes, sustainable funding, regular network events for management and frontline workforce, Aboriginal practitioner-led service coordination approaches and a network of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers across organisations.ConclusionsThis study identified key leverage points for action on inter-agency partnerships to benefit Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities on Kaurna Country. System drivers such as funded inter-agency networks and reforms to commissioning of services must support organisational- and practitioner-level enablers to strengthen partnerships between health and social services across northern Adelaide.

IMPLEMENTASI PENDIDIKAN POLITIK PADA KELOMPOK TUNAWISMA DI KOTA BANDAR LAMPUNG PADA PEMILU 2024

This research analyzes the effectiveness of the Bandar Lampung City General Election Commission (KPU) in increasing the political participation of marginalized groups, especially homeless people, by PKPU Mandate Number 10 of 2018. Homeless groups face various obstacles, such as a lack of legal identity, social stigma, and limited access to information. which makes it difficult for them to engage in the democratic process. Even though the KPU has implemented a political education program for vulnerable groups, this effort focuses more on people with disabilities, so that the needs of the homeless are neglected. This study uses a qualitative descriptive method with an inclusion-based political education approach. The research results show that low data collection and a lack of special programs for homeless people are the main obstacles to increasing their participation. The implications of this ineffectiveness include low levels of political participation for homeless people, continued marginalization, and inequality in a democratic system that includes the principle of inclusivity. Recommendations provided include collaboration between the KPU, Social Services, and civil society organizations to cover the needs of homeless people, the implementation of tailored political education programs, and facilitating the disclosure of identity documents.

“Do good and talk about it”: informal representation and migrant-led civil society organizations’ mediation between low-wage labor migrants and state institutions in the GCC countries

Low-wage labor migrants experience major human and working rights abuses in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries despite national labor laws and signatures to various human rights conventions. On paper, India has established an institutional framework of transnational social protection for its officially estimated 5.5 million low-wage workers migrating to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, e.g., financial emergency support, repatriation services, and walk-in centers. However, migrants in low-wage employment often cannot access substantive social rights in practice. Indian upper/middle-class migrant civil society groups mediate their access to Indian embassies’ services and the destination countries’ state institutions. The realization of social rights via informal, third-party representation stems from a representational disjuncture between low-wage labor migrants and the Indian state, which is rooted in their historical socioeconomic marginalization, limitations of the formal political system, and the constitutive role of informality in shaping and structuring citizen-state interactions in India. Through the lens of Piper and von Lieres’ (2015) concept of mediated citizenship and based on data from semi-structured interviews and participant observation of migrant support networks in the Gulf countries, this article examines why mediation takes place and how volunteers speak and take action for marginalized migrants in low-wage employment and consequences of mediation. It argues that migrant volunteer organizations and individuals are powerful stakeholders in the migration governance in the GCC region, as they possess leverage over who has (better) access to state institutions and the provision of social and human rights. Their status as intermediaries underlines the disaggregation of Indian citizenship along class and caste lines, which can be (mis)-used by mediators to pursue their interests, resulting in ambiguous effects. The article contributes to perspectives on migration governance in the GCC region, transnational social policies, and migrant volunteering.

Designing intermediary-involved regulatory system: organizational capacities and institutional conditions for NGO regulatory intermediation

ABSTRACT Regulatory intermediaries (RIs) are transforming implementation of contemporary regulatory policy. While the mainstream Regulator-Intermediary-Target framework offers important insights, limited research investigates the prerequisites for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to function as RIs. This study investigated the organizational capacities and institutional conditions for environmental NGOs’ contributions as RIs in China’s newly established Environmental Public Interest Litigation system. Analyzing data from interviews, archive retrieval and participatory observation, it found that their effective contributions require not only adequate capabilities and competences for the assigned authorities, but also alignment of their strategic and survival interests with the broader regulatory objectives. The contributions were influenced by their interactions with other key actors in the regulatory system and related institutions. The study suggests that researchers and designers of regulatory systems relying on NGO-RIs should consider their organizational capacities and interests in their evolving interactions with actors within and beyond the focal system and before and after its introduction. Constant feedback about their latest operational needs and concerned issues would help update the regulatory system. Institutional arrangements that support their development would also enable their effective functioning for the system, inducing wider and more dedicated contribution. The study highlights the complexity in governing with NGOs.

Countering the Instrumentalization of Migrants as an Element of the External Dimension of EU Immigration Policy

The problem of the instrumentalisation of migrants has a long history, but within the EU it was noticed only after the events on the EU-Belarus border in 2021. The Commission prepared a package of legislative proposals, which, among other things, gives Member States the opportunity to derogate from the current asylum rules. These provisions caused a negative reaction from a number of member states, the expert community and non-governmental organizations. The purpose of this article is to identify the reasons for the legislative implementation of the concept of in-strumentalisation of migrants, to identify the key characteristics of the relevant provisions, as well as their compliance with the current rules of the Common European Asylum System and the international obligations of member states. The author comes to the conclusion that the preparation of proposals in the field of countering the use of immigrants was carried out in conditions where the increased securitisation of migration policy coincided with a significant deterioration in EU relations with Russia and Belarus. For this reason, this proposal is politically motivated. An analysis of the proposed measures suggests that they could lead to unjustified differentiation of asylum seekers solely on the ground that they entered into EU from the territory of certain third country. In addition, the provisions of the proposal will contribute to further legal uncertainty and lower asylum standards. The proposed legislative measures are unlikely to solve the problem of immigration in EU, but can increase tensions in relations with neighboring countries.

Sosial Ədalətsizlik və Çəkidə Aldatma Toplumların Həlak Səbəbi Kimi: Şüeyb Qövmü Timsalında

Human rights are inalienable rights given to all people from the day of their birth. Protection of human rights is a prerequisite for a just, equal and peaceful world. We can find these rights not only in official state documents, but also in the doctrines of religions. Human rights are the responsibility not only of the state, but also of individuals and non-governmental organizations. Violation of these rights has the potential to strain relations between people. When we look at the instructive stories given to us by religious texts, we witness that the violation of rights, the taking away of people's rights, provokes God's wrath and has the characteristic of being the cause of the consequences leading to the destruction of communities that behave in this way. The importance of heavenly religions to human rights, examples of justice and human rights contained in religious texts were included in the article, and an attempt was made to draw attention to the importance of the value of this step in the eyes of God on the example of the Shuayb people, an unjust society where social justice is violated.

Positions of the Leading European Parties on the Eve of the European Parliament Elections 2024

The article analyses the main trends in the transformation of the party and political system of the European Union on the eve of the next elections to the European Parliament in June 2024. The article examines the main events of recent years that had the main impact on the process of this transformation. New trends in the change of this system were noted, which included strengthening the popularity and influence of Eurosceptic parties, increasing internal tension concerning relations between old and new members of the European Union. The research demonstrates that following the results of the national parliamentary elections held over the past five years in almost all EU member states, the influence of the leading political parties, which for many years occupied dominant positions in the executive and representative authorities of these countries, has significantly decreased. The phenomenon of increasing representation of women in the bodies of the EU and its member states and its impact on their formation is considered. The influence of changes in the social structure of the European community and their impact on the electoral preferences of Europeans is analysed. The preelection positions of all leading European parties that currently have their factions in the European Parliament are presented, including their election manifestos and candidacies for the post of the President of the European Commission (EC), the so-called Spitzenkandidaten. The forecasts of the results of the participation of leading panEuropean political parties in the European Parliament Elections 2024, made by a number of European non-governmental organizations and leading media holdings, as well as possible options for post-election inter-party coalitions that shape positions of the European Parliament, are demonstrated.

Advancing food systems governance: Perspectives of Canadian civil society organizations

ABSTRACT Civil society organizations (CSO) engaged in food systems work have grown substantially in number, scale, and scope. Many of these CSOs are seizing opportunities to engage with the globalized industrial food system in efforts to promote greater equity and sustainability and have realized that addressing issues at a systemic level demand engaging with governance. Despite increasing scholarly attention to food systems and to CSO engagement with governments, the diversity of governance arrangements remains understudied. In this paper, we explore the meanings and perspectives of food systems governance from the standpoint of CSOs leaders across Canada and Indigenous territories. Drawing on 70 semi-structured interviews, we argue that CSOs play a central role in advancing food systems governance by how they frame and act on food issues. We point to CSOs understandings and engagement with food systems governance as broader and more nuanced than what has previously been documented in the literature. A more discerning and comprehensive understanding of how CSO actors describe and advance food systems governance helps articulate how CSOs are scaling-up place-based work, modelling new forms of governance, and ultimately, impacting decision-making structures.

Addressing barriers to global multidisciplinary stakeholder inclusivity: Lessons from global orofacial cleft research priority setting.

Inclusivity in research priority setting is fundamental to capturing the opinion of all stakeholders in a research area. Globally, experienced healthcare workers often have deep insights that could impactfully shape future research, and a lack of their involvement in formal research and publications could mean that their voices are insufficiently represented. We aimed to modify the well-established Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) methodology to address barriers to inclusivity, which are particularly relevant in healthcare that requires highly multidisciplinary care. This global research priority-setting exercise for orofacial clefts adapted the CHNRI methodology to include research experts, clinicians from multiple disciplines, and non-technical stakeholders (i.e. patients and parents and non-governmental organisations (NGOs)) on a global basis. A multidisciplinary international steering group proposed and discussed methodological changes to improve inclusivity, including survey edits, subgroups for research questions, a demographics section, translation in French and Spanish, phrasing adaptation, and alternative dissemination techniques. We received 412 responses and 1420 questions, spanning 78 different countries and 18 different specialties/groups. Challenges remain to improve representation of all groups, with the vast majority of answers (30%) being from surgeons and a comparatively small proportion from patient/parent groups (9%). This also includes managing responses in three languages, effective dissemination, and responses that were not worded as research questions. This is one of the first CHNRI exercises to involve patients and parents, clinicians, and researchers in its first question submission stage, and the first ever to do so on a global scale. We describe our approach to addressing inclusivity challenges and report related demographic data to serve as a benchmark upon which we hope future CHNRI exercises will improve.

Challenges in Migrations: Combating Trafficking in Human Beings in Serbia

The state laws of the Republic of Serbia recognize trafficking in human beings as a form of organized criminal activity, and different acts treat the prevention, repression and punishment of trafficking in human beings as well as the protection of the witnesses and the injured persons, before, in the course of and after the criminal prosecution. The Council of the Government of the Republic of Serbia for the fight against human trafficking was first constituted in December 2005, as an expert, advisory body of the Government. The Constitution of the Republic of Serbia from 2006 deals with the issue of human trafficking in the provision of Article 26: “It is expressly forbidden that no one can be held in slavery or in a position similar to slavery, that is, every form of human trafficking and forced labor under which it is considered sexual or economic exploitation of persons in a disadvantaged position”. The Criminal Code sanctioned: Human Trafficking (Art. 388); Trafficking in children for adoption (Art. 389); Establishment of slavery and transportation of persons in slavery (Art. 390). People smuggling is criminalized as a separate criminal offense under Unauthorized Crossing of the State Border and People Smuggling (Art. 350). The aims of this work are to indicate all relevant regulations that are applied against human trafficking in Serbia as well as to show the cooperation of Serbia as a candidate country and EU accession with other countries in the fight against human trafficking and the cooperation of state authorities and non-governmental organizations in preventing human trafficking in Serbia and abroad. At last, the cases of migrants and human trafficking described in the media are presented and what kind of attention these criminological phenomenons are causing in Serbia.