Bosnia and Herzegovina has become a significant destination for women trafficked from Eastern Europe and forced into prostitution, according to a new UN report.

Trafficking in Human Beings in Bosnia and Herzegovina presents case studies involving 182 women from late 1998 through March 2000. The report states that law enforcement efforts and policies of the Bosnian government are replete with "obstruction, obfuscation and simple passivity" and that "law enforcement is often complicit, either overtly or by silence and failure to act" against sex trafficking. Law enforcement efforts in the Balkan state focus on prosecuting prostitutes rather than traffickers and pimps, the report charges.

Produced as part of a joint anti-trafficking project of the UN Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the report calls on Bosnia and Herzegovina to strengthen its efforts in preventing and combating the illegal trade of women.

UNMIBH and the OHCHR suggested the creation of a state border service, witness protection programs and information campaigns to address the issue.