Twenty-one years after its establishment, the National Agency Against Trafficking in Persons remains one of the key institutions in the fight against one of the most serious forms of organized crime. Beyond statistics and reports, ANITP’s work means supporting victims, preventing exploitation, and building partnerships that provide protection for vulnerable people.
“21 years in which we chose, day after day, not to look the other way. 707 victims supported in 2025. Over 160,500 people reached by our prevention messages. 1,913 calls we answered on the hotline. Behind these numbers lie real lives, real stories, and people who had the courage to ask for help.”—Chief Police Commissioner Maria-Cristina Stepanescu, Director of ANITP, May 2026
The agency’s work is guided by the National Strategy Against Human Trafficking 2024–2028, which aims to develop an integrated response based on prevention, victim protection, combating criminal networks, and strengthening national and international partnerships.
One of the most important ongoing projects is the Child Protection Compact (CPC) Program, a strategic partnership between Romania and the United States aimed at strengthening the capacity to prevent and combat child trafficking.
One initiative with a strong human dimension is the support provided to the GLORIA Group, the first national group composed of survivors of human trafficking. By participating in prevention and awareness-raising activities, the survivors help craft authentic and credible messages that can reach vulnerable individuals directly.
Internationally, the experience gained during the OSCE exercise held in Germany in 2025 has opened new opportunities for cooperation and professional development for those involved in combating human trafficking.
“Such exercises demonstrate that the exchange of expertise and professional solidarity can transform individual efforts into a collective force capable of saving lives.”—Chief Police Commissioner Maria-Cristina Stepanescu, Director of ANITP
Building on the experience gained from the exercise in Germany and its role as a promoter of this type of training at the national level, ANITP is preparing to host the exercise in Romania in October 2026, Unlike the German edition— which brought together teams from 20 countries—the exercise planned for Romania will involve all national actors in the field of combating human trafficking, thus marking a first in terms of scale and internal coordination within the Romanian system for combating human trafficking.
Organizing the exercise in Romania represents not only a training effort but also an institutional affirmation of our country’s capacity to take the lead in regional initiatives to combat human trafficking. ANITP will coordinate the preparation and conduct of the exercise, in partnership with the OSCE and IJM.
ANITP’s mandate in 2026 unfolds at the intersection of several challenges and opportunities: the completion of the 2024–2026 Action Plan, the consolidation of an unprecedented strategic partnership with the United States through the CPC program, support for the first national group of human trafficking survivors, and the preparation of a national OSCE-style simulation exercise.
All these initiatives converge toward the same fundamental goal: building a more robust, coherent national anti-trafficking system centered on the real needs of victims—a system in which institutions collaborate effectively, professionals are prepared for on-the-ground realities, and the voices of survivors are genuinely heard and valued.
ANITP remains a pillar of balance and coherence in the national architecture for combating human trafficking, continuously adapting the institutional response to new forms of exploitation and to the needs for real protection of vulnerable individuals.
