Concise Supporter Briefing NI: Human Trafficking Autumn 2012
Lord Morrow MLA is consulting on his draft Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Further Provisions and Support for Victims) Bill. The consultation lasts until 18 October, Anti-Trafficking Day. CARE in Northern Ireland very strongly supports the Bill in every respect and is working closely with Lord Morrow. We believe that it is vital that as many people and organisations as possible respond to this consultation and affirm its great importance and timeliness. Trafficking in Northern Ireland Official figures show that trafficking to Northern Ireland is on the increase. 11 victims were recorded by the National Referral Mechanism in 2008/9, 25 in 09/10, 23 in 10/11 and 27 in 11/12. The biggest single reason for trafficking is sex. In 2011/12 18 out of the 27 rescued had been trafficked for sex. There are inevitably many more trafficked to Northern Ireland who have not yet been rescued. In this context there has been increasing concern in Northern Ireland about trafficking, including a major debate in Stormont on 7 February and also the formation of an All Party Anti-Trafficking Group. Of greater importance, however, Northern Ireland has also been presented with a major opportunity to significantly enhance its anti-trafficking legislation but sadly has not risen to the challenge. Failing to Act – Missed Opportunity In January it became clear that the Northern Ireland Assembly would be given responsibility for achieving Northern Ireland’s compliance with the European Directive on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting its Victims 2011 by April 2013 – now less than a year away. Since then, however, the Department of Justice has only consulted on and proposed two new offences in the current Criminal Justice Bill. These ensure that: 1. When offences are carried out abroad, British citizens and residents of Northern Ireland can be prosecuted in Northern Ireland; and 2. A loophole which allowed trafficking for labour exploitation within the UK is closed and becomes a crime.
To only propose these two measures in response to the Directive is extraordinary given the number of changes mandated by the Directive. What a Directive proposes and what one has to do to avoid non-compliance for inadequate implementation are not necessarily the same thing. It may be that the Northern Ireland Executive considers that it is only necessary to make these two changes to avoid being taking to court by the EU? What is clear, however, is that such a strategy constitutes a huge missed opportunity and would suggest that Northern Ireland is not really interested in, or concerned about, taking this challenge seriously. Tremendous Opportunity The arrival of the Morrow Bill in this context is extremely timely. It has been deliberately framed mindful of what is proposed by the EU Directive and, rather than asking what is the bare minimum Northern Ireland can do to implement the Directive and avoid getting into trouble with the EU, it asks what a fulsome application of the Directive would look like. Lord Morrow’s excellent