Trafficking in Human Beings

Trafficking in Human Beings International knowledge and local practices in connection with the “Guidance on Local Safety Audits: A Compendium of International Practice�

Trafficking in human beings International knowledge and local practices This publication has been produced by the European Forum for Urban Safety and is principally funded by the Government of Canada through Public Safety Canada (National Crime Prevention Centre). It has been developed in connection with the Guidance on local safety audits: A compendium of international practices. It can be accessed in English, French and Spanish versions online at http://www.fesu.org.

The principal authors were Marco Gramegna and the EFUS team represented by Michel Marcus, Executive Director, Elizabeth Johnston, Deputy Director and Benjamin Blaise, Project Manager.

It may be freely used and reproduced for non-commercial purposes provided that its source is acknowledged.

Suggestions, commentaries and feedback will be welcomed and used to inform future updates.

Comments should be emailed to safetyaudit@urbansecurity.org Designed in Canada by Accurate Design and Communications ISBN: 2-913181-31-7 EAN: 9782913181311 Legal deposit: October 2007

Published by European Forum for Urban Safety (EFUS) 38, Rue Liancourt 75014 Paris, FRANCE http://www.fesu.org Tel: + 33 (0) 140 64 49 00 Fax: + 33 (0) 140 64 49 10 Mail: fesu@urbansecurity.org

Contents 1.

INTERNATIONAL KNOWLEDGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.1.

1.2.

1.3.

1.4.

1.5.

1.6.

2.

LEVELS OF ACTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 2.1.

2.2.

3.

Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Mechanisms of trafficking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Causes of trafficking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Consequences of trafficking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Where does it happen? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Who are the victims of trafficking? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

The importance of National Legal Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 The recognition of the local level as a key player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

TRANSLATING KNOWLEDGE INTO PRACTICES . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 3.1.

3.2.

3.2.1.

3.2.2.

3.2.3.

3.2.4.

The need for an integrated and partnership-based approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Main Actions in the fight against trafficking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Collecting information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Raising awareness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Training and capacity building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Providing assistance to victims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

ANNEX : MOST RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS . . . . . 47 A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 The UN Trafficking Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 The Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 OSCE Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 United Nations Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Report of the Experts Group on Trafficking in Human Beings of the European Commission (December 2002) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Other references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND NON-EXHAUSTIVE LIST OF ONLINE RESOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Trafficking in Human Beings – International knowledge and local practices

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1. INTERNATIONAL KNOWLEDGE

1

International knowledge

rafficking in human beings is known to happen in all the countries of the world in different forms and at different levels. The countries involved in the trade can be those from where the victims originate, where they are destined, through where they are travelling, or a mixture of these. This chapter will touch on the common ground of present knowledge on THB at the global level.

T

1.1. Definition Until 2000, there was no consensus on one single definition of trafficking in human beings 1 (THB), with many working definitions used by institutions and governments. This created several problems, not only of data collection and statistics, but mainly of misunderstanding the problem, and therefore incorrect approaches to finding solutions. Given the many different elements involved in THB, there is a risk of taking only one of these elements as a central point to define the phenomenon, which would change the scope of the action. THB deals with the violation of victims’ human rights, illegal migration and border controls, organized crime, national security, gender, labour, children’s rights and others 2. Any attempt to define trafficking in human beings through only one of those elements

The Protocol defines Trafficking in People as: “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.

Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs”.

would leave only a partial look at the global phenomenon that includes all and each one of these elements.

1

The terms “Trafficking in Human Beings” and “Trafficking in People” are used in this paper with exactly the same meaning.

2

For more details, see 2.1.

Some governments or institutions prefer to use one instead of the other, but it does not change the meaning of the concept.

2

The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in People, especially Women and Children, which supplements the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, signed in 2000 and coming into force in December 2003, became the first international legal instrument solely dedicated to THB and providing a universally adopted definition of the phenomenon3.

The Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and two of its three supplementing Protocols, i.e. the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in People, and the Protocol Against Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air (a third supplementing protocol deals with trafficking in fire arms) also helped to avoid the traditional confusion between the concepts of trafficking in human beings and smuggling of migrants.4 It is important to underline the key elements in the definition of the Trafficking Protocol in order to understand the phenomenon. According to the definition of THB, there are activities that achieve a purpose through the use of means.

The most important element to understand is the main purpose of THB:

It is the exploitation of the victims of trafficking in order to obtain a benefit.

The exploitation of the victims, according to the Protocol, could be prostitution or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour 5 or services, slavery 6 or slavery-like practices, or other forms of exploitation. The activities to achieve that purpose could be the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of the victim and the means to impose the exploitation are the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power, etc.

Each of the parts: activities, means and purpose must exist and be linked to each other for trafficking in human beings to exist. The activity must be achieved by one of the means and both must be linked to achieve the purpose of exploitation.

To summarise the process of THB, it is important to underline that coercion, either physical or psychological, must exist and be linked with the activities and the exploitation in order to define THB:

Trafficking In Human Beings As A Process ACTIVITY RECRUITMENT Transport Transfer Harbouring Receipt

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MEANS COERCION Threat Force Coercion Abduction Fraud Deception Abuse of power, etc.

FINAL PURPOSE EXPLOITATION Forced prostitution Sexual exploitation Forced labour/services Slavery and similar Servitude Organ removal

http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/trafficking_protocol.html

4

Later in this section, the distinction will be established

5

Forced labour is defined as “all work or service, which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which

6

Slavery is defined as “the status of condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership

the said person has not offered him/herself voluntary”. Art. 2(1) of the 1930 ILO Convention No. 29 concerning Forced Labour are exercised”. 1929 Slavery Convention, Art.1 (1).

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The definition of the Protocol includes the following clarification elements: ■ It states that the consent of a victim of trafficking in the intended exploitation as underlined in the definition is irrelevant where any of the means above have been used. It is extremely important to emphasise this in order to counter the false arguments which claim that many of the victims of trafficking “consent” to carry out the tasks assigned to them, and therefore cannot be considered victims.

■ Concerning trafficking in children, the Protocol stipulates that the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation should be considered trafficking in people even if this does not involve any of the means highlighted above.

In other words, a child is considered to be a victim of trafficking even if coercion or any other forms of abuse are not exercised, and when the activities (recruitment, etc.) and purposes (exploitation) are present. Finally, the Protocol states that, legally, a child is a person under eighteen years of age.

phenomenon could be difficult to detect during the first phase because the initial movement of a potential victim could have different purposes and the person will only end up by being trafficked, sometimes even after crossing an international border. This is the case of smuggled migrants or legal migrants who end up as victims of trafficking.

Trafficking in People versus Smuggling of Migrants It is important to establish the difference between trafficking in people and smuggling of migrants because it is a cause of deep confusion at an international as well as at a national and local level.

Smuggling of migrants is the object of the Protocol Against Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Organized Crime.

This Protocol defines smuggling of migrants as:

“the procurement, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit, of the illegal entry of a person into a State Par ty of which the person is not a national or a permanent resident. Illegal entry shall mean crossing borders without complying with the necessary requirements for legal entry into the receiving State”.

At present, with almost three years of experience since the ratification of the Protocol, there are some issues that need to be clarified in order for it to be improved.

One is the element of migration. Trafficking in people implies migration and movement, either internal or international. A potential victim is recruited or kidnapped to work somewhere away from where they live. The physical separation of the victim from their home in order to control the victim is a key element for traffickers. However, the

ACTIVITY Recruitment Transportation Transfer Receipt of persons

4

In other words, smuggling of migrants is the facilitation of illegal border crossing of a State with the purpose of financial or other gain.

As in THB, there are activities, means and purposes in smuggling migrants.

MEANS Negotiations Payment of costs

PURPOSE Border Crossing Financial gain for smuggler Intended border crossing for migrant

Smuggling of migrants presents mechanisms that could be similar to those of THB. On the one hand there is the recruitment, being the contact between the smuggler and the potential migrant through advertisement, word of mouth, personal contact, etc. Once agreement on services to be provided and their price has been reached, the smuggler would provide services such as, transportation in one or several phases, crossing one or more international borders and, if necessary, documentation.

In between, lodging, safe houses, food and other services could also be agreed upon as services to be provided by the smugglers. Normally, the final purpose, financial gain for the smuggler, occurs with payment of the services before they are rendered, and not through the exploitation of the migrant, as is in the case of trafficking. The relationship between the smugglers and the migrants normally ends at the point of the illegal crossing.

Different to THB, smuggling always includes the (illegal) crossing of international borders. On the contrary, THB can also happen within national borders.

However, the main characteristics and differences between the two crimes are:

Trafficking In Human Beings Is A Violation Of The Victims’ Human Rights

Smuggling Migrants Is A Violation Of A State’s Migration Legislation

The above means that, in principle, THB includes a victim whose human rights have been violated, while there is no victim in smuggling of migrants and the migrant has previously agreed to the services to be received, the conditions and the price to be paid. This does not exclude the fact that smuggled migrants’ travel conditions are normally degrading and inhuman, plus an undetermined number of migrants lose their lives in their attempt to cross borders. There are also cases of smuggled migrants who have gone into debt with their smugglers, which will be paid through exploitative work either after their arrival at their destination or in transit countries.

In order to understand the complexities and varieties of THB and its different applications, we also need to make clear in defining THB that it can begin with a legal migration where no coercion is involved, or as smuggling which ends up as THB after the migrants have crossed the border. It is important to underline this due to the important control role of border officials, and is not to be confused with a legal migrant who can then become a victim of THB when the traffickers exercise coercion only after the victim has crossed borders, in order to avoid detection and incrimination. The same thing can happen with a smuggled migrant who ends up by being trafficked once he has crossed the border. At the time of crossing a border, it is often unclear whether a person is being smuggled or trafficked.

A third element to clarify in the definition, and thus in the local application of THB are the elements of coercion, abuse, use of authority and deception.

On the one hand, as explained above, when the victim is a child, the child’s consent is completely irrelevant and THB exists even in the absence of any coercive means. On the other hand, consent cannot be taken into account because no victim in her/his normal judgement would consent, in advance, to all forms of coercion involved in THB in order to help achieve the final purpose of the traffickers. Moreover, to give consent, the victim should have the possibility of not giving consent and/or being informed in advance of all the steps of the process that s/he would go through. A person may consent to different steps of the process, such as carrying false documentation, illegally crossing the border, working illegally or being a sex worker as a prostitute or otherwise, but this does not mean at all that the person has given consent to forced labour or slavery and less still to being the object of physical or psychological coercion. This element is important to underline as part of public opinion and some local authorities have the tendency to say that prostitutes who are victims of THB are volunteers (or “guilty victims”), simply as they do not escape or denounce their traffickers. These people however do not look at the roots of coercion which does not need to put chains on a person to make them a slave.

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Trafficking in human beings versus prostitution Another point of clarification for local authorities is the distinction between THB and prostitution.

Trafficking in human beings is, in all countries, illegal and penalised by national and international legislation. Prostitution, on the contrary, may be legal, illegal or tolerated in each country according to the national laws7. Some countries legalise and regulate prostitution (i.e. the Netherlands), others penalise it (i.e. Sweden) and others have no regulation or legislation about it whether permitting the existence of brothels (Spain) or prohibiting it (France). The important issue here is to keep in mind that THB is a violation of several international and national laws and, on the contrary, prostitution may be legal or illegal depending on national legislation, but has no legal link with THB. In other words, not all victims of THB are prostitutes and not all prostitutes are victims of THB.

Finally, it is important to underline the single most important element involved in THB: that human rights are being violated. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in its “Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking” of 2002 establishes as the first principle that “the human rights of trafficked people shall be at the centre of all efforts to prevent and combat trafficking and to protect, assist and provide redress to victims”. All other international legal instruments dealing with THB also establish human rights as the paramount issue when dealing with THB8.

1.2. Mechanisms of trafficking Recruitment

However, it is a matter of fact that, still, the majority of victims of trafficking in the world are used for sex work, and mainly prostitution, and thus there is an obvious link between THB and the sex industry.

But the question of defining trafficking in human beings has to be distinguished from questions about the political or legal approach to prostitution that are required to confront trafficking.

While we will focus on trafficking for sexual exploitation, it is important to keep in mind that THB increasingly exists for other forms of forced labour, servitude and exploitation, such as domestic work, agriculture, fishery, mining and commerce, as well as trafficking in children as slave soldiers, camel jockeys, and for organ transplants, amongst others, which are covered by the Trafficking Protocol definition. However, trafficking for prostitution and sexual exploitation is the most visible form for the public and for law enforcement agencies, and the form that triggers most demands for solutions.

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The recruiter, whether or not he is the trafficker, establishes the first contact in different forms, depending on the situation of the future victim. In the most violent situation, that of kidnapping, the subject of trafficking will be victimised immediately and will be taken to a place to begin activities. This normally, but not always, happens in situation of humanitarian and environmental crises, i.e. refugee camps, where there are forcibly displaced people or a concentration of people affected by natural disasters etc. These situations present a favourable field of work for traffickers due to the particular vulnerability of the people affected.

The”non-violent” recruitment system can take different forms. The most common one is the false promise of jobs. The recruiter/trafficker approaches the potential victim directly or through a third person with an offer of a well-paid job in another country. Job offers may vary from domestic services, caretaker, salesperson, industrial worker, bar tender, lap dancer, sex worker, as a language student and many others. It is important to state that normally these jobs do not

See Study on National legislation on Prostitution and the Trafficking in Women and Children, European Parliament, IPOL/C/FEMM/ST/2004-05, October 2005.

8

6

See Report of the Experts Group on Trafficking in Human Beings, European Commission, December 2004.

exist and the offers are false. However, in some cases the jobs are real, but the potential victims are not fully informed about the conditions of work and exploitation involved. As explained above, even if the potential victim may agree to work (illegally) in an offered job, including sex work, s/he would never agree to be abused, tortured, exploited, not paid or be a victim of other human rights violations.

The traffickers’ chain may start with a member of the family or a friend of the victim, man or woman, who would lure the victim into trafficking through a personal contact. There may also be recruiters and intermediaries, supported by transporters and employers who build up the chain of different services to get the victim from the place of recruitment to the place of final exploitation.

In many poor regions in developing countries or countries in transition, selling young children is another form of how the trafficking process begins.

Families who are in economic difficulties sell or lend one of their children to be taken to another place to work. If they sell the child, they will receive a given amount of money and the “property” of the person would be transferred to the trafficker. The family will then feel no responsibility towards the person they have sold/lent. On the contrary, they will have one mouth less to feed and the hopes that the child will send some money back home.

They are made to believe by the recruiters that the job that the child will perform involves no abuse.

There are millions of children in the world who have been sold or lent by their families in Asia, Africa and some countries in Eastern Europe, to end up in brothels, as child soldiers or soldiers’ sex slaves, fishing slaves, and forced domestic workers.

Normally their families do not denounce the system because they have been paid by the traffickers and they even reject the idea of receiving the child back if the child is rescued, because they have made a deal they honour or because they do not want to have to feed the person again.

Obviously, this system is based on traditional cultural practices of discriminating against children, particularly girls.

Services Traffickers rely on a vast illegal network of people who make the trafficking process possible. The different services that these people provide will ensure that the victim ends up in a given place and doing a given job where they will be exploited. All of these services are expensive and have to be paid for by the victim with free work from the moment s/he is put to work. Prices of the services vary and are fixed by traffickers.

The first service to be provided is documentation.

In the majority of cases, particularly when the victim crosses international borders through guarded posts, s/he would need a passport or an identity card. Counterfeit documentation has to be provided using falsified passports with the victims’ identity or legal stolen passports with someone else’s identity. The victim would receive the passport before crossing the border and will have to learn their new identity. That is, in many instances, the first occasion that a potential victim would realise that s/he is undertaking an illegal action.

Normally the victim accepts this and the trafficker takes the passport back after crossing the border.

The false passports are accompanied in many countries by false birth certificates to match the minimum legal age people can travel to other countries without parents’ consent. The forgery of these documents implies that a local forgery industry exists in each country of origin, which is often supported by the corruption of local authorities, particularly at the civil registry level. This industry produces for both the illegal migration and smuggling market and the trafficking market.

The most important part of the services chain is transportation. A trafficking victim would have to be transported from her/his home to the place of work and exploitation, normally far away from the former and usually in another country. This involves crossing international borders, which requires not only transportation and knowledge of the field, but also corrupt border officials at all borders crossed.

This is done by land, sea and air or a mixture of the three, depending on the distance to be covered.

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A Chinese victim destined for Canada may start by being moved by land from her home to a city, then by train to the capital where she would take a plane or a ship for the majority of the long trip. This can also take several steps and several months, with long stop-overs where the victims are forced to work in order to cover a part of their expenses. The first leg could be from Southern China to a West African country by plane, then a ship to Central America then to Canada by plane. There are many other possibilities such as claiming to be attending a family reunion in Canada with false family members, claiming to be long-term legal migrants (Koreans) or entering Canada with a false identity.

The transport system and the illegal border crossings are different in each country and depend on the victims’ countries of origin and the transporters’ and traffickers’ nationality. A woman from Moldova or Ukraine would enter the territory of the European Union by land through the uncontrolled “green border”. A Malian child would cross into the Ivory Coast or Togo by land through normal border posts with the complicity of corrupted border officials.

Other services Depending on the length of the trip, traffickers may offer lodging and safe houses for victims to hide in while they wait to cross the border. In this period, a victim can be sold one or more times to brothel owners and traffickers. The buyer will be the victim’s new owner and will impose new rules and new costs to be reimbursed by the victim. This “placement” by the old owner in new hands will also be charged as a service to the victim. During the trip, traffickers consider that they are “protecting” the victim; therefore this would be another service which will be charged. This is the period during which the trafficked person suffers the majority of human rights violations. Sexual

DEBT For services renderred by traffickers

abuse, rape, psychological and physical coercion by the traffickers, transporters, policemen and border guards may happen during this period. The objective is to psychologically eliminate any possibility of resistance from the trafficked person and to destroy his/her personality and transform them into a slave.

Debt/exploitation All services provided by traffickers, including the transportation costs, bribes to border guards, lodging, placement, protection, food, clothes, medicines, etc. received by the trafficked person are accounted as a debt that the victim has incurred with the traffickers and that he/she will have to pay with free work. The debt normally increases instead of decreasing due to the new expenditures the trafficked person incurs, such as food and lodging. Moreover, the payment of the original debt is never completed and will be increased if the victim is transferred from one trafficker to another, with the new owner increasing the debt based on the amount he/she has had to pay for the victim.

The debt should be paid with work. Sex workers would have to service a high number of clients per day (up to 20) without receiving remuneration for several months in order to make up for the debt. Apart from this overexploitation and abuse, during that period, the victim continues to be the object of violence from the traffickers and bodyguards. This is done in order to keep the victim’s spirit crushed and thus avoid any resistance against their exploitation.

This debt-coercion-exploitation relationship is the central nucleus of the machinery of trafficking in human beings that is used to achieve the final objective of trafficking: the financial gain of traffickers through the free exploitation of victims.

COERCION Use of physical and psychological abuse to eliminate resistance

EXPLOITATION Reimbursement of debt with free work GAIN for trafficker

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Exploitation The variety of exploitative forms of trafficking is immense. The most important one is sexual exploitation, which involves mainly women and children, but also an increasing number of men.

This can occur through prostitution and sex work in brothels, bars, streets, massage parlours, call girl and sex tourism agencies, etc. The network is controlled by traffickers of different nationalities but linked by the business. This is the most visible aspect of THB, as women and children are seen on the streets and in bars offering their services.

The public is often mistaken by what they see, because victims seem to be willing to do it. The debt-coercion-exploitation chain is not visible, particularly the coercion under which the victim is offering the services. That is what leads some observers, even local authorities, to think that there are “guilty” versus “innocent” victims. In reality, there is no such difference. All victims of trafficking are working under strong coercion and strict control by traffickers and, again, even if they had initially agreed they would work in the sex industry, they had never agreed to be the subject of physical and psychological abuse.

Other fields of exploitation Domestic servitude is another traditional, though less visible, form of exploitation of victims of trafficking and which, in many instances, does not receive enough public or government attention.

Women, children and men are recruited to work with families in other countries as domestic workers with (almost) no pay and application of labour standards. Exploitation of victims of trafficking can also happen in the form of forced labour in agriculture, the fishing industry, mining, construction, sweatshops, catering, etc. More and more often this form of exploitation is used because of its invisibility to the public eye.

Children are also increasingly recruited, kidnapped or sold to be child soldiers, and are the first to be put on the front line, or they are sold as sex slaves for soldiers. One even more dramatic form of trafficking involving mainly children is the removal and transplant of organs.

Criminality in all its forms, especially petty crimes and transporting and dealing drugs, is also a form in which trafficked people are exploited. Children are particularly used for this form of trafficking. This system introduces the victim of trafficking to illegal acts; therefore, they will not be seen as victims but perpetrators by local authorities and law enforcement officials and thus will not receive their help.

The use of trafficked children as beggars is well known to local authorities in many countries.

“Why don’t victims escape?”

This question is often asked, normally by the many who lack an understanding of the depth of the problem and its mechanisms.

A victim of trafficking would have few opportunities and options to escape the system, unless they had outside assistance, due to the mechanisms of domination s/he is submitted to.

On the one hand, victims are taken to places they are not familiar with, especially foreign countries.

They do not know the place, do not speak the language, they are aware they are illegal migrants and illegal workers, and they are undocumented because the traffickers would have taken from them the passport/IDs after crossing the border.

Furthermore, there are threats over their lives and those of their families at home (traffickers know exact addresses and whereabouts of family and loved ones) if they denounce the system or try to escape. They fear that they would be abused and deported by local authorities (in many cases local law enforcement officials are linked with traffickers and would return to them any escapee from the system), punishment will be waiting for them back home and their family will lose the little income they may be receiving from the victim.

In such a situation, it takes a lot of courage and determination to try to escape and denounce perpetrators. This is only possible if there is external support, protection and assistance and the assurance that the victim will not be re-victimised by the local authorities. Moreover, victims always have the hope that they will be able

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to pay their debt to the traffickers and be set free, becoming able to make their own money or gain the status of legal migrants in the host country.

There are however very few examples of victims who have managed to do so.

1.3. Causes of trafficking

secondary studies but her family would have no resources and she would see no employment opportunities in her country which would allow her to live a normal life. The collapse of the political and social security systems in this case would be the major factor exploited by criminal organisations trafficking victims.

■

Political and military conflicts, civil wars, military upheavals and other drastic political changes may cause destabilisation and displace some of the population. The new forces in power may persecute a certain part of the population because of their race, religion, political affiliation, or their cultural or tribal background. This would result in a situation where there is an institutional violation of human rights and where that sector of the population would be acutely vulnerable, and thus a situation which would become a fertile ground for traffickers to recruit their victims. Internally and internationally displaced people, refugee camps and other similar situations would be where recruiters would first act, offering their services to young women seeking to exit that situation and find a job in a different country or city.

■

Many social and cultural practices favour trafficking in human beings. The most important one being the marginalisation and subordination of women and gender discrimination. Patriarchal societies and cultures who discriminate against women would make women either escape from the system and look for other possibilities or facilitate the selling and trade of women as a normal act, due to the subordinated position of women in society. Many of these attitudes are backed up by traditional codes of conduct or by religious interpretations. The sale of young women and girls by their families would then be culturally accepted and traffickers would find no opposition to their activities. In many of these cases, the first traffickers are members of the woman’s family: the father, brother, boyfriend, husband or mother, who would negotiate the trade of the woman, against which she would not be able to oppose nor would she have anyone in her cultural environment to assist her.

Trafficking in human beings has multiple causes which act in different forms but also interlink as push and pull factors. For the sake of this analysis, causes of trafficking will be separated into two categories: causes in the countries of origin (push factors), and causes in the countries of destination (pull factors). Although they act together, it is useful to clarify each of the two sides of the problem in order to seek a separate remedy for them and assign responsibilities for solutions.

« Causes in countries of origin » ■

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The most common causes in all cases are poverty, a lack of opportunities and unemployment. Although they are three different factors, here they will be taken as one single one. Despite internationally accepted definitions of poverty (i.e. living on less than US$1 per day), poverty is relative to each country and region, and its social and economic environment. For the analysis of the causes of trafficking, poverty is linked with the other two factors. The majority of trafficking victims are not the poorest of the poor in their countries (with the exception of children sold by their impoverished families in order to get some income). In general, victims of THB have a certain level of education (mostly primary school, and in a reduced proportion secondary studies or higher). Obviously this has to be analysed in the context of each country of origin. A minor from the northern mountains of Thailand or Cambodia or from poor tribes in Mali or Togo would have almost no formal education and would come from a poor family background. That would be the main cause for his/her trafficking. A young woman from Moldova, Ukraine or Russia victim of THB would have completed

■

■

■

■

Entrusting children of poor families to more affluent friends or relatives is a social practice in many of the world’s poor regions. This results in the trade of children and their transportation to places where they will be forced to take part in activities against their will, being domestic workers, sex workers or slaves in different sectors. The child will never be recovered by their family and will remain a victim of traders.

Feminisation is a clear feature of international migration. Women now represent an important percentage of the world’s migrants, with or without the company of men, due to being heads of families, having access to greater travel facilities, having more information and the economic needs to satisfy at home.

However, women continue to be more vulnerable to physical and psychological abuse during their migration process in the hands of traffickers, smugglers and local law enforcers.

A key element is a lack of information, which plays a very important role. Potential victims of trafficking are ill informed or not informed at all about the realities of illegal migration in the hands of traffickers. Although this has improved during the last few years due to the effective work done by NGOs, some governments and intergovernmental organisations, many potential victims still believe that they could find a better and easier future in a different country through a fake position offered by traffickers. Lack of credible information on the realities of trafficking in human beings, on migration formalities, on travel facilities on labour legislation in different countries would push victims to accept the offers of traffickers. Moreover, the local conditions can be so negative that they push victims to try anyway, in spite of negative information collected through former victims.

Finally, the absence of appropriate antitrafficking legislation or its enforcement and corruption of local officials facilitates the work of traffickers

Causes in countries of destination (pull factors) ■

The main pull factor is the existing demand and market for inexpensive labour in receiving countries that can be satisfied through illegal migration, smuggling of migrants and trafficking in people. This is increased by the existence of unregulated labour sectors, such as domestic work and the sex industry, which do not allow the intervention of labour authorities. This market is dominated by criminal organisations providing a labour force for the profit of the entrepreneurs and the traffickers.

■

In the case of sex services, the sex industry in receiving countries represents a huge demand for cheap (and exotic) workers who, being illegal in the country of destination will have to be submissive. It is important to reiterate that the market and the demand exist in the country of destination and traffickers satisfy that demand. While the market does not specifically demand victims of trafficking, as that would be of no importance to the client, the demand is for a cheap and exotic labour force.

■

Finally, immigration policies in most of the traditional receiving countries have become increasingly restrictive, making it almost impossible for any legal migrant to legally work in those countries (in spite of the existing demand for certain services). Their only resort is therefore illegal migration, smuggling and trafficking, often at the cost of being victimised.

1.4. Consequences of trafficking In order to evaluate the real magnitude of this criminal activity, it is important to determine the consequences and the impact trafficking has on the people concerned, particularly the victims, and on the countries affected.

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Consequences for victims: ■

■

The physical and psychological coercion, as well as rape and sexual abuse have long-term consequences on victims who will be physically and psychologically affected for the rest of their lives.

■

The victims are forced to live in an illegal situation in their country of destination because they have no documentation; they are illegal immigrants and illegal workers.

■

Victims are treated as criminals by the national and local authorities because they are seen as breaking different national laws, such as the ones legislating migration, security, labour, prostitution, etc. What authorities do not normally see is that trafficked people are not criminals but victims of these laws.

■

■

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The most apparent consequence in the short and long term is the huge violation of the human rights of the trafficked people. Their right to freedom, their right to not suffer from threats and coercion, their right to movement and physical integrity are all abused and violated by traffickers.

Victims are in danger of death and grave illnesses, both physical and mental. Sexually transmitted diseases (HIV-AIDS and others) as well as psychological pathologies (depression, alcoholism, drug addiction) are present in a large proportion of victims of trafficking.

Victims have a difficult process of reintegrating in their countries of origin. This is basically due to the negative reaction they face from the local population due to either the work they have carried out or by their “failure” as migrants if they return having made no money abroad.

■

Countries affected will witness an increase in the number of illegal immigrants entering the country. Trafficking will create problems of national security in the countries affected, particularly countries of transit and destination.

The former is an example of porous and deficient border control, characterised either by a lack of professionalism and equipment or by corruption, which is fostered by traffickers.

■

Local populations will notice the lack of border and social controls. The unexplained increase in illegal foreigners in a country, doing illegal work, can create feelings of xenophobia among the local population, which presents dangers for democratic principles and human rights.

■

The presence of international criminal organisations in the countries will increase other criminal activities besides that of trafficking.

■

Finally, trafficking means, from the point of view of national legislation, a violation of different legislations (migration, human rights, labour and others).

1.5. Where does it happen?

Despite research carried out in recent years by international organisations (UNICEF, ILO, OSCE, IOM, UNESCO, amongst others) and some governments and research centres, the crime of trafficking continues to be under-reported and under-recorded. Data collection is extremely scarce and involves isolated cases. Governments of affected countries have not established a collection system for several reasons9: low priority given by governments to the crime of trafficking (compared with other crimes), lack of national legislation, and therefore of an agreed definition, reluctance to share data, and incompatible sources of data, etc.

See Developing Better Indicators of Human Trafficking, F. Laczko and M. Gramegna, The Brown Journal of World Affairs, Vol. X, Issue I, Summer/Fall 2003

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Consequences for the countries affected:

Trafficking affects in one way or anther most of the countries of the world. They can play a role as the victims’ county of origin, countries of transit or countries of destination. It is also usual for countries to play a multiple and changing role of origin, transit and destination.

THB normally happens from countries or regions affected by poverty, unemployment, a lack of opportunities and a violation of human rights to countries or regions relatively better off and where a market for trafficked victims exists. This does not mean that THB would only happen between poor and rich countries. It does also happen from very backward regions to relatively poor ones but with a market for this type of criminality. Girls from poor sectors of Nepal, or Bangladesh are trafficked to work as forced prostitutes in poor brothels of Mumbai, or Calcutta in India. Children from poor rural families in Mali are trafficked to the Ivory Coast to work in agriculture, or as slave soldiers in civil wars. But also young Romanian women with a medium level of education are trafficked to Italy, Germany or Canada to be prostitutes.

In between the countries of origin and of destination, and depending on the distance to cover, victims would stop in intermediate countries (transit) where they would have to stay for a certain indefinite period of time waiting for illegal border clearance and the availability of transporters.

Traders sell and buy victims in these transit places and will make money out of them through forced labour and exploitation in order to pay part of the expenses incurred to the traffickers. This period could vary from a few days to several months, depending on the market and the facilities for trafficking in each country.

It is almost impossible to find one country in the world that is not somehow affected by trafficking in people. In some countries, particularly the richer ones, the phenomenon is more visible, but international criminal organisations act all over the world and have a network of contacts that facilitate their tasks. THB can happen among neighbouring

countries or distant ones. The service provided by traffickers and their price varies accordingly.

Long-haul trafficking such as the trafficking of Chinese victims to the USA, Russians to Canada, Nigerians to Italy or Dominicans to Spain exists simultaneously to trafficking of Czechs to Germany, Mexicans to the USA, Bolivians to Argentina and Cambodians to Thailand, for example.

1.6. Who are the victims of trafficking?

Albeit obvious, the majority of the victims of trafficking are basically vulnerable people.

Vulnerability is relative to the situation of each person and the relationship with her/his environment. Age, gender, income and education seem to be the most important risk factors. The influence of a violent family, social, cultural or political environment are also very important. The two groups of factors, plus the presence of criminal organisations and the market demands, determine who is trafficked.

Women, children, people in a desperate situation and seeking employment and a better life or with little information and low education levels are easy prey for traffickers. This varies according to the region and depends on the market for trafficking, but the level of vulnerability is established by each society and its culture. Also, if a country has legislation and law enforcement agencies acting against trafficking, who the most vulnerable people are would be different to a country without such safeguards.

In many regions, trafficking can be categorised as a gender-based violence because most of the victims are women. It can also be seen as violence against children, due to the impact of trafficking on children in many regions such as West Africa and South East Asia.

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The above does not imply that there are no men who are victims of traffickers. An increasing number are trafficked for forced labour in many continents, including countries in the European Union. However, the majority of victims on all continents are women and children.

Moreover, systematic data collection and analysis on the magnitude, impact, causes and consequences of trafficking is still lacking and thus there is no clear picture of who is being trafficked. Some data collection initiatives, although incomplete, have been initiated over the last years. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the Balkans Stability Pact Task Force’s Regional Clearing Point and IOM have small data bases, mostly connected to their programmes, although they can be very valuable sources of information but are still too limited in numbers to serve a general use. Most of this information concerns Eastern European countries, where more than 80% of victims are females, 75% are less than 25 years of age, the majority (90%) are non-married, however, 25% of them have children, meaning that their status of single mother could be another factor of vulnerability.

In the case of most of the South Eastern European countries, with the exception of Albania and Kosovo, more than half of the victims have high school education or more, which suggests the idea that education as a factor should be analysed together with other elements of vulnerability.

Moreover, a certain level of education and information may favour contact between traffickers and victims as they have a desire to travel abroad and seek new opportunities.

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Unemployment is also an element that cannot be considered in isolation. According to the IOM data base, almost half of the Eastern European victims had some kind of employment before leaving their countries, either self-employed or in family businesses, but with very low incomes, which was the main cause for seeking opportunities in other countries. This element is one of the main motives for all migrants, legal or illegal. In any case, the family income level, despite possibilities for some employment, would be a strong push factor for most of the victims, who come from either very poor or poor family backgrounds.

Another risk and vulnerability factor is belonging to a minority group. This is evident not only in Eastern Europe (Roma people from Romania, Bulgaria and Albania) but also among minority tribes and groups in Western Africa and South East Asia, where mostly children are the victims of trafficking.

2. LEVELS OF ACTION

2

Levels of action

aking into account international conventions (see annexes) and knowledge, the national and local levels appear most relevant levels of actions, integrated into international cooperation schemes.

T

2.1. The importance of National Legal Instruments An appropriate and clear national anti-trafficking legislation is crucial for any action to punish traffickers and assist and protect victims. There are few good examples of legislation in the world that are precise and clear in conceptualisation and broadminded in the assistance and protection provided to trafficked people.

The important concept is not only the treatment of traffickers as criminals and trafficked people as victims of a crime whose human rights have to be protected, but also the necessity of creating the structures and providing resources for governmental and local institutions confronting trafficking in human beings and assisting its victims.

A good legislation should be the result of an integrated and multidisciplinary approach to the crime of trafficking human beings.

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Belgium Parliamentary Committee, 1995

One good example is the Belgian legislation. The law included in the Criminal Code on 13 th April 1995 that aims at the repression of trafficking in human beings was adopted, inter alia, because: ■ “the notion of trafficking had gone blurred over time” ■ “the concepts of immoral behaviour and prostitution do not cover all cases of trafficking in human beings and the same applies in the area of the law on the Aliens Act which does allow the possibility of suppressing the trafficking in human beings who have come into the country with legal papers”10

The law defines trafficking in human beings, makes this offence a punishable crime, reinforces the accessory penalties (deprival of the exercise of rights and obligations, closing down of venues and broader confiscation) and includes the necessary assistance and protection of victims and establishes the structure and the resources for those actions

The Federal Justice Department was assigned the task of ensuring the coherence of the actions taken within the various services in applying the governmental action plan and to maintain an overview of the initiatives. 11 This integrated approach includes assistance to victims and the creation of three specialised independent centres to provide socio-psychological and legal aid to victims. Also, a system of multidisciplinary controls, actions and investigations targets risk sectors, such as bars, exotic restaurants, cleaning services, textiles companies and agricultural companies etc.

Victim assistance provides the following: ■ A specific residence permit for an initial period of 45 days for victims of trafficking who wish to stay in Belgium and work together with the legal authorities and file a complaint or make statements against the exploiter. This permit can be renewed every six months ■ Assistance in specialised shelters for the relief and assistance of victims. Legislation and hard work created the three shelters, one per region, in close coordination with the police for the referral system and identification. They are coordinated by the centre for Equal Oppor tunities and Combating Racism that ensures smooth collaboration between the centres ■ Witness protection for those victims filing legal cases against traffickers in the form of total or partial protection of the identity of the witness, the provision of advice and suppor t, psychological aid, a secret address and a “contact” police officer Another good practice legislation is the one adopted by the UN Administration in the Province of Kosovo, former Yugoslavia. The United Nations

11

Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) promulgated Regulation No. 2001/4 on the prohibition of trafficking in people in Kosovo.

The Regulation adopts the definition in the UN Protocol on trafficking and establishes severe penalties, up to 20 years’ imprisonment for criminals engaging and participating in or organising trafficking in human beings and using or procuring sexual services of people in a situation of sexual exploitation. The Regulation provides for the confiscation of the property of traffickers and the closure of establishments.

On assistance to victims of trafficking, the Regulation provides for free interpretation services, free legal counsel, temporary safe housing, psychological, medical and social welfare assistance, the rule not to deport victims of trafficking and the evaluation of their possible refugee status.

A peculiar, but valuable piece of legislation on trafficking in human beings is the Italian one. It is actually one article (No. 18) included in the Immigration Law, Decree N. 286 of 25th July 1998 entitled “Dispositions about immigration and conditions of foreign people”, Chapter III, “Humanitarian Provisions”. In the case of victims of grave exploitation and coercion, and for the sake of their safety and to escape the criminal organisations and participate in a resettlement programme, the law provides for the delivery of a special permit for the victim to stay in Italy. The permit is valid for six months and can be renewed for one year or more. The permit under this article allows the victim access to welfare care, enrolment in studies and employment. The law provides the necessary financial resources for social integration and assistance programmes. An Inter-ministerial Commission for the implementation of Article 18 has been created, set up at the Department for Equal Opportunities of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, with the participation of the ministries of Equal Opportunities, Labour, Interior and Justice.

See Scope of Application of the Legislation on the Protection of Victims and Victim-Witnesses, Lieve Pellens, Federal Magistrate, Belgium, in Training Seminar in Drafting Legislation for the protection of Victims and victim-Witnesses of trafficking in human beings, Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, Sept. 2003

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2.2. The recognition of the local level as a key player

international scope, but which has important consequences at the local level. Like with other crimes, the importance of the local level in the fight against the trafficking of human beings has become more and more apparent.

The complexity of the phenomenon of the trafficking in human beings is particularly due to the fact that it is a problem which has an

Even if these texts are not enforceable, they reflect the new role played by the local level in the prevention and fight against the trafficking of human beings.

The member cities of the European Forum for Urban Safety12 have emphasised, through the Zaragoza Manifesto, the importance of local approaches. During the Zaragoza Conference, which took place in 2006, they formulated recommendations concerning the prevention and the fight against trafficking and organised crime13. “Cities are concerned with organised crime and the trafficking of human beings, phenomena that constitute a terrible violation of human rights and undermine the fundamental principles of democracy and the supremacy of the law.

It is at the local level that many aspects of organised crime occur, finding a favourable terrain in social exclusion and in the destruction of the human and social fabric in certain neighbourhoods. Life in these neighbourhoods comes progressively under the sway of criminal networks, serving as relays to entities that are sometimes international. Young people are recruited into these networks, families settle into the criminal way of life, and social policies are put into a no-win situation by such phenomena.

The responses to these situations must be total and not involve only the police. Furthermore, they must be sustainable and constitute policies adapted to each specific situation, based on a precise diagnostic.

Local authorities have a fundamental role to play as promoters of these complete policies, which aim at achieving social cohesion and the safety of all of their citizens.

Victims must be at the centre of local policies aimed at people trafficked for sexual motives or illegal work. As such, these people, regardless of their legal status, must benefit from services to which all victims of crime are entitled.

Public information on the nature of trafficking must be ensured, and cooperation with the country or city of origin must be developed. On this point, the association of cities for the definition and enactment of European Union policies is keenly desired. Cities support the fight against human trafficking waged by the Council of Europe with the double objective of making public opinion more aware of this problem and inciting all member States of the Council of Europe to ratify and sign the agreement on the fight against human trafficking�.

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12

European Forum for Urban Safety (EFUS) http://www.fesu.org

13

http://zaragoza2006.fesu.org

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities is also strongly involved in this field. In fact, within the Council of Europe’s vast campaign on the fight against the trafficking of human beings14, the Congress adopted, in May 2006, a resolution which notably called upon local authorities to sign the Declaration on the fight against the trafficking of human beings15. This text recalled that “it is at local level that the final stage of trafficking is played out and that local authorities have a fundamental role to play as guarantors of social cohesion and their citizen’s well-being and security”. With this text, the Mayors and the representatives of the 46 member states of the Council of Europe are trying to support the Council of Europe’s Campaign by making “the fight against the trafficking of human beings a top priority for our administrations and to implement as many of the proposals outlined in Congress Resolution 196 (2005) on the fight against trafficking in human beings and their sexual exploitation as possible, and in particular those aiming at: ■ The protection of victims, their rehabilitation and reintegration (such as the creation of resource centres/ support units at local level specialised in assistance to trafficked human beings and working in close co-operation with relevant non-governmental associations); ■ Provision of specialised training for all actors in this field with regard not only to identification and prevention of trafficking but also victim care; ■ Increased professional opportunities for women thus rendering them less vulnerable to trafficking”.

In conclusion, the Mayors and the representatives equally call upon the Heads of State and the governments to: ■ “sign and ratify the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings as soon as possible if they have not already done so; ■ launch and support national anti-trafficking campaigns in close co-operation with local and regional authorities to highlight awareness of this issue among those most at risk; ■ fully involve local and regional authorities in the drawing up and implementation of action plans decided at national level as they are directly affected by this phenomenon; ■ allocate the requisite competences and financial resources necessary for local and regional authorities to implement action and programmes at their level to combat trafficking and to provide assistance to its victims”.

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http://www.coe.int/t/dg2/trafficking/campaign/default_FR.asp

15

https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?Ref=RES(2006)210&Sector=secCongress&Language=lanEnglish&Ver= original& BackColorInternet=e0cee1&BackColorIntranet=e0cee1&BackColorLogged=FFC679

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3. TRANSLATING KNOWLEDGE INTO PRACTICES

3 Translating knowledge into practices

3.1. The need for an integrated and partnership-based approach on-governmental organisations, governments, local institutions and groups, intergovernmental organisations and the individuals involved now have more than ten years of experience in anti-trafficking activities. These actions have focused on prevention, assisting and protecting trafficked people, law enforcement and legal cooperation, depending on each institution’s priority and/or on the multiple elements which constitute trafficking in human beings and the interpretations of the different groups involved.

N

Trafficking has multiple implications and interpretations: it could be seen as a problem of organised crime, in which case the practices would then focus on the legislation necessary to punish traffickers and the actions of law enforcement agencies and the courts, meanwhile the social and economic aspects of trafficking, such as the needs of victims and their exploitation, would not be considered.

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Trafficking in people could also be regarded as a human rights issue, and therefore should focus on the need to protect and defend the rights of the victims. Indeed, trafficking is a violation of trafficked people’s human rights and an abuse of the rights to mental and physical integrity, life, security, dignity, freedom from slavery and slavery-like practices, torture, and health. Related anti-trafficking activities would focus on the protection of these rights.

Trafficking is also an issue of migration as all trafficked people are migrants and the majority are or become illegal immigrants. Although this is a very restricted view of trafficking in human beings, it is undeniable that migration plays an important role in the trafficking process. Strongly migrationoriented solutions and practices would concentrate only on the modification of migration policies in order to reduce illegal migration, and therefore trafficking, as well as to protect the rights of migrants.

Labour is an important component of trafficking as, at the end of the day, trafficked people start their journey by searching for a job opportunity in another country and end trapped in forced labour.

The forced labour concept 16 is crucial for the understanding of trafficking. Related solutions and practices would concentrate on the regulation of the labour sector where trafficked persons are forced to work as well as on respecting their labour rights and the criminalisation of exploitation under forced labour. Trade unions and labour inspectors should then be partners in the solutions.

Trafficking is also seen as a problem of gender discrimination due to the fact that most trafficked people are women who have escaped from societies where there are high levels of discrimination against women in terms of opportunities, income and social inclusion. As trafficked people, and due to their vulnerability, they are again victims of gender discrimination, being forced into prostitution or domestic work.

Others see trafficking as linked only to prostitution or sex work, and therefore solutions and practices should only focus on abolishing or regularising it, and punishing the clients, the pimps or the prostitutes. Obviously this perspective would link trafficking in human beings with social and moral values and would not deal with the major issues associated with this crime.

Finally, some see trafficking as an element of economic and social development, of the globalisation of the economy and of inequalities of wealth amongst the world’s countries. The solutions would tend to target some of the root causes of trafficking such as poverty, lack of opportunities and employment, education, etc.

All the above perspectives have to be taken into account for an evaluation of good practices to take place because each perspective would implement different and partial solutions.

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It is imperative to tackle trafficking in human beings through a holistic and integrated approach involving the different aspects and elements of trafficking As we will see throughout the description of the different actions within the fight against the trafficking of human beings, partnership approaches are indispensable.

Whether dealing with prevention, victim support or investigation, partnership approaches bring to the schemes carried out greater efficiency, coherence and considerable precision.

The cooperation between different groups at the local level is also apparent, especially between the police, local authorities, social services, health services, NGOs and other associations etc.

In all aspects of the fight against human trafficking, cooperation between people and groups in the countries of origin and the destination countries remains critical.

As we shall see in the section on raising awareness, partnerships between the public and private sectors can also be effective.

A multi-agency approach is essential in the investigation of trafficking. Input from different sectors will allow a greater understanding of the phenomenon and will maximise the potential for successful prosecution. The approach should be based in the countries of origin, transit and destination, and should involve, among others: ■ Police and border guards ■ Immigration Services ■ Customs ■ Prosecution Authorities ■ Foreign Ministries – embassies, consulates and visa sections ■ Interior and Justice Ministries – asylum directorates, residence permits

See International Labour Office’s related publications, such as: Human Trafficking and Labour Exploitation (October 2004); Forced Labour, Time for Action, and A Global Alliance Against Forced Labour (2005), and the Report of the European Commission’s Experts Group on Trafficking in Human Beings (Dec.2004) Trafficking in Human Beings – International knowledge and local practices

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■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Social Services – state benefits, housing allowances Health Ministries – Sexually Transmitted Diseases Clinics, prostitute support agencies Local authorities, and locally delivered public services Non-Governmental Organisations dealing with victims and sex workers Airlines and bus companies, travel agencies

A partnership-based approach is also very useful in the identification and care of victims A good example of coordination includes centralisation and top-down mechanisms with government involvement and cooperation agreements between the police and NGOs, but also a bottom-up approach and local ownership which complement the former. This requires a broad network dealing with institutions and individuals from the grass roots to the national level.

Associations such as Pag-asa (Brussels), Surya (Liege) and Payoke (Anvers), which form the “Belgian Model”, provide assistance to trafficking victims, they cooperate with the welcoming and accompanying of the victims with other bodies (the National Office for Foreigners, the police, the courts, social services etc.) as part of the fight against trafficking, but do not actually identify victims. A potential victim of trafficking may be detected during a police check, by a specialist lawyer, by social services, by another association or even in a detention centre. At this point, a magistrate gathers the facts together and examines the case as part of a larger framework. An official from the General Commission for Refugees and Stateless People or an official from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs listens to what the asylum seeker declares and tries to see whether there are indications that they are a victim of trafficking. It is from this moment onwards that the victim will be in the care of an association.

The referral procedure should have different steps in which government and non-governmental institutions participate:

Detection of victims (by police, NGOs, Hot lines, individuals, staff at consulates)

Central (Government) coordination agency

Assessment of victims’ medical, social and legal needs

Referral of victims to institutions for direct assistance

Coordination of victim protection and assistance

Regularisation of residence

Initiation of legal proceedings

Monitoring Social inclusion 24

Or Return to and reintegration in country of origin

According to the Danish Red Cross 17 good practices on trafficking can be assessed by following three types of criteria: logical (coherence), practical (efficiency) and subjective (how practices affect people, how they deal with the most vulnerable people, the direct and indirect effects. It should also include sustainability (the coherence of the practices in terms of both time and efficiency).

3.2. Main Actions in the fight against trafficking “Prevention of trafficking in human beings comprises a wide range of strategies which seek to reduce the risk of the crime occurring and its potential harmful effects on individuals and society.

These strategies have to be based on a broad, multidisciplinary knowledge of trafficking in human beings, its causes and counter trafficking best practices. At the same time, they have to be gender sensitive and integrate a human rights perspective�18 Prevention activities are varied and can be carried out in the countries of origin, transit and destination. They should be focused on the cultural values, practices and information levels of a society, on the victims or potential victims, on the traffickers, employers and clients of the victims, on institutional agents, the police, on NGOs, on social welfare, on labour unions, on teachers, or on families etc. That is why prevention should be tailored to the reality of each situation of trafficking and the values and information of the people involved. However, the potential victim remains the key subject of prevention.

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Prevention activities should tackle the main causes of trafficking. As explained in Chapter 1, among the most important root causes of trafficking are poverty, marginalisation, social exclusion, the lack of opportunities for potential victims (particularly women and children), humanitarian disasters, gender and ethnic discrimination and immigration policies. Obviously, national and international measures to modify and alleviate these circumstances and to foster sustainable economic and social development, poverty reduction, to counteract gender discrimination, to create educational as well as work opportunities would be of utmost importance to prevent trafficking in human beings. However, the above are longterm activities that would depend on many circumstances, apart from the political decision to carry them out in a globalised world where both countries and people have unequal opportunities.

As well as the above, there are other prevention actions which can be more immediately implemented and which have an important impact on the trafficking flow and on its victims and societies.

More importantly, local actors and civil society agents have a crucial role to play in their implementation, along with institutional agents from governments and the international community.

These prevention activities should be aimed at the different phases of the trafficking process and the places where it happens.

Taking into account what has been explained in chapter 1, there is an action (recruitment) in the place of origin, a means (travel) from the place of origin to the place of work and a purpose (exploitation), realised in either the place of transit or of destination.

Good Practices in Response to Trafficking in Human Beings, Cooperation Between Civil Society and Law Enforcement in Europe, Claudia Aradau, Danish Red Cross, 2005

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Report of the Experts Group on Trafficking in Human Beings, European Commission, December 2004

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People Involved In The Trafficking Process Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

RECRUITMENT (Country of origin) ■ Potential Victim ■ Recruiters/intermediaries ■ Traffickers ■ Police ■ Friends ■ Public in general ■ Family members ■ Civil societies

TRANSPORTATION

EXPLOITATION (Country of destination) ■ Victim ■ Employers ■ Traffickers ■ Clients ■ Public ■ Police ■ Media

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Victim Transporters Traffickers Police Border guards Public Media

The different people involved during the different phases would be the target of different prevention actions.

Prevention activities should act before the recruitment takes place and during the whole process of trafficking, including the place of final destination. It should target the victims and potential victims as well as other people, such as employers, clients, the public in general, and officials in governmental and non-governmental institutions.

3.2.1. Collecting information In order to prevent and to fight against a phenomenon such as trafficking people, a deep knowledge of its mechanisms, actors, particular causes and consequences should exist and be well known by those institutions and people who would carry out prevention activities. Therefore, from this point of view, research and studies on the specificities of trafficking are the first necessary prevention measures to be taken. Without research, study and systematic observation there is no possibility of having a clear picture of what we want to prevent and where we want to act.

19

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Despite the concern about trafficking in people for some years in most countries, clear information, based on scientific research is weak. No government can today provide accurate data on trafficking in human beings within its own borders. There have been attempts of practical-oriented studies by intergovernmental organisations (IOM, ILO, UNICEF, UNHCHR, etc.) to clarify the given situation in certain countries and regions, in order to design definitive projects and activities. However, from a scientific point of view, these attempts have not been rigorous. For example, there are great variations in the estimates of yearly worldwide victims of trafficking, ranging from 700,000 (US Government 19), to 1,200,000 by the EU, or 2 million from other sources.

As it has been said before, the main obstacle for compiling data and statistics is the illegality of the phenomenon, therefore it is invisible and difficult to measure. Trafficking involves victims who are vulnerable; therefore access

US Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report, 2005. http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/47255.pdf

to information is extremely difficult. There is some research on victims but almost none on traffickers.

Also, the lack of an agreement on a universally agreed definition until 2003 limited the reliability of studies.

Knowledge on trafficking is focused on the estimates of the magnitude of the crime; the routes used by traffickers; their recruitment techniques, the control mechanisms of victims and, above all, the legal framework.

As Liz Kelly20 describes it, there are many more areas where research on trafficking is needed, such as the links between trafficking and other forms of sexual exploitation connected with migration, such as those occurring in domestic service; the phenomenon of re-trafficking particularly after deportations; structures and organisation of trafficking networks; finances involved in trafficking; who are the customers and their role in trafficking; evaluation of legislation reforms, and, finally, a real evaluation of different countertrafficking programmes.

More research should be carried out on trafficking and forced labour other than in the sex industry; the impact of counter-trafficking policies, the

relation between regulation of migration and the level of human trafficking and on effective law enforcement strategies.

Prevention will not be effective if it is based on partial or inaccurate information.

Gathering information To fill the gap in reliable information, many NonGovernmental Organisations carry out on the ground research and data analysis.

Sharing information NGOs are important sources of information and intelligence through their on the ground contacts, as well as the hotlines and the shelters they manage. They may collect information that victims would be otherwise reluctant to provide to law enforcement agencies for different reasons.

The sharing and use of information should lead to the conclusion of NGO-law enforcement agency protocols on cooperation. Best practices indicate that NGOs and law enforcement agencies should conclude formal protocols (i.e. a memorandum of understanding) to set out the role and responsibilities of the two sides and to govern the exchange of intelligence and information.

The example of the International Women Rights Protection and Promotion Center “La Strada” 21, located in the Republic of Moldova.

In Moldavia, like in many countries, the government sees the fight against the trafficking of human beings as essential and urgent. However, the majority of the measures taken, often of a legal nature, were taken without sufficient knowledge of the issue and its complex workings. Even if the demand for data, exchanges of experiences and practices, research and studies is growing stronger and stronger, the information and resources currently available are extremely limited. That is why the Centre, whose main aim is to contribute to prevention and to the fight against human trafficking, is developing its analytical capabilities, is carrying out studies and has begun monitoring the trafficking situation in the Republic of Moldova as well in the adjoining countries and regions.

20

Liz Kelly, Conducting Research on Trafficking, Guidelines and Suggestions for Further Research, University of North London/ IOM, 2000.

21

http://www.lastrada.md/ Trafficking in Human Beings – International knowledge and local practices

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The safety of victims should be the ultimate responsibility of law enforcement officers and agreements should only be entered into with secure assistance organisations that have the capacity to provide the assistance the victims need.

The key elements to be covered by the protocols are: ■ A general joint statement of purpose and commitment to combat trafficking in human beings ■ The role and responsibilities of each partner. (law enforcement agency to investigate, NGO to provide assistance) The support agency may take responsibility for the provision of a counsellor or lawyer to be present at any interviews or court appearances involving the victim.

■ The protocol should include a declaration that the collection and exchange of the information concerned complies with the relevant data protection and confidentiality legislation.

■ The protocol should identify the people responsible for exchanging information. This may be either the incumbent of a position or a given individual.

■ The protocol should set out the terms of the information exchange, which should cover both personal data and thematic information.

■ Where personal data is to be exchanged, this should only be with the express written agreement of the individual victim.

The exchange of personal data and the issue of data protection is a difficult subject; some might call it a “minefield”. However, provided the individual concerned provides consent and there are no security implications, personal data can be exchanged.

For law enforcement agencies, there are concerns over the disclosure of personal and thematic data and the security skills of some of the nongovernmental organisations that operate in this field.

Law enforcement agencies must acknowledge the key role played by NGOs in contributing to a comprehensive, holistic response to the needs of trafficked victims which otherwise could not be provided. They must see that the nongovernmental sector is much better placed and skilled to fulfil this role. Furthermore, they must recognise that the non-governmental sector works directly with the victims and often receives more in-depth intelligence from them than investigators, hence the complementarities of both sectors.

NGOs must acknowledge and accept the unique position, mandate and responsibilities of law enforcement agencies to fight trafficking and support the victims. NGOs must understand their responsibility to pass intelligence to the law enforcement agencies in order to contribute to the counter-trafficking response in a cooperative manner.

In the gathering and analysis of data, as in the implementation of activities, the fight against trafficking must be carried out in a multi-agency and multi-disciplinary manner. Close co-operation between law enforcement agencies and nongovernmental organisations is a crucial aspect of this response.

3.2.2. Raising awareness There are obvious difficulties in the relationship between law enforcement agencies and nongovernmental sector. Sharing information creates suspicion between the two due to data protection and confidentiality. NGOs are sometimes concerned with their close contact with counter-trafficking investigators or law enforcement agencies as they see this contact as compromising their independence.

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Raising awareness is one important way of preventing trafficking by providing information, particularly to vulnerable people and groups (potential victims and clients), through the media.

This will influence public opinion and enhance the institutions’ and individuals’ preparation to prevent and combat trafficking adequately, as well as reach trafficked people with information on available services.

One of the most commonly used ways to raise awareness is information campaigns. These are attempts to communicate a given message to a target audience through different means and channels. The intention is that the audience receives, understands and embraces the content of the message. The final purpose of the information campaign is to change the behaviour of the target audience on a given subject.

Message

Audience Perception and Behaviour

Modified Behaviour

The purpose of the campaign is to provide credible information on the migration and human rights realities the victims may face if they decide to go to other countries illegally through the services of traffickers. The information that the campaign provides for the target audience is needed either because they do not know it at all, or only partially know it.

■ The campaign provides the potential migrant with the necessary material to make an informed decision about migrating.

■ The campaign should not be built up to tell the potential migrant what to do or not to do, but provide enough information for a balanced decision.

It is important to reiterate that traffickers profit from the gaps in information to carry out their crimes.

Different actors, such as governments, civil society organisations, local communities, international organisations, ethnic groups, neighbourhoods, etc., can implement a counter-trafficking information campaign, depending on its magnitude, coverage and targets.

Indeed, although information campaigns target a given group of people, they also make an impact on public opinion, its attitudes, perceptions and behaviour.

Institutions always decide to launch an information campaign to raise awareness when there is evidence that trafficking is occurring in a country or city and there are victims and traffickers known to either the population or the authorities. In the case of victims, it transpires that most of them took the decision to migrate on a false or incomplete information basis. Most of the victims are not totally aware of the legal, social and economic difficulties involved in their migration process. Even if they have information, they are not informed about the conditions of work they will be submitted to, including the violation of their human rights, coercion, violence and exploitation.

The main purpose of an information campaign is to provide credible and accurate information about the risks of illegal migration and trafficking, and the situation its victims find themselves in.

Although the ultimate aim of a campaign is to change the target group’s perception and behaviour, the campaign cannot be expected to achieve this alone, as people are used to hearing information (publicity and other forms). For instance, how much would have anti-smoking information campaigns alone modified the behaviour of smokers, if not accompanied by other measures, such as price control, legislation, etc.? In the same way, anti-trafficking information campaigns should be accompanied by measures such as assistance programmes for victims, programmes for the return and reintegration and training activities of government and local community officials.

Community development programmes and adoption of appropriate legislation should also run parallel to information campaigns. In summary, a potential victim should not only be told to take a well informed decision, but also the campaign should present some ways out and alternatives for him/her.

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Information campaign launch mechanisms The first step towards launching an information campaign is to establish its goals: ■ To raise awareness about trafficking and related human rights violations ■ To spread information about the dangers of trafficking ■ To change perceptions and attitudes towards victims ■ To promote alternatives to trafficking and illegal immigration The main expected outcomes of the campaign should then be that: ■ The target group is informed and can take an informed decision ■ Victims are perceived differently by the public and by institutions ■ Alternative options are promoted ■ Public opinion has been influenced Then:

Trafficking in human beings is reduced The first decision to make when planning an information campaign is to define its target group.

Information campaigns may vary according to their target audience. The target group may be potential victims of trafficking, but also the general public or a specific part of the public, such as schools, professionals of medicine, lawyers and judges, or, very importantly, clients of forced prostitution. The campaign should be specially tailored to each target group because their levels of information and specific needs are different.

Once the target group has been decided, evaluation and verification on the amount of information held by the target group, its perceptions and behaviour should be carried out. This is where the research component takes place.

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Research should always precede an information campaign in order to gather all necessary information about the target group, its preferred and more credible means of information and communication on general issues and specifically on migration and the content of the message to be conveyed.

Campaign-oriented research techniques should include qualitative research, such as in-depth interviews with a statistically representative number of members of the target group and the local community. Also the use of focus groups in order to test and validate information and messages to be conveyed is a useful method.

In the case of trafficking, research for information campaigns should provide accurate knowledge on the functioning and mechanisms of trafficking in the place where the campaign will be carried out and include the different actors of it, i.e., victims, traffickers, family members, friends, government officials, NGOs, local authorities, clients, employers, transporters, etc. Research will provide clarity on who are the potential victims, what is their perception about trafficking and illegal immigration, what methods the traffickers use and which is the best means of communication and information to convey a message to that target group.

Specifically, research will provide information on: ■ The socio-economic characteristics of the potential victims ■ Their perceptions of trafficking and illegal immigration ■ Their attitudes on migration and their intentions ■ Where they get their information on migration from ■ What is the information source they consider more credible and why ■ Which is the most credible type of message

Means

■

An information campaign can use different means of communication depending on the size of the target audience and the preferred means of communications of that audience, as reflected in the research results.

■

For a large audience (public in general, large community, ethnic group) mass media should be used. This could be done in the form of: ■ Public service announcements (PSA) through radio or TV ■ Radio or TV news and broadcasts ■ TV documentaries and films ■ Radio or TV discussions ■ Drama broadcasted through radio and TV ■ Newspaper articles or paid announcements ■ Brochures ■ E-mails ■ Posters and billboards ■ Stickers ■ Inserts in bus/train/plane tickets ■ Training/briefing of journalists For a smaller size audience (refugee or displaced people camp, a small ethnic community, schools or universities, law enforcement agencies, community leaders, a neighbourhood or rural community, professional guilds, etc.), apart from all the means above, the use of the following is advised: ■ Group discussions ■ Conferences and lectures ■ Training of future trainers ■ Training of leaders ■ Fact sheets ■ Objects to give away (T-shirts, caps, etc.)

■ Messages in text books ■ Drama representation ■ School role-plays

Telephone counselling hot-lines/green numbers/toll-free numbers to answer specific questions from an affected community. The number itself must be promoted by any of the above means.

Specific technical public section in municipalities, government institutions, trade unions, NGOs, etc., with easy access to the public where answers and advice are provided.

Local leaders, groups, authorities, NGOs, volunteers, trade unions, institutions and officials have a key role to play in the propagation of the campaigns because they know how to carry out local approaches. They can also lead training sessions in order to receive and circulate information.

All the above activities should be carried out in a given period of time and as an ongoing process. TV and radio campaigns should last between one and three months and should be repeated after a break of the same length of time. Printed announcements could last for a longer period, but must always be interrupted, evaluated and repeated.

Campaigns for smaller groups could be permanent, such as announcements in school textbooks, lectures, discussions, brochures, inserts in billings, etc.

Messages have to be CLEAR, SIMPLE AND CREDIBLE and use examples in order to meet the objectives of modifying the behaviour of the target audience.

Campaigns can be launched in the countries of origin as well as in the countries of transit and destination. The target group is different in each country.

In destination countries the target group is the general public, the clients and employers of victims, institutional agents and the victims themselves.

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The role of schools in spreading the information is crucial because this educates young people (who are potential victims, future clients and form part of the general public), on non-discrimination, gender respect and equality, principles of human rights and knowledge on migration regulations and possibilities.

campaign. This means the same questions asked to the same people before and after the campaign.

Evaluation

Also the impact of campaigns could be measured, in the longer term, through data collection and statistics. For example, by the number of illegal immigrants caught, the number of victims rescued, the number of traffickers caught, or the number of visa demands in given consulates.

Evaluating the impact of the campaign may be the most challenging phase. The most common method used is to evaluate the information, behaviour and attitudes towards trafficking and migration of the same sample group before and after the

The campaign’s success indicators would include the target group’s recollection of the messages of the campaign and changes in awareness and attitudes.

“Human beings – not for sale”: The Council of Europe’s Campaign for the fight against human trafficking22 The “Human beings – not for sale” campaign, launched in 2006, aims to make governments, MPs, local and regional authorities, NGOs and civil society aware of the scale of the problem of human trafficking in Europe.

For this campaign, the Council of Europe launched a new legal tool; “The Council of Europe Convention on the fight against the trafficking of human beings”.

In order to promote its fast ratification and the implementation of its actions on the ground, the campaign mainly revolves around regional seminars, which especially inform and make people aware of: ■ Guidelines for a coordinated fight against the trafficking of human beings in the Southern Caucasus ■ Non-legislative measures to prevent human trafficking and to increase victim protection ■ Encouraging the Russian Federation to sign and ratify the Council of Europe Convention People have also been trained with regard to the launch of a team of Romany women mediators working in the heart of communities in Albania, Moldova and Slovakia, who aim to inform and make families aware of human trafficking and the different networks and services that exist.

Making civil society and its citizens aware of the problem of human trafficking is equally an aim of this campaign. In order to achieve it, the Council of Europe has published various informative material. For example the large number of information brochures, posters and even calendars that have been handed out. A comic, aimed at young people who are potential victims of trafficking, has also been made. Finally, this campaign has been shown on the Euronews channel and a TV ad has also been launched.

22

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http://www.coe.int/t/dg2/trafficking/campaign/default_FR.asp

Example of Public/Private sector cooperation regarding preventing the trafficking and sexual exploitation of minors for the tourist industry23 This project developed in Bulgaria as a partnership between the Animus Association, the Bulgarian Child Protection Ministry, the Austrian NGO “Respect”, the Institute for Integrative Tourism and Development and The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – the Environmental and Economic activities Office.

The main aim of this project is to introduce a new approach to the fight against human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children. The aim is for the Bulgarian tourist and travelling industry to adopt and implement a Code of practice to protect children from sexual exploitation in tourism. The Bulgarian code was based on the “Code of practice for the protection of children from sexual exploitation in the travelling and tourism industry” from ECPAT International, which is supported by UNICEF and the World Tourism Organisation.

This project brought together representatives from the government, from NGOs and from the private sector. The code of practice contains 6 criteria which must all be implemented by anyone adopting the code: ■ Establish an ethical business policy against the commercial exploitation of children ■ Provide, initially and continually, staff training on the issue in Bulgaria and abroad ■ Introduce clauses in the contracts with travel agents and tourism companies, which ensure that the sexual exploitation of children is not supported ■ Inform travellers of the problem in brochures, catalogues, films shown during journeys, websites etc., developed by businesses or supplied by the partner organisations ■ Inform key organisations involved in protecting children from sexual exploitation, both in the country and abroad ■ Present annual reports to the Permanent Committee which is monitoring the code During the first phases of the project, the Code of practice was approved by the first representatives of the Bulgarian tourist industry, who were willing for this type of prevention measure to be introduced to their professional organisations (Bulgarian Travel Agents Association, Bulgarian Chamber of Tourism etc.).

During the second phase of the project, the signatories will be trained on how to implement the code. This training aims to make the process of implementing the code easier, but also achieve cooperation between NGOs, the government and the private sector on the issue of the fight against human trafficking.

Supported by the members, other participants will be invited to join the initiative. Information material will be printed in 4 languages and circulated amongst tourist and business travellers in order to make them aware of the sexual exploitation of children in the tourism industry.

23

http://www.animusassociation.org

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3.2.3. Training and capacity building These are key factors in a human trafficking prevention strategy. Their main objective is to create or enhance the technical capacity of all relevant actors for the implementation of the strategy to prevent and combat trafficking. The training of those who will participate in implementing or enforcing plans and legislation should accompany all national plans and legislation against trafficking.

The main difference between raising awareness and capacity building/training is that the latter addresses a smaller and more specialised audience and has the aim of enhancing their understanding of trafficking as well as providing the necessary tools to act, according to each person’s tasks and role.

■ On the one hand, training/capacity building would increase everyone’s understanding of trafficking in human beings, its mechanisms, actors, causes and consequences.

■ On the other, it provides the necessary tools to properly address these issues and respond to them.

However, there are four universal guidelines which should be used for training/capacity building for trafficking: ■ Firstly, all training/capacity building should be based on a human rights approach and raise awareness on anti-discrimination measures, gender equality, and the rights and needs of victims as well as on the special needs of children.

■ Secondly, training should foster cooperation and coordination amongst the different governmental, non-governmental, local and international institutions and actors as well as amongst the different national authorities. An understanding of each other’s roles, and cooperating and coordinating between them is the key to success for any countertrafficking strategy. This is particularly important between governmental (law enforcement) and non-governmental agencies and actors.

■ Thirdly, training should benefit everyone dealing with trafficking in human beings in different ways. This should include, inter alia:

Any national, regional or international strategy against trafficking in human beings should include the continual training of institutions and officials.

Therefore, training/capacity building involves a series of ongoing activities which enhance individuals’, groups’ or institutions’ capacity to act. This will also ensure that better services are provided for victims.

Training/capacity building should be planned according to the specificity of each country or region and each institution and actor. This means that there is no universal methodology and content for training, instead it should be tailored to the different situations and audiences.

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■

■

Front-line police personnel

■

Border control and migration officials

■

Police investigators

■

Judges and prosecutors

■

Lawyers

■

NGOs

■

Journalists

■

Physicians

■

Labour inspectors

■

Trade unions

■

School and university teachers

■

Students

■

Officials at Consulates

■

International military and police personnel

■ Social workers Finally, training should be designed and delivered jointly by a multidisciplinary and multi-institutional team, including nongovernmental, civil society and local community organisations. This would enhance the understanding of the relevance of each other’s roles.

Apart from a global understanding of the phenomenon of trafficking in human beings and the tools to act upon it, each group of actors should receive specific training. For instance, judges and prosecutors should understand their dual role to prosecute and convict criminals as well as to protect the victims and restore their rights. The same for law enforcement officials in terms of enforcing a given legislation and at the same time protecting the victims’ rights.

Journalists and the media in general should be trained to be aware of their important responsibility to convey an accurate and serious nondiscriminatory message to the public, to victims and to potential victims on the harsh realities of trafficking and the ways to combat it without using sexist and offensive messages.

Physicians, lawyers and other relevant professionals, as well as labour inspectors should be made aware of their role with regards to the re-victimisation of victims, i.e. how to avoid it and denounce it, as well as how to protect the victims and their rights.

In the case of international military and police personnel, training should happen at the same time that their institution enforces a strict code of conduct against anyone participating directly or indirectly in trafficking in human beings and profiting and exploitation its victims with or without the compliance of the perpetrators.

Training will not only impact on the institutions and individuals acquiring a better understanding and knowledge of trafficking in human beings and receiving tools to confront it, but also the actions carried out by those trained will improve and reform global and local strategies on the basis of a well implemented action and deeper practical knowledge of the trafficking reality, its victims, perpetrators and their new trends. This is the main reason to plan and implement training and capacity building as an ongoing process as it includes all new elements found in the practice of counter-trafficking actions. In this way, training becomes an ongoing mechanism to develop and improve a counter-trafficking strategy.

Training/CB for Relevant Actors

Counter Trafficking Strategy

Understanding of THB/Tools to Confront it

Action to Prevent/ Reduce/ Assist/Protect/ Punish

Training/Capacity building can be designed specifically taking into account the role played by each country or region in the trafficking process.

Countries of origin should focus their training on prevention activities, in particular on raising awareness amongst the public and potential victims, on border controls, on the rights of victims and on developing legislation. Countries of transit and destination should concentrate on training borders guards, on identifying victims, on protection and assistance, on client and employer awareness, on victims’ rights, on raising awareness amongst the general public, on developing legislation and on prosecution.

Apart from government institutions and officials, training should also target local actors at different levels according with the training needs of each.

■ The decision making level such as local authorities, mayors, local government officials, religious leaders and minorities’ leaders.

■ The level of implementation of decisions and legislation, such as front-line policemen, grass-roots non-governmental organisations, school teachers and educators.

■ Pressure groups, such as community or ethnic groups, sports centres, parents’ associations and churches.

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At the local level, there should be specific training/capacity building for local authorities in order not only so they can make well-informed decisions about local regulations, but also so they can better understand and detect trafficking in human beings and prevent, assist and protect victims of trafficking. These should include city registries, social welfare offices, temporary shelters and housing facilities etc.

A certain number of associations have therefore, often successfully, formed training programmes to meet the demand, by offering different types of courses aimed at different types of professionals.

The example of the Animus Association in Bulgaria24 Since 1996, Animus has made its training programme one of its priorities. Originally, this programme was developed as a way of introducing people to the association. The pluralistic approach was based on specific case studies and on the practical experience of professionals working in the association’s help and reintegration centre. In 2000, the training programme was restructured and renamed as the “Training Centre”. The classes and the programmes principally tackle three themes: the victim approach, community work and consultations.

The training programmes take place when required. Animus and the organisation asking for the training meet and together define the type of training they want and what issues it will deal with. A training team is formed and the length of the training course is decided upon depending on the themes chosen and on the size of the group. The training course takes place through interactive methods: presentations, work groups, role playing, case studies, hypothetical situations, discussions etc. Furthermore, the people attending the training course receive information on each theme dealt with. The centre’s training team is composed of 10 people: psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers etc.

Animus also organises education seminars and courses, based principally on the victim approach and which take place in several universities in Bulgaria.

The association also deals with the training and professional development of members if its team. This process is at the heart of the development of the association and the creation of the new programme.

Appropriate training is developed on the basis of the particularities of the different roles. There is training for: ■ The help and reintegration centre’s therapists ■ The social workers, the team from the clinic and volunteers at the crisis unit ■ The volunteers who operate the hot line

24

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http://www.animusassociation.org

3.2.4. Providing assistance to victims Identifying victims and their needs Identifying victims of trafficking is difficult and sensitive, but is the primary task at the beginning of the assistance and protection process. This is an essential step since trafficking can be easily confused with smuggling of migrants and other forms or illegal immigration. Victims often suffer from the consequences of a wrong or inexistent identification process and are mistakenly classified and treated as illegal immigrants rather than as the victims of serious crimes that they are.

It is important that genuine victims of trafficking are properly identified as such for the following reasons: ■ Trafficked victims are likely to have immediate and acute physical and psychological health needs that are characteristics of trafficking and for which they require medical and humanitarian treatment and assistance. The same needs are not normally found in cases involving smuggled victims or other illegal immigrants.

■ Proper identification and treatment of genuine victims prevents the violation of their human rights by law enforcement and other local agencies.

■ There are attempts by traffickers to infiltrate non-genuine victims into local support and assistance programmes in order to locate genuine victims who have either escaped or who may testify against them.

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Early measures to identify, locate and monitor suspected victims of trafficking are effective counter-trafficking tools because trafficking is a crime that to some degree is always visible, although the level of effectiveness of these measures will largely depend on whether victims are identified in the country of origin, transit or destination. Victim identification will always be most successful in the destination country because it is here where the exploitation phase of the crime is most visible.

In trafficking for sexual exploitation25 traffickers are bound by the commercial necessity of marketing their victims. Traffickers make sure that the victims are easily located by potential clients. Sex services offered through prostitution and its location have to be somehow advertised. Trafficked people openly wandering around on streets in well-known areas, or advertising through newspapers or Internet call girls, massage parlours, escorts, etc., could help.

Marketing publicly exposes trafficking and creates the visibility that exposes traffickers and their criminal activities, thus making them vulnerable.

This vulnerability of traffickers should be extensively used in order to locate, identify and rescue victims of trafficking. Multi-agency co-operation, involving agencies from law enforcement institutions to local authorities and NGOs, as well as the public in general, may help to implement monitoring measures. Monitoring will only be successful if the above agents and groups participate and act to look for victims.

On the contrary, in the case of trafficking for labour exploitation, it is very difficult to openly and easily detect forced labourers that are being exploited in the agricultural, fishing or other industries. Forced labourers exploited in sweatshops, in the catering industry or even being exploited for organ transplants will be visible if these areas are subject to focused inspection and monitoring of the administrations and staff working in it.

A blurred visibility is presented in the case of trafficking for domestic servitude. Since the exploitation of individual victims is exercised within the confines of a private residence and, moreover, the victims do not have the possibility to go out of those premises, it is very difficult to design and implement effective measures to monitor it, unless it is done through the monitoring of the activities of placement and employment agencies that recruit and place the domestic servants. Public awareness, vigilance and reporting can improve the detection and identification of these cases.

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Indicators of Trafficking to identify victims Since trafficking in human beings is a crime involving victims who are visible, the different methods adopted by traffickers to control those victims can make it somewhat difficult for social and government agents to identify a trafficking victim and a trafficking scenario.

The experiences of victims vary extensively and each victim may have a different experience, but, without exception, all of them have suffered the impact of that experience on their physical and mental health. However, very few victims have managed to escape alone from their traffickers and ask for help.

As explained earlier, all victims of trafficking are held captive through a system which includes fear, intimidation, and physical and mental abuse. They are instructed under threat by the traffickers not to talk about their situation, therefore questioning them while they carry out their activities would be fruitless. Normally they would not trust anybody and they would fear being reported to the traffickers if they speak or denounce the system.

However, there are some indicators that may assist local agencies in identifying the victims. These are normally representatives of law enforcement agencies, immigration services, local social welfare offices, non-governmental organisations and intergovernmental organisations, city councils and individuals.

Traffickers usually apply cruel treatment to the victims who can show signs of: Health-related ■ Visible physical signs of torture and cruelty, such as bruising, broken bones, wounds, burned skin, or other signs of physical violence ■ Untreated illnesses, even minor ones such as colds or coughs.

■ Malnutrition ■ Dehydration ■ Poor personal hygiene ■ Stress ■ Psychological disorders

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■ ■

Signs of drug and/or alcohol consumption Elusive behaviour

In terms of the victim’s conduct, other symptoms can be used to detect the condition of the person: Conduct-related ■ Shows fear at all moments, particularly under tense situations ■ When questioned will repeat a learnt story ■ Does not oppose verbal or psychological abuse ■ Does not have personal identification documents or has blurred photocopies ■ Does not have cash or access to money ■ Does not remain working in the same place for more than a few weeks ■ Speaks a foreign language ■ Meets with other foreigners in similar situations When questioned before the trip takes place, the victim would say that s/he: ■ Did not make their own travel arrangements and somebody (agent/agency/relative) was in charge.

■ Does not know the exact price paid for the travel.

■ Is aware that the purpose of travel is to work but does not know exactly in what type of work or where he/she will stay in the destination or transit country.

■ Does not have a contract with the place and nature of the work he/she will be doing. Does not have a contact person or only a name and an address in the country of destination.

■ Does not know the people he/she is travelling with and does not talk to anyone.

■ During travel may stay in hiding places or safe houses At the destination entry point, some evidence for identification, apart from those traditionally used by police and immigration officials, would be that s/he: ■ Does not exactly know where s/he is ■ Other people may be observing him/her from the distance ■ Gives uncertain responses to questions ■ Seems afraid ■ Shows signs of physical abuse

For the case of sex workers, when they have been identified after they have been put to work, s/he would have: ■ Signs of rape or sexual abuse ■ Sexually transmitted diseases ■ Limited contact with the outside world ■ Living in the work place or very near ■ Poor hygienic conditions ■ Under permanent supervision ■ Locked up with no or limited freedom of movement Not only street or brothel sex workers need to be identified, but so too do victims working in massage parlours, saunas, escort services, adult/sex stores, modelling studios, bars/strip clubs and private clubs.

Hotlines A large number of associations nowadays provide this service which has shown itself to be effective and usable on several levels.

As with the case of La Strada, a hotline is above all a source of information and assistance aimed at the victims of human trafficking. It’s a national and international line, confidential and useable 24/7.

Victims can call directly to talk about their situation and ask for help, but also parents or friends of victims of trafficking may phone from abroad and ask for help to get their child/friend out of the situation they’re in.

Hotlines are equally an important prevention tool.

In fact, they are also open to people wanting to receive information on migrating and the risks of

Street work

The example of the Italian NGO “On the Road”26 Working on the streets is a key activity for the Italian association “On the Road”. In fact, this allows the association to intervene in this issue since it is the streets (where prostitutes work) which is often the only place where you can come into contact with the victims and approach them. Faced with the issue of sexual exploitation, and with the women often in a difficult and illegal position, this type of activity is very important. These meetings, which principally occur to exchange information and to ensure the victim is in good health, are not seen by the women as judging, which allows them to gain the women’s confidence and therefore as a result, to see what their needs are and offer appropriate responses (legal aid, help to leave prostitution etc.).

Intercultural mediators take part in these street meetings. They are usually social workers originating from the same geographical zone or who speak the same language as the target group. They are therefore able to help the victims communicate with the helpers in the street and equally with social services or the health service.

Furthermore, these street units provide information on health services and social services to the target group which is directed to their needs.

Moreover, the street units try to find innovative ways to intervene, above all in the hidden and unknown world of “immersed” victims of trafficking who are used for sexual exploitation, which happens in “secret and invisible” places, such as in nightclubs, bars, private clubs massages parlours, saunas, sports centres, hotels and apartments.

26

http://www.ontheroadonlus.it/ Trafficking in Human Beings – International knowledge and local practices

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trafficking, such as people who have received offers and are preparing to go abroad for various reasons (work, studying, marriage, as tourists etc.) or people who want to go abroad but do not have definitive plans but need general information concerning the dangers and risks of the situation.

The person would have physical reactions such as pain, headaches, stomach pain, sweating, palpitations, loss of appetite, or psychological reactions such as shock, fear, disorientation, irritability, avoiding issues associated with trafficking-related trauma, self isolation, distrust, loss of control, panic, loss of interest and suicidal tendencies.

The interview process UNICEF 27 states that in situations where the age of the victim is uncertain and there are reasons to believe that the victim is a child, the presumption shall be that the victim is a child. Pending verification of the victim’s age, the victim will be treated as a child and will be accorded all special protection measures (stipulated in these guidelines).

The first response is the appointment of a Guardian. As soon as a child victim is identified, a guardian should be appointed to accompany the child throughout the entire process until a longterm solution in the best interests of the child has been identified and implemented. Whenever possible, the same person should be assigned to the child victim throughout the process.

Social services, or other appropriate institutions, shall establish a guardianship service to be implemented directly or through formally accredited organisation(s). In the case of child victims, the best interest of the child should be the paramount element of all the assistance provided.

As explained above, a victim of trafficking may have suffered psychological abuse in different forms. Common control tactics used by traffickers may include terrorising –persistent and relentless fear, lying and deceiving, maintaining unpredictable and uncontrollable conditions so trafficked people are not able to plan or anticipate events, eliminating all decisions making power, emotional manipulation especially in relation with the victim’s family and debt bondage. Each mechanism may be used in isolation from the others, but in the majority of cases they will be implemented together so as to create for the trafficked person a condition of actual or psychological imprisonment.

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Common reactions include resignation, submissiveness, a lack of adaptation to a new situation and keeping their situation as a secret as a self-defence mechanism. In this way, it is important to realise that during the identification stage, the victim would fear and mistrust anyone approaching her/him, particularly the police. These fears may be linked to threats by the traffickers and pimps against her and her family back home, or fear of going to prison. Basically she would not trust, a priori, any person or institution and she would be unable to make a sound judgment due to her trauma and its psychological consequences.

Therefore qualified people, who should create an appropriate environment for the interview, should carry out pre or post identification interviews of victims of trafficking. The first interview must build the trust and confidence of the victim, through a safe and protected atmosphere where s/he is NOT treated as a criminal but as a victim of criminals. She has to be told that she is under protection for her own security and that her rights and her health are the first concerns of the person interviewing her. If possible, all references to aspects causing her trauma should be avoided until confidence has been built.

The interview should be conducted in privacy for the sake of the confidentiality of the information, and the victim should agree beforehand to be interviewed. Showing respect for the victim and preserving her self esteem are crucial elements.

The main objective must to be to avoid harming and re-victimising the victim through the interview with questions and issues that will cause distress.

UNICEF, Guidelines for Protection of the rights of Children Victims of Trafficking, 2003

The best way to interview a victim is to let her first tell her story without interruption or clarifications by the interviewer, who at the end of the story will try to clarify issues through simple, direct, nonaffirmative questions.

Specifically, in the process of helping and protecting victims of trafficking, the human rights of the trafficked person shall be at the centre of all activities.

Victims shall not be detained, charged or prosecuted for the illegality of their entry into countries of transit and destination, or for their involvement in unlawful activities as such involvement was a direct consequence of their situation as trafficked people.

Local authorities and organisations shall ensure that trafficked people are protected from further exploitation and harm and have access to adequate physical and psychological assistance.

That assistance shall not be made conditional on the victims’ capacity or willingness to cooperate in legal processes against traffickers.

Local organisations will provide legal counsel and assistance to victims for the duration of any legal process against traffickers. During that time, victims shall be provided with residence permits by national and local authorities and with physical protection.

The privacy and identity of the victims should be protected so that measures to provide for the physical, psychological and social recovery of the trafficked person can take place, in coordination with local associations, NGOs and other civil society actors. In particular, this should include the provision of appropriate housing, counselling and information regarding the person’s legal rights, medical, psychological and material assistance and employment, and education and training opportunities.

28

In summary, the basic principles in dealing with victims’ identification and assistance are: ■ Do not harm them ■ Ensure their safety, privacy and comfort ■ Ensure their security and confidentiality ■ Provide them with information ■ Request informed consent At the heart of the Pag-asa association 28 , an admission interview forms the preliminary stage of an accompaniment process.

The most important criteria for Pag-Asa on whether to admit someone is: “Has the person ended up in this situation because they were a victim of human trafficking?

The admission interview has two aims. It allows the Pag-Asa intermediary to gather all the information on the victim’s situation that is told to him. Using this information, the team can take the decision to propose an accompaniment. Furthermore, the interview allows the first decisions to be taken to be analysed: residential or consultation accompaniment, important points to underline, etc.

The content of these interviews can vary considerably from one case to the other, but they always contain two elements: listening to the victim’s story and Pag-Asa offering help.

If the case has been reported by a police officer, it is generally clear that the person is a victim, in which case, it’s less important to make the victim repeat their story. Instead, it is more important to offer services to help them.

When the case arrives from other channels, or when the victim contacts the association directly, maintaining anonymity is very important. In fact, whoever is working with Pag-Asa must be able to evaluate whether it is a case of a victim of trafficking and whether consequently help should be provided.

http://www.guidesocial.be/pag-asa/page.php?page=1

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Accompaniment Programme Ideally, victim support would take the form of a personal accompaniment programme, put into practice by NGOs in the relevant areas and with the support of the local authorities.

Reception and direction The « Reception Centres» created by the association « On the Road » to carry out its work in the streets is an example of an accompaniment programme. These centres are meeting places where women who wish to escape from prostitution can meet social workers and street mediators to obtain free information, to receive health care, to build up a trusting relationship and to participate in workshops in different themes. Furthermore, other services are offered in the Reception Centres: information and advice on social and legal problems, relationship help and advice, career advice, and counsel about leaving prostitution and the violence and exploitation that it entails.

As part of a voluntary scheme, which the victim has agreed to take part in, the association launches an individual independence and social reintegration programme, which will notably cover housing and job opportunities, which are discussed below.

The first need is to offer the victim a stable and secure environment, which will lead to housing.

This is therefore the primary aim of the Pag-asa Reception Centre: to reception people in difficult situations and house them temporarily. Their security is ensured as the housing centre is at a secret address. During their stay, residents can contact a certain country and start thinking about the future.

The Reception Centre is an open establishment, where people have freedom of movement. This freedom is only limited to internal rules which are in the interests of security and the centre’s practical organisation.

Within its independence programmes, the On the Road association also provides housing.

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When a woman decides to leave prostitution, if she has housing and doesn’t require particular protection, her programme can be monitored from her home; if not she can be housed in different housing schemes: ■ Emergency housing (for a first short stay during which the victims information is verified and a first personal programme is developed) ■ Priority Treatment Housing (for stays of 2-3 months during which the programme develops as well as the process of regularisation) ■ Secondary Priority Treatment Housing (for stays of 2-3 months during which the advance stages of the programme are developed) ■ Independent Homes (houses where women can look for a job and their own house) Children are often cared for by families. In certain cases, women can also be housed in lodgings managed by specialist organisations in other regions (for example for security reasons or due to a lack of free space).

Then, whilst in the accompaniment stages, the associations provide a range of different types of support which are all indispensable in light of the women’s situation. For example: Psychological support is above all the main form of support offered to victims. For Pag-asa, as for many other associations, this support focuses principally on three aspects: helping victims overcome the situation that they lived in and the trauma that they endured, guiding them to take charge of their own lives and, in the best way possible develop a realistic plan with them for their future.

These can only be dealt with in small stages during regular interviews which will take place throughout the counselling period.

During the first few days, the victims also benefit from an important medical examination. In the majority of cases, the people welcomed in the centre go through a period, of varying lengths, where their health is at risk (sexually transmitted diseases, physical violence etc.)

Legal aid has shown itself to be equally necessary. The people taken into care often have little knowledge of the laws and procedures in the country that they are in. In certain cases, the victim is taken into care by the association after having escaped prosecution or at least having given evidence to the police. The legal aid continues throughout the process. In other cases, the victim has not been called upon to prosecute or bring evidence by the time they come into the care of the association, which means that they can be helped in their decision of whether or not to prosecute, in evaluating the advantages and disadvantages, and helping them get through a long court case.

Pag-asa also asks the victim if they would like a lawyer called. In order to promote the chances of success at the trial, victims are only asked after a period of observation and reflection. It is completely possible that the victim does not want to take part in a help programme, or has the intention of leaving it after a short spell. Pag-Asa can call upon its network of lawyers specialised on the trafficking of human beings.

Finally, administrational assistance has proved to be crucial. In fact, people in care in these types of centre are usually in an illegal situation, which moreover was one of the main ways their exploiters used to pressurise them. Administrative and legislative approaches relative to these situations vary from one country to another, but in every case, associations accompany and help the victims, whatever their desire, in all necessary steps.

Furthermore, it is also important that the people taken into care begin a process of re-entering society and reforming personal relationships. To help them throughout this process, the associations working in this area support and monitor the victims through activities such as creative workshops, expression workshops, visits etc.

When a victim wants to stay in the destination country, it is agreed that their legal status in the country in question will be approved as will the administrative measures.

The majority of victim support associations propose accompaniment and similar activities which aim to familiarise the victims with the culture and particularities of the country, with learning the language etc.

Evidently, integration and independence requires that victims gain financial independence. In the majority of cases, trafficked victims who have been able to escape state that it is practically impossible to return to their country of origin. Financial independence, and the social integration which comes with it, are therefore fundamentally important to allow them to stay in the destination country.

Careers advice and training are key elements of the accompaniment programmes.

However the job market has shown itself to be incapable of facilitating access to jobs and social integration for people who have experienced particular difficulties or personal grief. The situation becomes ever more complicated when dealing with immigrant women, and in particular illegal immigrant women who were formally prostitutes. It is this reality that the projects dealing with social and work integration for victims of human trafficking must face on a daily basis.

Such projects include the association “On the Road� which has developed a specific methodology for these people to find their place in the working world: Practical training in enterprises

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Job insertion through practical training in enterprises, On the road association29 An individual training programme has been created. The victim joins an enterprise for a period of between 2 and 6 months, during which the intern has the opportunity of experiencing a true work environment and taking part in business processes. The intern is supported by a psychologist and a tutor working for the association, and also a tutor working for the business. This placement has a specific agreement between the business and the association.

All of the costs are covered by the association’s projects (insurance and salary). The business meanwhile envisages hiring the intern permanently.

The experience shows that if the placement is successful for the intern, there is a good chance that at the end of the placement, the intern will be hired by this company or another, due to the skills they have acquired.

The team employed full time within the programme is composed of: ■ A psychologist, who follows the intern during her training, placement and whilst trying to find a job, by providing psychological help ■ A tutor, who is the main contact person and who is in contact with everyone involved in the programme. He is responsible for the choice of business, relations with the staff at the business and the different stages of the programme working correctly ■ A Placement Supervisor who overlooks the programme and develops activities in the local and national network ■ A tutor at the business who follows the integration of the intern into the working world, teaching her tasks and responsibilities and playing an intermediary role between the intern and the rest of the staff Since its launch in 1998, 42 women have taken part in the placement programme FPI of which 38 have successfully entered the working world, often within the business at which they did their placement, but also at other companies too. These different businesses represent the main production sectors of the local economy: the textile industry, the shoe industry, the food industry, the paper industry, but also the hotel sector, launderettes, hair dressers etc.

The high level of recruitment within the programme is the main success indicator for this model, of which the methodology reflects the needs of the different parties involved. The programme gives to the companies and to the women the opportunity to meet each other, to understand each other and to change – or eliminate – the large number of stereotypes that exist due to a poor knowledge of foreign cultures. In this context, work plays a positive role which will lead to the economic independence of a person who was previously marginalised from the labour market.

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http://www.ontheroadonlus.it/

Support to returning home and reintegration Helping victims return home voluntarily is equally part of support activities for victims of human trafficking.

In fact, in certain cases, when victims return home, voluntarily or not, they must be accompanied.

For the association La Strada Moldavia, this form of sending victims to their home country represents one of its priorities. The association’s mobile teams, of which we have already described their identification and assistance activities, are also very active in helping victims return to their countries of origin. After having managed to free a victim from their place of exploitation, a team from la Strada ensures their safety, their housing, that they have psychological

support and also medical treatment. They will then inform the victim of how they can return home if they want, and how they will help them obtain the necessary documents. When this is necessary, the victim is accompanied by a representative of La Strada on their return journey. The help does not end as soon as the victim returns to their home country. It is in fact necessary to continue with the psychological and moral as well as the medical treatment. La Strada will also help the victim reintegrate in their country, something which is not always as easy as it should be. As part of the post-return help, the association will for example help the victim finding housing, reintegrate in their family, legally advise them and also advice them in terms of their career and training.

“Return and Reintegration of Trafficked and Other Vulnerable Women and Children”30 This project, which has been run since 1996 by IOM31, in partnership with the relevant government agencies, NGOs and intergovernmental organisations, aims to help the return and reintegration of women and children who have been the victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation in 6 countries in the Mekong Region (Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and the Chinese province of Yunnan).

The general aim of this project is to break the vicious circle of the trafficking of human beings through systematic and viable cross border measures using an effective infrastructure which will allow the voluntary safe return and reintegration of victims of human trafficking. This will allow victims to safely get back their country, and with some assistance, reintegrate into their family, and more generally, into society so that they will not return to being a victim of trafficking.

In this respect, the launch of a network and the improvement of an institutional and multi-sector approach based on the deepening of cooperation between government agencies and NGOs, will transform this return and reintegration programme into a regional tool in the fight against the trafficking of human beings.

In the countries of origin, return and rehabilitation programmes offer medical and psychological services to the victims, as well as housing, education, advice, professional training, monitoring and ways to earn money.

In order to promote the launch of these programmes, a wide range of activities has been carried out.

Furthermore, the staff of government agencies and NGOs have been trained in order to improve their ability to manage the return of the victims, their rehabilitation and their reintegration. This multidisciplinary training dealt with social work, management and administration, psychological help for victims and their families, reintegration and the different services linked to it, health and hygiene, abuse, violence against women etc.

30

More information on http://www.ecpat.net/fr/CSEC/good_practices/reintegration_cambodia.asp

31

http://www.iom.int/jahia/jsp/index.jsp

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Transit, reception and re-establishment centres for children victims of human trafficking have been created. At a national level, a transit centre was created by the Department for Social Affairs. The centre’s team receives the children, carries out preliminary interviews and accompanies the children to reception centres. They also deal with family reunions and monitoring the progress of how the children are reintegrating. A reception centre has also been launched by a regional department for social affairs in order to provide the first psychological support for returning children and to begin the evaluation and family reunions. The reception centre then sends the children on to a coordination and documentation centre, where the appropriate government officials may be contacted, or to a long term recovery centre.

These long term recovery centres provide treatment and help for the children for who reintegrating back into their family is not yet possible. These centres, directed by NGOs, help with the children’s education and include schools. Two monitoring and support centres also help children who have been returned to their families. These centres offer the children advice and basic literacy lessons. They monitor children who have been returned to their families in order to prevent them ever being re-trafficked.

The strength of this project lays in its integrated character and partnership structure. It should also be noted that monitoring and evaluation takes place at the heart of the project. This project is also innovative as is promotes the participation and contribution of children who have been the victims of trafficking.

During the interviews, the children had the possibility to give their point of view on how they should be reintegrated into their families and communities. The project therefore deals with the question of returning and reintegrating victims through a holistic approach, with activities ranging from focusing on the victims’ physical recovery to long term training.

The examples of the work of various agencies and NGOs active in the field of the fight against trafficking in human beings have provided elements of good practices, which answer to the recommendations of international and national texts.

These cover ■ the identification of victims, through precise methodologies, ■ data gathering and sharing, with protocols to ensure an ethical and efficient character ■ analysis of information ■ raising awareness, through targeted information campaigns ■ training and capacity-building, which is case based, including training by peers and crossagency training

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T. Kroeger, J. Malkoc, B. Uhl, OSCE, 2004, op.cit

■ ■

personalised victim assistance, through tailored individual programmes social and economic inclusion, either in the country of origin or destination

To enshrine these practices into long-lasting policies, cooperative frameworks such as National Referral Mechanisms are to be encouraged.

Indeed, a National Referral Mechanism “is a cooperative framework through which state actors fulfil their obligations to protect and promote the human rights of trafficked people, coordinating their efforts in a strategic partnership with civil society”32 The NRM should provide guidance on victims’ identification, referral of victims to specialised agencies for shelter, protection and assistance and facilitate crime prosecution mechanisms.

ANNEX

Annex : Most relevant international instruments As it has previously been stated, the paramount issue in trafficking in human beings is human rights.

Trafficking constitutes a serious violation of human rights and demands a human rights based approach.

In this way, a key reference instrument should be the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948.

Although the Declaration does not specifically refer to trafficking in human beings, several of its articles are applicable to the current violation of trafficked people’s human rights. In this way, a quick reference to the Declaration and some of its most relevant articles which relate to trafficking in human beings will be useful in understanding the main international legal instrument that can be applied to trafficking at the international, national and local levels.

A. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 Article 3 “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person”.

Liberty and security of people is a key element in today’s human rights. Victims of trafficking lose their liberty and have no security.

Article 4 “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms”.

Slavery33 is what defines trafficking in people. That is why trafficking is also called “modern slavery” by many institutions. The victim is the property of a master, the trafficker, and will do free work for him.

Trade is also an integral part of the trafficking business. Victims are bought and sold to increase the traffickers’ gains.

Article 5 “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”.

Physical and psychological torture is the usual form of coercion exercised on victims to keep them under submission.

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For definition see 1.1.

Article 6 “Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law”.

Article 7 “All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination”.

Articles 6 and 7 state that a victim of trafficking should have recognition and protection by the law because of the treatment and the discrimination suffered.

Article 8 “Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.”

Finally, an issue that has been permanently claimed by different organisations, which is the remedy of the victims’ situation, including compensation for their suffering, was already established almost 60 years ago for victims of violations of human rights.

The Charter on Fundamental Rights of the European Union (2000) forbids torture, inhuman and degrading treatment (Article 4) and interdicts slavery and servitude, forced labour and trafficking in human beings (Article 5).

(Note: The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (2004) does not refer to forced labour or slavery, nor THB).

B. The UN Trafficking Protocol The most relevant international legal instrument dealing with trafficking in human beings, as expressed in Chapter 1, is the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in People, especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (2000).

The Protocol entered into force on 25th December 2003 and at present, 97 States have ratified it. Its purpose is to prevent and combat trafficking in people, to protect and assist its victims and to promote cooperation amongst states in order to meet these objectives.

As previously stated, a fundamental contribution of the Protocol is that it provides, for the first time, an nternationally accepted definition of trafficking in human beings.

The preamble of the Protocol states as its main objective: “Effective action to prevent and combat trafficking in people, especially women and children, requires a comprehensive international approach in the countries of origin, transit and destination that includes measures to prevent that trafficking, to punish the traffickers and to protect the victims of such trafficking, including by protecting their internationally recognised human rights.”

Article 2 of the general provisions of the Protocol sets the Statement of Purpose in more detail in a different light: (a) To prevent and combat trafficking in people, paying particular attention to women and children; (b) To protect and assist the victims of such trafficking with full respect of their human rights; and (c) To promote cooperation among State parties in order to meet those objectives.”

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For the local implementation of these objectives, appropriate legislation should be adopted on the three subjects. Prevention would require the implementation and application of labour standards and regulations, anti-gender discrimination, anti-violence legislation, legislation on parental responsibilities of minors as well as anti-trafficking laws. Protection of victims would require immigration and alien laws, humanitarian and protection of children legislation; the punishment of traffickers would demand legislation to criminalise trafficking and the creation of criminal offences.

The Protocol encourages States to adopt legislation and other measures to establish criminal offences against traffickers, trafficking, its organisers and its accomplices. Therefore, the Protocol is detailed but stops at the adoption and enforcement of national legislation to combat trafficking. It is important to underline that the Protocol assumes the participation of organised crime in the trafficking of people, whereas it is not always the case. Small businesses or groups can manage trafficking without the participation of criminal organisations. This is the case with families trafficking their children.

At the same time, the Protocol covers the assistance and protection of victims of trafficking. This includes on the one hand, protection of the privacy of the person, but also ensures that the national legal and administrative systems contain measures to provide the victims with information on court proceedings and their appropriate stages. It also implements the physical, psychological and social recovery of victims, in cooperation with non-governmental organisations, other relevant organisations and elements of civil society. This is particularly important for suitable housing, counselling and information, medical, psychological and material assistance, employment, training and education opportunities.

The Protocol urges States to endeavour to provide for the physical safety of victims whilst within their territory and to ensure that their legal system offers victims the possibility of obtaining compensation for damages suffered.

One big advance of the Protocol is made in terms of the status of victims, recommending the adoption of legislation to permit victims to remain in the territory of the destination country temporarily or permanently, on the basis of compassionate and humanitarian grounds.

Also, it obliges the victim’s country of origin to facilitate and accept, with due regards for the safety of that person, the voluntary return of the victim.

The Protocol fosters prevention of trafficking and cooperation with non-governmental organisations and other elements of civil society. Within these actions, staff training sessions, including law enforcement and information exchanges, are crucial.

In summary, on the legislation side, the Protocol serves as guidelines for different laws to be adopted by States. However, these should include other international conventions and standards, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on Violence against Women, the ILO Conventions on Forced Labour (No 29) and on the Worst Forms of Child labour (No 182).

C. The Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings This Convention, opened for signatures by Member States in May 2005, is the product of the reflection of the 46 member states of the Council of Europe on a European application of the Protocol and what it could be missing. Although European in its conception, this instrument gives clear and innovative guidelines for a global approach of trafficking in human beings that can be applied in different nonEuropean countries.

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On prevention, cooperation and other measures, the Convention urges States to take measures to establish or strengthen national co-ordination between the various bodies responsible for preventing and combating trafficking in human beings. Also each Party shall establish and/or strengthen effective policies and programmes to prevent trafficking in human beings, by such means as: research, information, raising awareness and education campaigns, social and economic initiatives and training programmes, in particular for people vulnerable to trafficking and for experts concerned with trafficking in human beings.

The Human Rights-based approach, gender mainstreaming and a child-sensitive approach in the development, implementation and assessment of all the policies and programmes is encouraged by the Convention.

The Convention includes migration in its deliberations and encourages member States to enable migration to take place legally.

On cooperation, it urges the involvement of non-governmental organisations, other relevant organisations and other elements of civil society committed to the prevention of trafficking in human beings and victim protection or assistance.

One important aspect are actions to discourage the demand including research on the best practices, methods and strategies, raising awareness of the responsibility and important role of the media and civil society in identifying the demand as one of the root causes of trafficking in human beings, target information campaigns, involving public authorities and policy makers, and preventive measures (including educational programmes for boys and girls at school, which stress the unacceptable nature of discrimination based on sex and its disastrous consequences, the importance of gender equality and the dignity and integrity of every human being.)

The Convention includes articles to protect and promote the rights of victims, guaranteeing gender equality. The first step is identifying and helping the victims, something to be done by people who are trained and qualified in preventing and combating trafficking in human beings.

On assistance to victims, the Convention includes (a) standards of living capable of ensuring their subsistence, through such measures as: appropriate and secure accommodation, psychological and material assistance, (b) access to emergency medical treatment, (c) translation and interpretation services, when appropriate, (d) counselling and information, in particular as regards their legal rights and the services available to them, in a language that they can understand, (e) assistance to enable their rights and interests to be presented and considered at appropriate stages of criminal proceedings against offenders, (f) access to education for children. The assistance to a victim should not be made conditional on his or her willingness to cooperate with law enforcement or judiciary on legal proceedings against traffickers.

It recommends a recovery and reflection period of at least 30 days, when there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person concerned is a victim. Such a period shall be sufficient for the person concerned to recover and escape the influence of traffickers and/or to take an informed decision on cooperating with the relevant authorities. During this period it shall not be possible to enforce any expulsion order against the trafficked person.

Residence permit: the competent authority should issue a renewable residence permit to victims if it considers that the victims’ stay is necessary owing to their personal situation; The right of victims to compensation and legal redress from the perpetrators is also included in the Convention.

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On repatriation and returning victims, the Convention establishes that the country of which a victim is a national or in which that person had the right of permanent residence at the time of entry into the territory of the receiving Party shall, with due regard for his or her rights, safety and dignity, facilitate and accept, his or her return without undue or unreasonable delay.

When one country returns a victim to another, such a return shall be with due regard for the rights, safety and dignity of that person and for the status of any legal proceedings related to the fact that the person is a victim, and shall preferably be voluntary. At the request of a receiving country, it can be verified whether the person is its national or had the right of permanent residence in its territory at the time of entry into the territory of the receiving Party.

Each country shall adopt such legislation or other measures in order to establish repatriation programmes, involving relevant national or international institutions and non-governmental organisations. These programmes aim at avoiding re-victimisation. Each Party should make its best effort to favour the reintegration of victims into the returning State’s society, including reintegration into the education system and the labour market, in particular through the acquisition and improvement of their professional skills. With regard to children, these programmes should include the right to education and measures to secure adequate care or receipt by the family or appropriate care structures.

Each State shall adopt such legislation or other measures as necessary to make available to victims, where appropriate in cooperation with any other Party concerned, contact information for structures that can assist them in the country where they are being returned to or repatriated, such as law enforcement offices, non-governmental organisations, legal professions able to provide counselling and social welfare agencies.

Child victims shall not be returned to a State, if there is indication, following a risk and security assessment, which such return would not be in the best interests of the child.

The Convention aims at promoting gender equality and using gender mainstreaming in the development, implementation and assessment of the measures.

On substantive criminal law, it proposes: ■ Criminalisation of trafficking in human beings ■ Criminalisation of the use of services of a victim ■ Criminalisation of acts relating to travel or identity documents (a) forging a travel or identity document; (b) procuring or providing such a document; (c) retaining, removing, concealing, damaging or destroying a travel or identity document of another person.

D. OSCE Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings In 2003, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe34 adopted a Plan of Action35 to combat trafficking in Human Beings. It provides participating States with a comprehensive toolkit to help them implement their commitments to combat trafficking in human beings, including a follow-up mechanism, which would also promote cooperation between individual participating States.

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34

Of which Canada and the United States are members

35

http://www.osce.org/press_rel/2003/pdf_documents/07-3447-pc1.pdf

The Plan of Action makes recommendations on investigations, law enforcement and prosecution, on preventing trafficking, on protection and assistance and on follow-up and coordination mechanisms.

On law enforcement, apart from the recommendation to adopt appropriate legislation against trafficking and establish criminal offences, it includes the confiscation of traffickers’ profits to be used for the benefit of victims in the form of a compensation fund. Such legislation, if adopted at a national level, could be used at the local level to create funds for victims and to finance non-governmental organisations that assist victims.

The second important recommendation on law enforcement for the local level is the establishment of special anti-trafficking units – comprising both women and men – with advanced training in investigating offences involving sexual assaults or involving children, in order to promote competence, professionalism and integrity.

Relevant as well for the local level is the recommendation to develop community-policing programmes to increase the level of trust between the police and the public in order to collect information on trafficking and to increase the willingness of victims to report the traffickers.

The Plan of Action encourages investigators and prosecutors to carry out investigations and prosecutions without relying solely on witness testimony, exploring alternative investigative strategies to avoid forcing the victims to testify.

Corruption of local officials should be targeted as a matter of priority. This should include strict disciplinary and criminal proceedings against law enforcement authorities found to be participating in corrupt practices related to trafficking in human beings.

The Plan of Action highlights the importance of the assistance and protection of witnesses and victims in the criminal justice system, encouraging participating States, at national and local levels, to provide protection for witnesses from potential retaliation or intimidation during criminal proceedings, as well as to ensure data protection and the victims’ right to privacy. The participation of local NGOs in the assistance and legal counselling of victims is highly encouraged.

On measures to prevent the trafficking of human beings, the Plan of Action makes some innovative recommendations for the national level. Firstly, on data collection, it recommends collecting separate data related to women, men and children victims of trafficking and to carry out targeted research to serve as a basis for the development of effective and well-targeted prevention measures.

For countries of destination, the Plan of Action recommends to implement measures to reduce the “invisibility of exploitation”, particularly through the work of a multi-agency programme of monitoring and control of labour markets, including the sex industry, addressing the problem of unprotected, informal and illegal labour, with a view to seeking a balance between the demand for inexpensive labour and the regulation of it. This is a typical case for intervention of local labour inspectors.

The Plan of Action recommends at the local, as well the national level, the promotion of measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of employment in order to ensure, on a basis of gender equality, the right to equal pay for equal work and the right to equality in employment opportunities.

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On protection and assistance, the Plan of Action reiterates the importance of establishing National Referral Mechanisms36 in coordination and strategic partnerships with civil society and other local actors working in this field. The Plan particularly recommends combining the efforts of law enforcement bodies, including above all: established anti-trafficking units and police at local level, officials of migration and border services, social protection units, medical institutions, and NGOs and other civil society institutions as the most relevant actors to be involved in National Referral Mechanisms activities.

Also, shelters, run by governmental bodies and NGOs or other civil society organisations to meet the needs of trafficked people, provide safety, access to independent advice and counselling in a language known to the victim, first-hand medical assistance and an opportunity for reflection after the trauma experienced. These shelters should be accessible to all victims of trafficking, regardless of their willingness to cooperate with authorities in investigations.

The countries of destination should also provide the victims with appropriate documentation to clarify their identity and status in the country and provide access to assistance, including voluntary repatriation to the country of origin, and their rehabilitation and reintegration.

E. United Nations Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking37 It is the most comprehensive international instrument on the human rights of trafficked people. It puts the human rights of trafficked people at the “centre of all efforts to prevent and combat trafficking and to protect, assist and provide redress to victims”. This approach coincides with the view expressed by the European Commission’s Expert Group on Trafficking in Human Beings38 that human rights should be considered a paramount issue within trafficking.

The Guidelines consider human rights relating to both the cause and consequence of trafficking in people, therefore, anti-trafficking measures should not adversely affect the human rights and dignity of trafficked people, migrants, displaced people, refugees and asylum seekers. One of the particular recommendations in this way is the establishment of (national and local) mechanisms to monitor the impact on human rights of anti-trafficking laws, policies, programmes and interventions. This role should be given to independent national human rights institutions with the participation of non-governmental organisations working with trafficked people.

The Guidelines recommends ensuring that trafficked people are not prosecuted for violations of immigration laws or for the activities they are involved in as a direct consequence of their situation as trafficked people. Therefore, trafficked people should not, in any circumstances, be held in immigration detention or other forms of custody.

36

“A National Referral Mechanism is a cooperative framework through which State actors fulfil their obligation to protect and promote the human rights of trafficked persons and coordinate their efforts in a strategic partnership with civil society”. See Kroeger, T. J. Malkoc and B.H: Uhl, National Referral Mechanisms Joining the Rights of Trafficked Persons. A Practical Handbook.

OSCE/ODIHR, Warsaw 2004, pp. 15-16

37

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR): Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, 2002(UN document E/2002/68/Add.1).

38

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Report, EC Experts Group on Trafficking in Human Beings, op.cit. page 137

As for the protection of trafficked people, the Guidelines recommend ensuring that they and associated people are effectively protected from harm, threats or intimidation. To this end, there should be no disclosure of the identity of trafficked people and their privacy should be respected and protected.

Non-governmental organisations should cooperate in the establishment and running of appropriate shelters for victims of trafficking.

Also, States, together with civil society organisations, should ensure that victims have an enforceable right to fair and adequate criminal, civil and administrative remedies, including rehabilitation.

F. International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Article 1 of CEDAW states: For the purposes of the present convention, the term: “discrimination against women” shall mean any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on the basis of the equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.

The CEDAW states parties: ■ shall take all appropriate measures: (a) To modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women; (b) To ensure that family education includes a proper understanding of maternity as a social function and the recognition of the common responsibility of men and women in the upbringing and development of their children, it being understood that the interest of the children is the primordial consideration in all cases. (Article 5) ■ Shall take all appropriate measures including legislation: ■ to suppress all forms of traffic of women and exploitation of prostitution of women. (Article 6)

G. Report of the Experts Group on Trafficking in Human Beings of the European Commission (December 2002) Although European in its context and mandate, the Report of the Experts Group has a global approach taking into account the realities of trafficking in human beings in the different regions of the world. It is a valuable and comprehensive analysis of trafficking and offers recommendations to prevent and combat it, as well as assist and protect its victims. Thus, the recommendations included in the Report are far-reaching and are able to be implemented in different countries.

There are several relevant recommendations in the Report for the use of responsible actors in cities and communities at the local level.

■ The first is the primary element of the violation of the trafficked people’s will and right to selfdetermination affecting their human dignity. From a human rights perspective, the main concern would be to combat the use of forced labour or services and slavery like practice, no matter how people arrive in these conditions (i.e. the mechanisms of trafficking): ■

Local levels should adopt the definition of trafficking in the UN Protocol as a working definition to be applied with all activities.

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■

There should be a criminalisation at the local level of forced sexual services

■

A human rights approach, including a child rights approach, should constitute the normative framework of policies and actions against trafficking. This should include the human rights impact assessment of all anti-trafficking measures taken locally.

■

All counter-trafficking strategies at the local level should aim at the empowerment, social inclusion, participation and self-organisation of the people affected.

■

To effectively address trafficking in human beings, a holistic and integrated approach is needed which builds on the respect and promotion of human rights as its fundament. Equal attention should be paid to the prosecution of traffickers and empowerment, protection and assistance for trafficked people.

■

The vast majority of trafficked victims are migrants who end up being abused and exploited in the informal, unregulated and unprotected sectors of the economy. Making the economy more informal has left informal sector workers more vulnerable to exploitative working practices and trafficking. The promotion of legal and managed migration together with standards-based working conditions has the potential to reduce trafficking by offering migrants a safe working environment where their human and labour rights will be respected.

■

In the case of trafficking for sexual exploitation, particularly prostitution, it is up to each State or province to establish the appropriate relevant legislation on prostitution. Should prostitution be regulated, tolerated or illegal, victims of forced sexual exploitation and trafficking should be protected by the law as victims of a crime, and the exploiters should be prosecuted as criminals.

■

Trafficked children should be protected according to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, in particular, with the principle of in the “best interest” of the child. Trafficked children should be treated as children first and foremost. All considerations related to immigration or crime control should be considered as secondary.

■

Cooperation is needed between governmental and non-governmental agencies at a local and national level to ensure the proper identification and referral of trafficked people and to ensure that they receive adequate assistance. This would include the establishment of cross sector and multidisciplinary teams, including local authorities as active partners in local action plans against criminality, establishing support services for victims, raising public awareness and setting up specific programmes for vulnerable groups.

■

Each country should establish national, provincial and local anti-trafficking networks including authorities as well as civil society representatives in order to confront trafficking in a comprehensive and coordinated manner, using the mandates and expertise of each in a cooperative effort.

■

Non-governmental organisations, as one of the main pillars of democratic development, should participate, together with government and local authorities, in the establishment and development of National Referral Mechanisms to establish guidelines for the identification and treatment of trafficked people and the mechanisms to refer trafficked people to specialised agencies for protection and assistance.

■

Trafficking in human beings can only be effectively addressed if accurate data is collected and research carried out on numbers involved, victims’ profiles, mechanisms, routes, causes and consequences. Their analysis should provide the understanding of the trafficking process necessary for action. Local communities and authorities, including academics, should cooperate in establishing a data collection system that could be shared with law enforcement agencies and other practitioners.

■

If there is an indication to suspect that a person might be a victim of trafficking, a reflection period should be granted of no less than three months in order to allow the person to recover and make an informed decision about her/his options i.e. criminal proceedings, compensation proceedings, receiving assistance, returning home etc.)

■

Following the reflection period, a temporary residence permit should be issued to identify trafficked people for a period of at least six months, renewable, for initiating legal charges against traffickers and participating in social assistance programmes. These should include safe and appropriate accommodation, counselling, health care, free legal assistance, education, vocational training and employment opportunities. The provision of all these services should be coordinated with NGOs.

■

Should a trafficked person decide to return to her/his home country, authorities in partnership with civil society organisations should develop voluntary and safe return programmes in countries of origin, to secure their safety and enable them to find viable means of existence, preventing re-victimisation.

■

Law enforcement institutions should create the necessary specialised structures to deal with trafficking in human beings. Adequate personnel and financial resources must be allocated. These structures must be able to develop pro-active, intelligence led investigative techniques without reliance on the testimony of victims.

■

Preventive and repressive anti-corruption strategies should form an integral part of any policy to prevent and combat trafficking among civil servants and the private sector.

Convicted traffickers should have their assets confiscated so they can be used for the benefit of victims of trafficking through a compensation fund. NGOs working with victims should also receive benefits from that fund.

H. Other references Slavery and labour exploitation Conventions ■ ■ ■

Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery 1926 – Article One International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 29 (Forced Labour Convention 1930) Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery 1956

International legal standards in respect of child trafficked victims ■ ■ ■

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child Annex II of The United Nations Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour 1999

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Bibliography and non-exhaustive list of online resources Aradau C., Good Practices in Response to Trafficking in Human Beings, Cooperation between Civil Society and Law Enforcement in Europe, Danish Red Cross, 2005 Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, 1926 Council of Europe, Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings, 2005 European Commission, Report of the Experts Group on Trafficking in Human Beings, 2004 European Parliament, Study on National legislation on Prostitution and the Trafficking in Women and Children, IPOL/C/FEMM/ST/2004-05, 2005.

International Labour Office’s related publications, such as: Human Trafficking and Labour Exploitation (October 2004); Forced Labour, Time for Action, and A Global Alliance Against Forced Labour (2005), and the Report of the European Commission’s Experts Group on Trafficking in Human Beings (Dec.2004) International Labour Organisation, Convention No. 29 concerning Forced Labour, 1930 International labour Organisation, Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, 1999 Kelly L., Conducting Research on Trafficking, Guidelines and Suggestions for Further Research, University of North London/IOM, 2000 Kroeger, T. J. Malkoc and B.H: Uhl, National Referral Mechanisms Joining the Rights of Trafficked Persons.

A Practical Handbook. OSCE/ODIHR, Warsaw 2004, pp. 15-16 Laczko F. and Gramegna M., Developing Better Indicators of Human Trafficking, The Brown Journal of World Affairs, Vol. X, Issue I, Summer/Fall 2003 Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings, 2003 Pellens L., Scope of Application of the Legislation on the Protection of Victims and Victim-Witnesses, in Training Seminar in Drafting Legislation for the protection of Victims and victim-Witnesses of trafficking in human beings, Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, Sept. 2003 58

UNICEF, Guidelines for Protection of the rights of Children Victims of Trafficking, 2003 United Nations, Annex II of The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, 2000 United Nations, Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 United Nations, Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, 1956 United Nations, The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in People, especially Women and Children, which supplements the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (2005) United Nations, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 United Nations, Division for the Advancement of Women, International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), 1979 United Nations, High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, 2002 (UN document E/2002/68/Add.1).

US Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report, 2005

Websites Animus Association – http://www.animusassociation.org Comité contre l’esclavage moderne – http://www.esclavagemoderne.org/ Dutch Foundation against Trafficking in Women, STV – http://www.fo-stvkennisnet.nl ECPAT International – http://www.ecpat.net/fr/index.asp European Forum for Urban Safety (EFUS) – http://www.fesu.org/index.php?id=50&L=0 European Union – http://europa.eu International Labour Organization (ILO) – http://www.ilo.org International Organization for Migration (IOM) – www.iom.int International Women Rights Protection and Promotion Center « La Strada » – http://www.lastrada.md On the Road Association – http://www.ontheroadonlus.it Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) – http://osce.org/ United Nations (UN) – www.un.org United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) – http://www.unicef.org United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) – http://www.unodc.org/unodc/index.html Victims of trafficking.org – http://victimsoftrafficking.esclavagemoderne.org/UK/index.html

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