(To be checked against delivery)

Speech by Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Deputy Secretary General

Side-Event on “Girl Child Victims of Trafficking” organised jointly by the Permanent Representation of San Marino to the United Nations and the Council of Europe on the occasion of the 51st Session of the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)

NEW YORK, 1 MARCH 2007

Chairperson
Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen

In practically every city across the world there are grim and sordid streets where young girls are forced into prostitution. As we speak, there are tens of thousands of predators surfing the internet in search of images depicting sexual abuse and violence against children. Across the world, there are children who have been sold to slavery. Some are labouring endless hours without pay in some dark and depressing sweatshop; others are forced to work seven days a week in glittering residences owned by people as rich as they are cruel and inhumane.

Worldwide, it is believed that at least 600,000 human beings are trafficked across international boarders each year, which makes one victim of trafficking every minute. Of these people, it is believed that more than 80 % are girls and women, and that 70 % of them were forced into some form of sexual servitude.

Trafficking in human beings is a horrible crime, and as every crime it violates the rule of law, but it does not escape the laws of economics. The existence and the volume of this modern form of slave trade is largely determined by the laws of supply and demand. Young girls are forced to sell their bodies because there are people who are ready to pay for them. Images of sexually exploited and tortured children are being put on the internet because there are people looking for them.

In the Council of Europe we have decided to put an end to this shameful practice which violates the most fundamental human rights. We examined the reasons why previous efforts have been largely ineffective, and came up with the following conclusions.

First, there is a general lack of awareness. While the public knows that this modern form of slavery exists, they are largely ignorant of the scale and the extent of the suffering which it imposes on its victims.

Second, most of the preventive measures focus on the countries of origin, trying to deal with the circumstances which make people, and especially young women, such an easy prey for traffickers. Do not get me wrong, this is very important, and programmes to deal with social, economic and political conditions in countries of origin are essential and can significantly reduce the supply of new victims. But they are bound to fail if nothing is done to stem the demand in the countries of destination.

Third, in the absence of preventive measures, the main focus in the countries of destination is on repression. Again, it is in itself crucially important, but the problem is that in many cases, the police is looking for the wrong people. While the traffickers are left to benefit from the enormous profits produced by the slave-trade, their victims – the slaves – are often treated as criminals. Sex slaves are accused of illegal prostitution; domestic slaves of illegal work, and most of them, of illegal immigration. They are arrested and often deported to their countries of origin, where they are likely to fall prey of the same traffickers who already sold them once. The vicious circle of crime and misery can start all over again. The human rights of the victims are violated by the criminals but also often ignored by the law. Left completely on their own, the odds for the victims to rebuild their lives are very slim.

It was against this background that the Council of Europe prepared a new Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, which builds on the provisions of the Palermo Protocol of the United Nations, but reinforces and expands the measures to fight human trafficking in several important respects. I would like here to pay tribute to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and, in particular, to my friend Gaby Vermot-Mangold, for the essential contributions made to the drafting and finalisation of the Convention. The underlying policy of the Convention is to reinforce the prevention of trafficking, strengthen the prosecution of traffickers and protect the human rights and human dignity of the victims.

The Convention provides for a list of very specific policy measures. The victims gain the right to medical treatment, counseling, information and legal representation, translation and interpretation services. They must benefit from a period of recovery and reflection of at least 30 days during which they cannot be expelled from the country. The possibility to obtain a resident permit is not subject to their agreement to co-operate with the police. The Convention includes a clause prohibiting the punishment of victims and sets standards for their safe return to their country of origin.

The Convention also contains a list of measures aimed at discouraging demand, which includes the obligation to prosecute persons who knowingly - to use an ugly euphemism - “use the services” of a victim of human trafficking.
Prevention is a key feature of our Convention. In order to make prevention effective, it requires that governments strengthen co-ordination between social services, police, migration, customs and judicial and administrative authorities. It also provides for reinforced training and awareness-raising amongst the law enforcement officials and the public at large.

The Convention also contains a monitoring mechanism to ensure that State Parties implement properly its provisions. This monitoring body composed of independent experts is called GRETA and will start functioning as soon as 10 States ratify the Convention.

The Convention applies to all forms of human trafficking and aims at protecting all categories of victims. However, because of substantial evidence suggesting that sexual abuse and trafficking are mainly perpetrated by adult men against women, and especially girls, the Convention contains specific provisions for children and mainstreams gender equality in its provisions.

As regards children and trafficking, the Convention requires to adopt specific preventive and protective measures, the guiding principle being the best interest of the child. The Convention asks countries to do the following:

First, draw up special preventive measures taking into account the vulnerability of children, and special measures to reduce the demand for child victims.

Second, develop procedures to identify victims of trafficking adapted to children and train personnel accordingly.

Third, issue resident permits for child victims in accordance with the best interest of the child.

Fourth, provide for child-friendly court proceedings.

Fifth, protect the private life and identity of child victims

Sixth, guarantee access to education for children victims of trafficking.

Seventh, avoid repatriation if there is an indication that the return would not be in the best interest of the child and ensure that repatriation programmes are specifically designed for children, including measures to secure adequate care by the family or appropriate structures.

Finally, governments are requested to reinforce measures and international co-operation in the search for missing people, in particular for missing children, if the information available leads them to believe that they may be victims of trafficking in human beings.

I will stop here by simply stressing that, with the Council of Europe Convention on Action against trafficking in Human Beings we have a potentially highly effective tool to eradicate this repulsive and tragic form of slavery. But there are two conditions which must be met before the Convention can be used to its full potential.

First, it must enter into force. Regrettably, two years after it has been opened for signature, the Convention has only been ratified by 4 countries, and we are still 6 ratifications short of the threshold enabling it to enter into force.

The second, and in the long-term certainly most important condition, is that the Convention provisions are implemented by the broadest possible number of countries. Trafficking in human beings is a global problem and therefore requires a global response. This is why the Council of Europe decided to open this convention also to non-member states, which means non-European countries. The more we are, the stronger we will be in protecting our children from slavery.
One of the main reasons for my coming here today was to speak to you about the Convention and call on you to make use of this tool we have designed to challenge this new form of slavery. In particular I call all States- member and non member States of the Council of Europe- to speed up the ratification of this Convention.

I should like to thank all panelists and all participants as well the co-organisers of this side-event, for your interest in this topic. I very much look forward to hearing from you the measures you suggest we take together to achieve abolition of trafficking in human beings.