In a report published today, the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) assesses progress made by Hungary in the implementation of the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. GRETA welcomes the establishment by the Ministry of Justice of new support centres for victims of crime, as well as new provisions introduced into the Criminal Procedure Code to improve the protection of witnesses and victims. GRETA further welcomes the extension of professional groups that can officially identify victims of trafficking, but calls on the Hungarian authorities to make further efforts to proactively identify victims, including among migrants and asylum seekers, and to strengthen labour inspections in at-risk sectors.
GRETA urges the Hungarian authorities to strengthen their efforts to prevent child trafficking, in particular by sensitising and training staff working with children and raising awareness of trafficking and online safety among children, including those in residential care institutions. GRETA also calls on Hungary to repeal legislation that imposes fines, and even prison sentences, for children engaged in prostitution and to consider such children as possible victims of trafficking rather than offenders.
The report also urges the authorities to provide proper assistance for trafficking victims, and to ensure that the assistance envisaged in law for victims is guaranteed in practice, regardless of their migration status. Legislation criminalising the promotion and facilitation of irregular migration should not be applied in a way that would prevent NGOs from assisting trafficking victims.
The report calls for proactive investigations of cases of human trafficking by law enforcement, including trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation. In this context, there is need for more training for police officers and prosecutors to ensure that human trafficking investigations or charges are not re-qualified into other offences which carry lighter penalties and deprive victims of access to protection, support and compensation.
According to the report, the Hungarian authorities should ensure that victims of trafficking are systematically informed of their right to legal aid and enabled to exercise their right to compensation, regardless of their nationality or immigration status, according to the report.
