A delegation of the Council of Europe's Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) carried out an evaluation visit to Spain from 8 to 12 June 2026, as part of the fourth evaluation round of the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.
This new evaluation round of monitoring the implementation of the Convention focuses on vulnerabilities to human trafficking and measures taken by States Parties to prevent them, detect and support vulnerable victims, and punish the offenders. This includes a focus on the use of information and communication technology (ICT), which brings structural changes to the way offenders operate and exacerbates existing vulnerabilities.
Prior to the visit, the Spanish authorities provided a reply to GRETA’s questionnaire for the fourth evaluation round. In addition to the new thematic focus, GRETA examined how the main recommendations made in its third evaluation report on Spain have been implemented.
During the visit, the GRETA delegation held meetings with Ms María del Puy Zatón Osés, National Rapporteur for Trafficking in Human Beings (as part of the State Secretary for Security), as well as officials from the Ministry of the Interior (including Policía Nacional, Guardia Civil and the Intelligence Centre against Terrorism and Organised Crime, CITCO), the Ministry of Equality, the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy (including the Social Security Inspection), the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, the Ministry of Youth and Children, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and the 2030 Agenda, the Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with Parliament, the National Prosecutor’s Office and the National Cybersecurity Institute (INCIBE). Meetings were also held with the General Council for the Judiciary and judges from the Supreme Court and the National Court. Further, consultations took place with members of the Office of the Spanish Ombudsperson.
The GRETA delegation held separate meetings with representatives of non-governmental organisations, the General Council of Spanish Lawyers, the Madrid Bar Association and lawyers representing victims of trafficking and persons with lived experience of human trafficking. The GRETA delegation also met officials of the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
In the course of the visit, the GRETA delegation travelled to the autonomous communities of Catalonia and the Canary Islands, where it held meetings with relevant officials and civil society representatives. In Barcelona, the visit involved meetings with staff responsible for the identification of presumed victims of trafficking among persons seeking asylum at El Prat Airport, staff of the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Science and psychiatrists from the transcultural psychiatry department of Vall d'Hebron Hospital.
In the course of the visit, the delegation visited a shelter for women victims of sexual exploitation and a shelter for girls victims of trafficking in Madrid, a day centre for women victims of human trafficking in Barcelona, as well as a shelter for women victims of trafficking and their children and a mobile outreach unit in Tenerife. Further, the delegation visited the Hoya Fría Immigration Removal Centre and the Temporary Assistance Centre for Migrants in Tenerife.
The visit was carried out by Ms Dorothea Czarnecki and Mr David Mancini, members of GRETA, who were accompanied by Ms Teresa Armengol de la Hoz and Ms Parvine Ghadami of the Secretariat of the Convention.
Following the visit, GRETA will prepare a draft report, which will be sent to the national authorities for comments. GRETA will subsequently adopt a final report which will be made public in the course of 2027.
