In its 6th General Report, published today, the Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) highlights important gaps in the prevention of trafficking in children and in the identification and protection of child victims of trafficking.
The report shows that 4,361 children were identified as victims of trafficking in just 12 European countries between 2012 and 2015. On average, children represent a quarter of the identified victims of human trafficking, but there are important variations between countries. Children are being trafficked transnationally, as well as internally, for different forms of exploitation (sexual exploitation, forced labour, domestic servitude, forced begging, forced criminal activities or forced marriage).
GRETA President Siobhán Mullally said: “States parties to the Council of Europe Anti-Trafficking Convention must create a protective environment, so as to make children less vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation. Children not registered at birth, children from disadvantaged communities and unaccompanied or separated children are particularly vulnerable to trafficking. Many child victims of trafficking are not detected and do not receive protection due to gaps in the identification procedures, failure to appoint legal guardians, inadequate resourcing of child protection systems, and lack of appropriate and secure accommodation.”
GRETA expresses concern that significant numbers of unaccompanied children go missing shortly after being placed in reception centres, which exposes them to further risks of trafficking and exploitation.
Examples of good practice from different countries are also outlined in the report. These include targeted awareness-raising projects, mobile units set up to detect vulnerable children and specialised centres supporting child victims of trafficking.
The annual report summarises GRETA’s monitoring work over the last year. It also gives examples of positive changes which the Council of Europe Anti-Trafficking Convention has helped to bring about.
Link to Council of Europe portal news item (Deutsch, Italiano, Русский)
