Back Publication of GRETA’s second report on Georgia

Milosz Maslanka / Shutterstock.com

Milosz Maslanka / Shutterstock.com

The Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) has published today its second evaluation report on Georgia. The report assesses developments since the publication of GRETA’s first evaluation report on Georgia in February 2012 as regards the implementation of the Council of Europe’s Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.

Since 2012, Georgia has made progress in further developing the legal framework to combat trafficking in human beings, collecting data and assisting vulnerable groups. However, more needs to be done to ensure timely identification of victims of trafficking, assist them and guarantee effective investigation and prosecution. These are the key conclusions of GRETA’s second evaluation report.

On a positive note, GRETA says that Georgia implemented a number of its previous recommendations. The Criminal Code was amended and a new chapter on child victims was introduced into the Law on Combating Trafficking. Further, foreign victims of human trafficking can now receive temporary residence permits both on the grounds of their co-operation in criminal proceedings and for humanitarian reasons. Special mobile groups were set up to detect and assist children in street situations, including in acquiring identity documents. GRETA also commends the setting up of a unified database on human trafficking and the efforts to train a variety of professionals and to raise general awareness on trafficking.

However, despite the progress achieved, some issues give rise to concern and require urgent action. GRETA notably urges the Georgian authorities to take further steps to ensure the timely identification of victims of trafficking, with a special focus on assisting child victims. GRETA also calls on the Georgian authorities to specifically define in the legislation the recovery and reflection period that should be granted to all possible victims of trafficking, regardless their co-operation with the police.

GRETA welcomes the increase in compensations granted to victims of trafficking from the state, but remains concerned by the absence of compensation from the perpetrators and urges the authorities to review the criminal and civil procedures regarding compensation and to ensure that traffickers’ assets are frozen and confiscated to secure compensation. The low number of prosecutions and convictions in trafficking cases is another cause for GRETA’s concern. The report stresses that it is important to ensure, where possible, that human trafficking charges are not re-qualified into other offences, which carry lighter penalties. Other recommendations concern the specialisation of investigators, prosecutors and judges to deal with human trafficking cases and the exclusion of human trafficking from the plea bargaining procedure.

GRETA also recommends introducing a mechanism of effective monitoring of private employment agencies and other intermediaries to ensure the authenticity of job offers they promote and prevent trafficking for the purposes of labour exploitation.

Strasbourg 03/06/2016
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