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10th anniversary of the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings

On 22 May 2018, in Strasbourg, the conference “Ten years of implementation of the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings: impact and challenges ahead”, organised by the Secretariat of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings in co-operation with the Croatian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, was held. Some 180 participants of the conference, including national anti-trafficking co-ordinators and rapporteurs, civil society representatives, survivors of human trafficking, representatives of international organisations, academia and business, examined the impact of the Council of Europe Anti-Trafficking Convention on State Parties’ law, policy and practice, and in particular on improving the situation and rights of victims of trafficking. At the same time, the conference was an occasion to analyse remaining gaps in the implementation of the Convention, new challenges and innovative ways to address them.

 

On 23 May 2018, in Strasbourg, a meeting of National Anti-Trafficking Co-ordinators and Rapporteurs, co-organised by the Secretariat of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings and the Office of the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, took place. The meeting gathered some 60 participants from 40 countries in the Council of Europe and OSCE regions, as well as Israel, which is an OSCE Partner for Co-operation. Participants exchanged on trends in trafficking in human beings, current challenges and ways to address them in order to foster the implementation of this Council of Europe Convention and relevant OSCE commitments.

On 8 June 2018, the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) published its second evaluation report on Sweden. In the report, GRETA welcomes the establishment of specialised anti-trafficking police units and the establishment of the National Support Programme which allows presumed victims of trafficking to receive assistance through the Swedish Society against Human Trafficking. In the report, GRETA urges the Swedish authorities to intensify their efforts to prevent and combat trafficking in children and to prevent unaccompanied and separated migrant and asylum-seeking children from going missing from care, including by timely appointment of guardians and adequate resourcing of the guardianship system, as well as reviewing the restrictions on family reunifications. Further, GRETA urges the police, labour inspectors and other relevant actors to adopt a more proactive approach and increase their work to identify potential victims of trafficking. Formal identification as a victim of trafficking and the provision of assistance should not be made conditional on the person’s co-operation in the investigation or the initiation of criminal proceedings. At the same time, GRETA urges the Swedish authorities, given the low number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions in cases of trafficking in human beings, to take measures to ensure that such offences are investigated and prosecuted effectively.

GRETA
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