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 Sweden on 1-5 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 Swedish 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 Sweden have been implemented.
During the visit, the GRETA delegation met Ms Katarina Lundahl, State Secretary for Gender Equality, Ms Annika Thunborg, Acting Envoy for Combating Human Trafficking and Exploitation, Ms Janna Davidsson, National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings, and officials from the Swedish Gender Equality Agency, the Ministry of Justice, the Prosecution Authority, the Police Authority, the National Board of Institutional Care, the Work Environment Agency, the Migration Agency, the National Council for Crime Prevention, the County Administrative Board of Stockholm, and the Social Services. Furthermore, the delegation met Ms Juno Blom, the Ombudsman for Children.
In addition to holding meetings in Stockholm, GRETA’s delegation travelled to Malmö where it met representatives of the municipal social services, the border police dealing with human trafficking cases and the regional co-ordinators against prostitution and human trafficking.
Separate meetings were held with members of non-governmental organisations, lawyers representing victims of trafficking and persons with lived experience of human trafficking.
During the visit, GRETA visited a shelter for victims of human trafficking and a counselling centre for persons who have been trafficked for sexual purposes, both located in Stockholm, as well as a special residential home for young people in Södertälje.
The visit was carried out by Ms Antoaneta Vassileva, First Vice-President of GRETA, and Ms Svala Olafsdottir, member of GRETA, who were accompanied by Mr Mesut Bedirhanoglu of the Secretariat of the Convention.
Following the visit, GRETA will prepare a draft report, which will be sent to the Swedish authorities for comments. GRETA will subsequently adopt a final report which will be published in 2027.
