Chairperson of the OSCE Permanent Council Ambassador Igli Hasani (l) and the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator on Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings Valiant Richey​ address the closing of the 20th Alliance Conference, Vienna, 22 July 2020. (OSCE/Micky Kroell).

20^th OSCE Alliance Conference against Trafficking in Persons conference closes with a call to all 57 participating States to reverse the declining number of human trafficking prosecutions and triple the number of prosecutions for this crime within the next three years.

The three-day 20^th Alliance Conference against Trafficking in Persons conference closed on 22 July last, with over 700 registered participants from almost every OSCE participating State and record numbers of online viewers, it was the largest Alliance Conference ever.

During the three-day discussion involving State representatives, victims of trafficking, international and non-governmental organizations and academia, persistent challenges as well as a number of good policies and promising practices were highlighted. These included the importance of specialized anti-trafficking units and multi-agency co-operation to build better cases, as well as financial investigations to seize traffickers’ profits and provide compensation to victims. Moreover, the use of a victim-centred and trauma-informed approach by the criminal justice system was underlined as fundamental in ensuring victims’ rights throughout the recovery and reintegration process, and crucial to achieving effective prosecutions.

The Conference closed with a call to reverse the alarming fall in the number of prosecutions for human trafficking in recent years and a target for each of the Organization’s 57 participating States to triple the number of prosecutions for this crime within the next three years.

In his closing remarks, Special Representative Richey stated “Too many victims go without any kind of justice, while traffickers revel in their profits.” Urging OSCE participating States to reverse the declining number of human trafficking prosecutions, he said: “Prosecuting traffickers alone is not the end of human trafficking, but it is a crucial step toward ending it. We need to replace the current culture of impunity with a culture of justice.” He called on OSCE participating States “to set a concrete goal of tripling the number of prosecutions within the next three years.” To achieve that, Richey reiterated that his office was ready to support anti-trafficking authorities in designing and implementing effective strategies to prosecute traffickers and deliver justice to more victims.

Chairperson of the OSCE Permanent Council Ambassador Hasani described impunity as an “an open wound in our society” and hoped that “conversations like the one we have had these three days can help us move in the right direction and work to close that wound.” He then launched a “renewed push to increase the number and improve the quality of prosecutions and to implement the existing commitments we have.” In closing, he endorsed the Special representative’s “strong call to change the current state of affairs, end impunity and reinvigorate our effort to eradicate human trafficking.”

In recalling the main highlights and recommendations emerging from the Conference, Ambassador Hasani and Special Representative Richey underlined that “none of those policies will be effective without political will. We must want to improve. We must carry with us the voices of those who endured human trafficking, honour their courage in coming forward, and take action today.”

Prosecute human traffickers and deliver justice to victims: 20^th OSCE Alliance Conference against Trafficking in Persons (20 -22 July 2020) calls for an end to impunity.

Valiant Richey, OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings, addressing the 20th OSCE Alliance Conference against Trafficking in Persons, Vienna, 20 July 2020. (OSCE/Micky Kroell).

Identifying effective ways to improve the prosecution of human traffickers was the focus of the 20^th high-level OSCE Alliance Conference against Trafficking in Persons, which opened 20 July 2020 in Vienna.

The conference’s theme acknowledged that while many countries have legislation and action plans to combat human trafficking, impunity remains widespread across the world and in the OSCE region. It is estimated that there are about 25 million victims of human trafficking globally. According to the latest reports, in 2019 only a little more than 11,000 traffickers were prosecuted – roughly one prosecution for every 2,154 victims.

Against this backdrop of declining rates of prosecution in recent years, officials opening the conference called for action and investment in the area of prosecution.

“It is a drop in the ocean”, said OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings Valiant Richey, commenting on the number of prosecutions compared to the estimated number of victims. “The current rate of prosecution means most traffickers never spend a day in a courthouse, let alone a prison cell. This needs to change. Countering impunity and establishing a strong rule of law must be a fundamental cornerstone in the fight against trafficking in human beings.”

The meeting opened with a video message from Ms. Coco Berthmann, a survivor of human trafficking, and Founder and President of the Coco Berthmann Scholarship Fund, who said that “perpetrators need to understand that their actions and crimes will be punished to the full extent of the law.” She urged Conference participants to take action.

Sandër Lleshaj, Minister of Interior of Albania, addressing the conference remotely from Tirana, urged participants to recognize that “confiscation of property, revenue and assets generated by or used for criminal activities remains a crucial strategy. Confiscation directly discourages criminals and can be instrumental to compensate victims and support their rehabilitation”.

Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime Ghada Waly reminded participants that “rising poverty and fewer opportunities in the COVID-19 economic downturn threaten to leave many more people at the mercy of human traffickers. Governments need to step up action to prevent exploitation in the COVID-19 crisis, to identify and support trafficking victims, and bring perpetrators to justice.”

Katarzyna Gardapkhadze, First Deputy Director at the OSCE Office of the Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, described human trafficking as a “highly-gendered crime, with low rates of identifications, and even lower of prosecutions and convictions”, and urged participants “to systematically include survivors’ voices into policy discussions and development.”

In a video message, Tanzila Narbaeva, Chairperson of the Senate of the Parliament of Uzbekistan, addressed participants on the role of the judiciary: “The role of the Supreme Courts is key to ensure consistency in jurisprudence and the correct understanding and interpretation of anti-trafficking legislation by first instance and appellate judges. Special attention should be paid to training the judiciary and law enforcement officials.”

Joining from Brussels, Olivier Onidi, Deputy Director General for Migration and Home Affairs at the European Commission and acting EU Anti-trafficking Co-ordinator said: “To counter impunity towards the eradication of this crime and to protect people from becoming victims, we must use all available means to hold perpetrators accountable: from following the money to ensure that the crime does not pay, to making best use of technology and implementing our laws.”

For three days, judges, investigators, prosecutors, law and policy-makers, experts and NGO representatives from across the OSCE region met to discuss challenges and opportunities to enhance the investigation and prosecution of human trafficking and discuss linkages between the prosecution of offenders and the protection of victims before, during and after criminal proceedings. The conference will culminate in recommendations from across the OSCE region on how to make prosecution a more utilized and effective tool in combating human trafficking.

A report on these recommendations will be published in due course.

UN announce the appointment of a new Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons.

Congratulations to Professor Siobhán Mullally, Director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights at NUI Galway, Ireland, on her appointment as UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, especially women and children.

A leading academic on human rights law, Professor Mullally will be responsible for taking action on human rights violations committed against trafficked people – as well as situations in which there has been a failure to protect human rights or to take preventative action.

Professor Mullaly was previously President of the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, (GRETA),  trafficking monitoring body and is a member of the Hague international court of justice.

She also previously served as a Chairperson of the Irish Refugee Council before being appointed  Commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (2014- 2019). Professor Mullally also served  as a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

Join Mary Ward JPIC Webinar Friday 24 July 2020 @ 11:30 CEST (10:30 UK time).

Committed to the cause: Working on the frontlines, to end human trafficking.

To join the webinar via Zoom:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84605830116?pwd=SGorTDN1c3FVNkZNeXp2dGdreVpBdz09

Meeting ID: 846 0583 0116

Password: 771558

Human Trafficking is modern day slavery and a crime against humanity. The network of the two Mary Ward Congregations, IBVM and CJ, has been actively involved in the war against it, and we shall not stop until the war is won.

You are invited to join us this Friday 24/7/20 as we discuss various topics related to Human Trafficking and be informed, encouraged and challenged.

Let us join the many heroes and heroines who work tirelessly in this effort.

We are stronger together.

For those of you who missed the International conference ‘’Implementing and going beyond the PALERMO PROTOCOL’’ held 29/30 June last, you can follow a recording of the third session, via the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dQd5Jm9nf0

The theme of the third session is: Human Rights of trafficked and exploited persons beyond the Palermo Protocol.

Moderator : Professor Geneviève LeBaron (Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute – SPERI).

Panelists: Luis De Baca (Yale Law School, Former US Ambassador at-Large on trafficking).  Mike Dottridge (Independent Human Rights Expert); Maud De Boer Buquicchio (former UN Special Rapporteur on the Sale andsexual exploitation of children, Former CoE Deputy, Secretary General, President of Missing Children Europe) and Christine Chinkin (Centre for Women, Peace and Security).

Medaille Trust SUMMER_2020_MAG_WEB

Online Webinar via ZOOM:- Presentation of Findings of the ODIHR and UN Women Policy Survey Reports and Recommendations “Addressing Emerging Human Trafficking Trends and Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic”

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) jointly with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) will present the key findings of the global survey of survivors of trafficking and frontline stakeholders.

The results were instrumental in developing the policy recommendations report on “Addressing Emerging Human Trafficking Trends and Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic”, which provides guidance to States to ensure the implementation of a human rights-based, gender-sensitive, trauma-informed and victim-centred approach to human trafficking during and post COVID-19 pandemic.

Time.

Tuesday Jul 21, 2020 06:00 PM in Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna

To join, please register at:

https://unwomen.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_L74ztCD4R2Kgvtd3aF_W_A

GRETA Guidance Note on the entitlement of victims of trafficking and persons at risk of being trafficked, to international protection.

The guide is intended to help national authorities and other organisations dealing with trafficking victims, or people at risk, to help make sure that no-one should be forced to return to their home country if it is not safe for them to do so. It sets out the legal bases under international and European law – including the European Convention on Human Rights and the Council of Europe’s anti-trafficking convention – for destination countries to allow trafficked people to remain.

The guide also stresses the principle that victims of trafficking should not be punished for crimes that they were forced to commit and sets out the legal basis for assistance to be provided to victims, notably calling on countries to be particularly sensitive to the needs of child victims of trafficking. In addition, the guidance emphasises the need for risk assessments in order to prevent victims of trafficking being returned to the country where they first applied for asylum, under the Dublin Regulation, but where they face the risk of being re-trafficked.

Full report at: https://re.coe.int/guidance-note-on-the-entitlement-of-viictims-of-trafficking-and-persons/16809ebf44