Czech Republic ratifies Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking in Human Beings.

Mr. Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, welcomed the Czech Republic’s ratification of the process which will see the Council of Europe’s Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (Warsaw, 16 May 2005), take effect in the Czech    Republic as of July 1, 2017.
From that date, 47 Council of Europe members will have ratified the Convention, which is legally binding. Mr. Jagland shared the view that ‘’from now on, the Czech Republic will apply the same standards in this respect like the remaining 46 EC countries in order to prevent the trafficking in people, protect the victims and prosecute the offenders.’’
Czech police have been registering an increasing number of victims of human trafficking. In 2014, 67 victims were registered, which represented a 10% increase on the previous year. Of those registered, sexual and labour exploitation were the main purposes.
According to the Czech Interior Ministry, the main countries of origin of the victims are Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Moldova, Nigeria, Slovakia, the Ukraine and Romania.
Britain, Germany, Slovenia and the Netherlands have been identified as the principle destination countries.
Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications.