EU: Commissioner for Human Rights Publishes New Child Trafficking Report

Mr Thomas Hammarberg was elected Commissioner for Human Rights on 5 October 2005 by the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly.

This week, Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Rights for the Council of Europe, published his latest viewpoint: "Prevent trafficking in human beings by addressing the root causes".

There has been much talk about trafficking of human beings - but not enough action. UNICEF and Terre des Hommes recently reported about the failure to protect children from traffickers in South Eastern Europe. They requested stronger action to address the root causes and the patterns of supply and demand that govern the cycle. They are right that the campaign against the trafficking of both children and adults must intensify to become more effective. The Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings is a key instrument for that purpose and should be ratified by all member states without further delay.

Trafficking is a serious criminal offence and is difficult to uncover. The shadowy nature of the trade, the practice of omertà – “code of silence” - applied by the criminal networks, and the victim’s fear of retaliation if they report their condition, make it particularly difficult to estimate the extent and precise nature of this dirty business. The degree of force and deceit involved in the exploitation also vary from case to case.

What we know, however, is that trafficking is a major source of income for organised criminal groups and that the number of victims is incredibly high. We also know which are the most common countries and regions of origin, transit and destination.

Some of the trafficking is connected to sexual exploitation, but not all. Many of the victims end up in begging, domestic work or manual labour, for instance, in agriculture or construction.

READ THE FULL PAPER at the Commissioner's website at www.commissioner.coe.int