Civil society commentary on the EU strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings (COM (2012) 286 final)

As international civil society organisations and networks combatting trafficking in human beings, we are convinced of the crucial importance and necessity of the work of the European Union against trafficking.

We therefore take the occasion of the EU´s 6^th anti-trafficking day to wholeheartedly welcome the new EU strategy on trafficking in Human Beings and its ambitious aim to eradicate trafficking – a vision we share.

In the following text, we would wish to offer a number of recommendations and observations to guide the implementation of the strategy over the.....read more

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Tens of thousands persons every year find themselves trafficked into forced labour in Europe, according to estimates in the EU Member States, with exploitation happening mainly in the areas of construction, agriculture or domestic services. Against this background, CCME and its partner’s organisations in four European countries have launched on 15 March 2012 a series of video spots, asking EU citizens to “open your eyes” and help in identifying trafficked persons. The video spot is part of the MIRROR project and can be accessed with the following link (English, Italian, Spanish and Romanian).

Parallel to stricter immigration controls trafficking in human beings has become more visible in the past two decades as a new form of slavery. While joint efforts of authorities and non-governmental organisations and churches against this international crime have produced some results, trafficking for forced labour is still a rather unknown field. The human rights of trafficked persons are generally still insufficiently protected.

Therefore, priorities will be: