La Strada Documentation Center

Report with a Proposal for a European Parliament Recommendation to the Council on Fighting Trafficking in Human Beings - an Integrated Approach and Proposals for an Action Plan

Document number
1241
Date
2006
Title
Report with a Proposal for a European Parliament Recommendation to the Council on Fighting Trafficking in Human Beings - an Integrated Approach and Proposals for an Action Plan
Author/publisher
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, European Parliament, European Union
Availability
View/save PDF version of this document
Document type(s)
EU law, Meeting Documentation/Conference Reports,
Keywords
A6-0368/2006, Rapporteur: Edit Bauer,
Summary
This report is based on the internationally accepted definition of the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons. According to the Article 3, "Trafficking in persons" shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or removal of organs. The IOM also stresses the growing frequency of other forms of child trafficking or trafficking in families such as for begging or criminal activities. Even though trafficking in human beings is generally considered as a "horrendous" crime , ratification and implementation of international conventions, mainly the COE Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings as well as directives is not satisfactory and just slowly proceeding. As the decisive part of trafficking in human beings has an international character, it is necessary to strengthen the international cooperation in the field of investigation, exchange of information, identification of victims, law-enforcement and reintegration. In this cooperation Europol, Eurojust, Frontex and Police Chiefs Task Force have to play a more significant role. International documents stress the human rights based approach, mainly focusing on victims' protection. Since seriousness of human rights abuse is not always transposed into prosecution, some doubts might occur, mainly in labour exploitation as if trafficking is considered primarily as a human rights abuse, the prosecution will weaken. CONTENT: 1) Proposal For A European Parliament Recommendation To The Council, 2) Explanatory Statement, 3) Proposal For A Recommendation To The Council (B6-0613/2005), 4) Opinion Of The Committee On Employment And Social Affairs, 5) Opinion Of The Committee On Women's Rights And Gender Equality, 6) Procedure.
Related documents