Legal -
These pages provide a brief introduction to some of the resources which are available to those who wish to lobby their MPs or faith Leaders or local politicians to move forward resistance to sex trafficking. We look on these pages at the Palermo Protocol, the Council of Europe Convention on Trafficking and recent UK legislation which forms the back bone of legal and criminal justice resistance to this crime
Definitions
Trafficked persons are victims of crime and violation of their human dignity. Sex trafficking is a worldwide crime and it is almost always a form of organised crime. Traffickers face few risks and can earn huge profits by taking advantage of large numbers of poor vulnerable people.
To successfully fight trafficking there must be both an international response, a national government response and local commitments in countries of source, transit and demand to see this violation eradicated.
The Palermo Protocol
You can read the Palermo Protocol.
The United Nations has taken an important step in coordinating the fight against sex trafficking. On the 15 November 2000 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the United Nations Convention Against Organised Crime. The Convention calls upon countries to take measures against organised crime and to cooperate together. The Convention came into force on the 23 September 2003. The United Kingdom is a signatory to the Convention.
The Convention states that each country shall take appropriate measures within its means to provide assistance and protection to victims of offences covered by the Convention (Article 25).
To supplement the Convention, a protocol also supports the fight against sex trafficking. This is the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime. As this Protocol was signed in Palermo, Italy it is often known as the 'Palermo Protocol'.
CHASTE is delighted and commends the UK Government for ratifying this protocol on the 9th February 2006. This follows an extensive lobbying campaign undertaken by CHASTE and other NGOs to see this excellent platform for action ratified by the UK. For further details of this campaign and CHASTE's statement to the Government see our pages on our advocacy work
The Protocol defines "Trafficking in persons" to 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 the removal of organs.
The Protocol requires those countries that have ratified the Protocol to introduce criminal offences to combat sex trafficking. It also requires under Article 6 that these countries must consider implementing measures to provide for the physical, psychological and social recovery of victims of trafficking. In appropriate cases, in cooperation with non-governmental organisations, this includes the provision of:
- appropriate housing
- counselling and information, in particular as regards legal rights, in a language that the victims of trafficking in persons can understand
- medical, psychological and material assistance
- employment, educational and training opportunities
The Council of Europe Convention
The Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (CETS N° 197) was adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 3 May 2005 and opened for signature in Warsaw on 16 May 2005, on the occasion of the 3rd Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe.
Although its legislation (Conventions) are not binding on members the expectation is that members who do sign a Council of Europe Convention will introduce the legislation into its domestic law. The United Kingdom is a member of the Council of Europe.
The convention on Action againste Trafficking in Human Beings provides measures to discourage the demand of all forms of exploitation of persons, especially that of woman and children that leads to trafficking (Article 6). It encourages countries to adopt or strengthen legislative, administrative, educational, social, cultural or other measures to raise awareness about trafficking, identify the root causes of demand and to target campaigns and measures against demand.
After a successful campaign by CHASTE and other organisations the UK Government agreed to sign the Convention. The Convention was signed by the UK on Friday 23rd March.
For further information see our Press release 'CHASTE celebrates lobbying success' (January 2007) and our 'CHASTE welcomes Convention signing by Government' (March 2007)
CHASTE will be working to bring into legislation and practice the following Articles in particular:
Article 6 places a positive obligation on countries to adopt and reinforce measures for discouraging demand whether as regards sexual exploitation or in respect of forced labour or services, slavery and practices similar to slavery, servitude and organ removal.
By devoting a separate, free-standing article to this, the drafters sought to underline the importance of tackling demand in order to prevent and combat the traffic itself.
The aim of the measures is to achieve effective dissuasion. The article includes a list of such minimum measures. An essential one is research on best practices, methods and strategies for discouraging client demand effectively. The media and civil society have been key agencies in identifying demand as one of the main causes of trafficking, and the measures accordingly seek to create maximum awareness and recognition of their role and responsibility in that field. Information campaigns targeting relevant groups could also be conducted, with involvement, where appropriate, of political decision-makers and public authorities. Lastly, educational measures play an important part in discouraging demand. For example, educational programmes for school children could not only advantageously tell them about the trafficking phenomenon but also alert them to gender issues, questions of dignity and integrity of human beings, and the consequences of gender-based discrimination.
Article 12 of the Convention requires that each country shall adopt such legislative or other measures as may be necessary to assist victims in their physical, psychological and social recovery. Such assistance shall include at least:
- standards of living capable of ensuring their subsistence, through such measures as: appropriate and secure accommodation, psychological and material assistance;
- access to emergency medical treatment;
- translation and interpretation services, when appropriate;
- counseling and information, in particular as regards their legal rights and the services available to them, in a language that they can understand;
- assistance to enable their rights and interests to be presented and considered at appropriate stages of criminal proceedings against offenders;
- access to education for children.
Under Article 13 each country shall provide in its internal law a recovery and reflection period of at least 30 days, when there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person concerned is a victim. Such a period shall be sufficient for the person concerned to recover and escape the influence of traffickers and/or to take an informed decision on cooperating with the competent authorities. During this period it shall not be possible to enforce any expulsion order against her or him.
Background on the Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is the continent's oldest political organisation, founded in 1949. It groups together 46 countries, including 21 countries from Central and Eastern Europe. The UK is a member of the Council of Europe.
The Council was set up to:
- defend human rights, parliamentary democracy and the rule of law,
- develop continent-wide agreements to standardise member countries' social and legal practices,
- promote awareness of a European identity based on shared values and cutting across different cultures.
Since 1989, its main job has become: - acting as a political anchor and human rights watchdog for Europe's post-communist democracies,
- assisting the countries of central and eastern Europe in carrying out and consolidating political, legal and constitutional reform in parallel with economic reform,
- providing know-how in areas such as human rights, local democracy, education, culture and the environment.
Domestic Legislation
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 came into force on 1 May 2004. It followed over 3 years of consultation with many of those involved in tackling sexual offending, from law enforcement through to the provision of help and support to victims and survivors.
Sections 57, 58 and 59 of the Sexual Offences Act (SOA) 2003 deal with trafficking into, trafficking within, and trafficking out of the UK for sexual exploitation, respectively. The purpose of these offences is to strengthen and modernise the law to deal with patterns of serious and organised criminality that intelligence suggests is prevalent but not matched by commensurate numbers of prosecutions.
To read the Act in full visit http://www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts2003/20030042.htm
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