| 1. Stability Pact reviews Southeastern
Europe's anti-trafficking policies
The Stability Pact Task Force on Trafficking in Human Beings
has carried out an Assessment
of Governmental Anti-Trafficking Structures and Policies in
Southeastern European Countries, July 2003 (available
here as a PDF download. See bottom of page about
reading PDF files.) The summary report notes that while
impressive mechanisms and plans have been established, full
implementation is moving slowly in most countries and many are
not complying with the timeframes set out in their National
Plans of Action. It adds that there is little evidence of governmental
ownership of work to combat trafficking, especially in terms
of assisting and protecting victims, with responsibility increasingly
shifted to international organisations. It also considers governmental
co-ordination and work with NGOs could be improved and that
victims assistance "very often amounts to little more than
'first aid' pending victims' removal from the country".
2. Migrants face forced labour and exploitation
in UK
The deaths of 20 Chinese men and women who drowned while picking
cockles in Morecambe Bay on 5 February has focussed attention
on the exploitation of migrant workers in the UK. A week later,
54 Greek migrant workers were rescued from forced labour conditions
in Cornwall where they were picking flowers. The Greek migrants
were reported to be living in appalling conditions and working
10 hour shifts, but when they demanded their pay they were threatened
and told that they had to pay off 1,500 euro each before they
would be given any money and that they could not leave. These
incidents follow the deaths of three Kurdish migrant workers
in July 2003 who died when their car was hit by a train on their
way to work picking onions.
The Transport & General Workers' Union (TGWU) and Jim Sheridan
MP are promoting the Gangmaster Licensing Bill in Parliament,
which would establish a licensing procedure for all gangmasters
and protect workers from human rights abuse and exploitative
labour conditions. The second reading of this private members'
bill took place on 27 February. For more information on this
see TGWU's website at: http://www.tgwu.org.uk
Neither the UK nor any other EU country has signed or ratified
the 1990 UN Convention on migrant workers' rights. However,
the United Nations confirmed that Timor Leste (East Timor) ratified
the Convention on 30 January, making it the 25th state party.
For more information on the Convention go to: http://www.december18.net
3. EU states retain immigration controls
on new members
On 1 May 2004, 10 new states join the European Union (Poland,
Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania, Cyprus and Malta). However, France, Germany, Italy
and Austria have all placed restrictions on labour movement
for citizens of the new EU members, which may last until 2011.
Denmark, the Netherlands, Greece and Sweden intended to allow
free movement of labour, but have all introduced restrictions
in recent months. The UK has now followed this trend and citizens
from eastern European countries who do not find jobs in the
UK will not be eligible for benefits for at least two years.
Those who do find work will have to register with the Home Office
and will not have access to the full range of benefits (housing
benefit, income support or council housing) until they have
been in continuous employment for at least 12 months.
4. 1951 Convention can offer trafficked
people protection
Those considering how to provide long term protection to trafficked
people using the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of
Refugees may find the following papers of interest:
(a) The Trafficking of Women
for Sexual Exploitation: A gender-based and well-founded fear
of persecution? by Jenna Shearer Demir (Working Paper
No. 30, UNHCR, March 2003). (Available here as a PDF download.
See bottom of page about reading PDF files.)
(b) Comparative Report on the Application
of Asylum Standards to Protect Women Trafficked for Sexual Exploitation:
An analysis of the laws of the United States, France, Canada,
Luxembourg and the United Kingdom by Dechert LLP (available
here as a PDF download. See bottom of page about
reading PDF files.)
5. US prosecutes biggest trafficking case
to date
On 29 January 2004, Kil Soo Lee and two accomplices were found
guilty by the US District Court in Hawaii of holding over 200
Vietnamese and Chinese migrant workers in involuntary servitude
in a garment factory. Lee faces up to 30 years in prison, but
sentencing has been delayed until 6 May. The migrants had paid
between US$5,000 and $8,000 to access jobs, but found themselves
threatened, held against their will and beaten by their traffickers
during the period between 1999 and November 2000.
6. Research and job vacancy
The UN Inter-Regional Crime and Justice Research Institute
(UNICRI) has web pages which contain information and conclusions
relating to its pilot programme on the trafficking of human
beings from Nigeria to Italy for sexual exploitation. For more
details go to: http://www.unicri.it/nigeria_website.htm
The key outcomes of AFRUCA's seminar Trafficking of African
Children to the UK: Denouncing the better life syndrome,
held on 14 October 2003 in Lagos, Nigeria, are now available
as a report at http://www.afruca.org
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