Joint Submission to the Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings

Response to the Forth Evaluation Round of the Questionnaire for the evaluation of the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings

Excerpt from Executive Summary:
Since GRETA’s third evaluation round in 2020, the United Kingdom has regrettably taken many steps back in tackling vulnerabilities to trafficking and modern slavery.

Contributors to this joint submission have identified the UK Government’s focus on immigration enforcement and securitisation as the main barrier to developing a strong prevention response and the cause of the erosion of the identification and support mechanisms for survivors of modern slavery. Independent monitoring mechanisms, such as the Home Affairs Select Committee, have expressed deep concerns in relation to the UK Government’s de-prioritisation of human trafficking in favour of a focus on irregular migration. More recently, the Lords Select Committee published their report following their inquiry into the Modern Slavery Act 2015, which found that immigration legislation has limited the support which the Act originally afforded to survivors, leaving them vulnerable and without adequate protection from their traffickers.

Submission by:
After Exploitation, Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group, Anti Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit (ATLEU), British Red Cross (BRC), Every Child Protected Against Trafficking UK (ECPAT UK), Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX), Hestia, Hope for Justice, Human Trafficking Foundation & Lived Experience Advisory Panel, International Organization for Migration, Country office for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (IOM UK), Latin American, Women’s Rights Service (LAWRS), Taskforce on Survivors of Trafficking in Immigration Detention (Detention Taskforce), The Passage, The Salvation Army, The UK BME Anti-Slavery Network (BASNET), Unseen UK.