EU strategy against human trafficking

The European Commission has adopted the EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings (2012-2016), a set of concrete and practical measures to be implemented over the next five years.

These include the establishment of national law enforcement units specialised in human trafficking and the creation of joint European investigation teams to prosecute cross-border trafficking cases.

Preliminary data collected by Member States at EU level show that three quarters of victims identified in EU Member States are trafficked for sexual exploitation (76% in 2010). Other victims are forced into labour exploitation (14%), begging (3%) and domestic servitude (1%).

The strategy includes prevention, protection and support of the victims, as well as prosecution of the traffickers. It identifies five priorities and outlines a series of initiatives for each of them, such as:

• Supporting the establishment of national law enforcement units specialised in human trafficking.
• Creating joint investigation teams and involving Europol and Eurojust in all cross-border trafficking cases.
• Providing clear information to victims on their rights under EU law and national legislation, in particular their right to assistance and health care, their right to a residence permit and their labour rights.
• Creating an EU Mechanism to better identify, refer, protect and assist trafficked victims.
• Establishing a European Business Coalition against trafficking in Human Beings to improve cooperation between companies and stakeholders.
• Establishing an EU platform of civil society organisations and service providers working on victim protection and assistance in Member States and third countries.
• Supporting research projects examining the Internet and social networks as increasingly popular recruitment tools for traffickers.