HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER ON THE REPORT ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

22.07.02

The press conference was attended by Mary Robinson, High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ambassador Gerard Stoudman, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR); Philip O'Brien, UNICEF Regional Director for CIS/CEE, the Balkans and the Baltics; and Helga Conrad, Chair of the Stability Pact Taskforce on Human Trafficking.
Mary Robinson said the report on human trafficking in Southeastern Europe was a very detailed and valuable report on the current situation and responses to trafficking in human beings in the region. 'I identified at a very early stage, in my responsibility as High Commissioner for Human Rights, the importance of having a human rights focus arising out of trafficking', said Mrs. Robinson. Last week she had submitted her report to the Economic and Social Council and had appended to that report the guidelines on trafficking. These guidelines had been put forward by her Office and were offered as a resource and help to all those working on this issue of trafficking.
Mrs. Robinson focused on three of the many findings of the report. 'First of all, there was a lack of understanding of trafficking by law enforcement officers. Secondly, there was a tendency to consider trafficking as illegal migration, and in fact penalise any women involved. Thirdly, there was a lack of understanding of the human rights dimension in anti-trafficking strategies' she said.
'Trafficking is being seen as the same thing as illegal migration for the purposes of prostitution, and is looked at as a national security issue. However, trafficking needs to be seen as a human rights violation and it is important to acknowledge that the victims were treated as criminals. The lack of understanding of the distinction between trafficking, illegal migration and smuggling of migrant and prostitution is well brought out in the report', Mrs. Robinson added. 'The report also shows that so far, the issue of trafficking had been dealt with by concerned countries and donor countries, through ad hoc, unrelated and small projects. This report gives a more global framework for regional approaches and global evaluation. I think side by side with the human rights guideline that my Office has prepared, it does mean that we have moved to a new dimension' Mrs. Robinson said.
'The need to put human rights at the centre of anti-trafficking work means acknowledging that trafficking, and related practices such as debt bondage, forced prostitution and forced labour are violations of the most basic human rights that all persons are in entitled to' said Mrs. Robinson and continued 'It means recognising the responsibility of Governments to protect and promote the rights of the persons within their jurisdiction. This also means that all parts of the international system must integrate human rights into their analysis and their response.' Mrs. Robinson stressed that 'fighting against trafficking requires urgent, effective and coherent action'. This would involve the improvement of information bases, ensuring an appropriate legal framework, an adequate law enforcement response at the national level, protecting and supporting the victims of trafficking, improving co-operation and co-ordination between countries, and identifying and responding to those factors which increased vulnerability to trafficking and which sustained the demand. 'Human rights guidelines were as relevant in this region as in any others', she said.
Mrs. Robinson noted the extraordinary focus on trafficking in the region. This was extraordinary when considering that it was only really in 1997 that there had been an admission of the problem. 'The co-operation on the report shows that if one works together, chances of impacting a very real problem would increase' Mrs. Robinson added. Mrs. Robinson said 'It is difficult to offer precise figures, but I will give you a few. Among available statistics, IOM states that in 1997 an estimated 175,000 women and girls were trafficked from Central and Eastern Europe and the newly independent States. Recent IOM estimates show that 120,000 women and children are being trafficked into the European Union each year, mainly through the Balkans. What comes out in the report is that over the past ten years, 100,000 Albanian women and girls have been trafficked to Western Europe and other Balkan countries. These are official Albanian statistics and probably underestimate the problem. The report makes it clear that over 90 per cent of the foreign women in prostitution in the Balkan countries should be considered as victims of trafficking, when only 35 per cent were recognised as such and no more than 7 per cent of the victims benefit from reintegration programs and support.'
Gerard Stoudman highlighted the co-operation effect of the report. 'We can only be successful if we work together and I welcome the increased co-operation in this field among human rights agencies', he said. 'This report shows there is a need to establish a mechanism for assisting women and children that are victims of trafficking, to provide protection and assistance as well as reintegration into normal life. However, such a mechanism of assistance can only be successful if it is unified all over Europe. To have such a unified mechanism - a Convention is needed', Mr. Stoudman said. He added that he hoped that the Council of Europe in September would decide to work on a Convention and turn the ignition key, so that soon there would be unified standards in Europe. One could not go on if each State decided for itself how to deal with the problem, he said.
'It is necessary to strengthen the legal framework. There is a long way to go to improve the understanding of the Courts all across Europe that this is a crime against human rights. To reinforce this, we need to have a specific provision in each criminal code in Southeastern Europe and beyond, punishing trafficking for what it is - a crime against human rights and a new form of slavery ' Mr. Stoudman said. 'Countries of destination such as Switzerland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and many others, need to do their own work. If it is true that we are focusing on an origin and transit problem in Southeastern Europe, it is equally true that countries of destination must improve their legislation, to improve co-operation and co-ordination between their law enforcement bodies, and it is not enough to finance projects in Southeastern Europe without addressing the consumption issue. Just as drug trafficking, human trafficking exists because there is a market for it', Mr. Stoudman said. It was a problem linked to poverty forcing young women to take a chance with doubtful contracts, ending up being trafficked.
Philip O'Brien said 'the issue of trafficking is widespread, both in geographic terms and in its social impact. The report clearly highlights that women forced into sexual labour are put at an extraordinary risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and that we need a change of mindset. Human trafficking is probably one of the most obnoxious ways in which human rights are abused', he said. The women and children involved in this needed to be seen much more as victims requiring protection, assistance and support, rather than the criminalization of what they are involved in. 'Several countries in the region have signed the Convention against transnational organised crime and its additional protocols, however, only one country in the region has ratified the Convention', said Mr. O'Brien. It was necessary to put in place the processes that were necessary to provide the specific legislative and judicial protection, particularly for persons under the age of 18 years of age. '
Families were not always universally protective entities -- the report makes it very clear that for example in Albania, many young people were trafficked for forced labour, often with the support and sometimes direct involvement of their parents', Mr. O'Brien said. He was saddened to see the amount of times the report highlighted the need for more information on children. It was an issue that affected us all, he said, however developed one might think of one's own country, child abuse happened everywhere.
Helga Conrad said the Stability Pact Task Force on Human Trafficking was a co-ordination mechanism, and an excellent example how the main actors active in the fight against human trafficking in Southeastern Europe and beyond worked together. 'The Stability Pact works closely together with all those who have expertise of human trafficking in the region, and our job is to translate the findings into concrete steps for the Governments in the region so that they can proceed in the fight against human trafficking', Ms. Conrad said. 'The report clearly shows that human trafficking is not only a law enforcement issue, but it is also a human rights concern. It is our task to raise awareness on the human rights dimension', she said. One could not be effective if countries only looked at the problem from the national security side. Ms. Conrad quoted Mrs. Robinson who earlier had said that 'security and human rights are not in opposition, on the contrary, human rights are an essential part of security.'
The problem of trafficking was not new, Ms Conrad said. 'So far we have not been successful and we must find another approach. The Stability Pact tried to provide a comprehensive response to a complex problem and the report was an important tool in how to approach human trafficking in countries of origin, transit and destination', Ms. Conrad said. Concerning the European Convention, she stressed that it would only be meaningful if it stood up without 'ifs and buts' for the victims of human trafficking. She concluded that there was a need to legalise the status of victims of trafficking and to grant them temporary residence permit for victims of trafficking, so as to avoid the 'recycling' of the victims when they returned home.
In response to a question on Governments having gone from denying human trafficking to making it a priority, Mrs. Robinson said the report showed that there was a new commitment on the part of Government, they had all undertaken to develop national plans of action. These plans must be carried through and implemented with human rights as their focus, she said. She concurred with both Mr. Stoudman and Mr. O'Brien and said that there was a responsibility of countries of origin, transit and destination. Countries of destination had tended to get off lightly, since it was a subterranean, invisible, criminal dominated subjugation of human beings to a form of modern slavery. She stressed that the report stated that Governments were responsible and must be held to that responsibility.
Ms. Conrad, in response to the same question said that the report highlighted the changes in attitude in recent months, and showed that Governments took responsibility and had nominated governmental anti-trafficking co-ordinators ; had set up multi-disciplinary national working groups to deal with the problem; and had set up national plans of action. The implementation of concrete anti-trafficking measures had started and major changes in attitudes had taken place.
In response to a question concerning corruption of authorities and the time plan for the European Convention on anti-trafficking, Mrs. Robinson said that one of the main problems had been corruption and needed to be tackled in a multi-faceted way. Mr. Stoudman said, with regards to the Convention, that there was a feasibility study and the Council of Europe was meant to decide in September whether to go ahead with it or not. With regard to corruption, he said that that trafficking had existed for a long time in other continents, however in Europe it followed the freedom of movement after the fall of the Iron Curtain. In order to have the appropriate papers, one needed to go through customs officials, and here, corruption played an important part in ensuring a trouble free flow of individuals. Added to corruption, there was the international presence in the region that had created a market. There were a number of NATO battalions stations in the region having a clear link to the demand. The market in countries of destination, corruption and the consequences of the post-conflict environment with a large international presence all played part of the problem. He stressed that codes of conduct were now in place, however there must be no impunity on the part of the international presence.
Mr. O'Brien, in response to the same question, said the Convention was important, however, it was essential that the negotiations did not serve as an excuse for no action in the mean time.
When asked about the absence of IOM on the panel, Ms. Conrad said that the Stability Pact was involved with all major actors in anti-trafficking work. However, the purpose of the press briefing was the presentation of a report and human rights focused responses to human trafficking.
In response to a question on the revenue of human traffickers and the human cost of human trafficking, Mrs. Robinson said the social and human costs were appalling. It was an appalling practice and emphasis on structures and plans of action to implement guidelines were needed; however victims needed to be in the centre of the guidelines. There was a huge cost for the victims and a huge profit for the traffickers, she said.
Mr. O'Brien said there were no specific numbers available, however the profit margin was extraordinarily high. There was a huge amount of money involved. Ms. Conrad added that the estimates of the Central Intelligence Agency stated that human trafficking amounted to $ 7 to 12 billion annually for the human traffickers. Mr. Stoudman said that human trafficking was definitely a profitable business for the trafficking rings, consisting of a low risk and extremely high returns. However, he stressed that the exact number was not important, what was important was that human trafficking was competing directly with other forms of trafficking such as drugs and weapons