Brussels, 22 October 2009 - Caritas Europa (CE) was present at the EU Ministerial Anti-Trafficking Conference that the Swedish EU Presidency organised in Brussels on the 19^th - 20^th October, in the framework of the project “Towards EU Global Action against Trafficking in Human Beings”.

CE Migration Officer, Mr. Peter Verhaeghe seized the opportunity to put forth the recommendations that CE and the affiliates of the Network of Christian Organisations against Trafficking in Human Beings (COATNET) would like to see implemented when fighting this crime.

“It is very important to have a common understanding and acknowledgement of trafficking in human beings as being a severe violation of Human Rights and a criminal activity” says Mr. Verhaeghe, in reference to the networks' recommendations, and adds “Governments must enforce the existing legislation and the punishment of the criminals, along with a full protection of the victims. These actions are cornerstones for combating trafficking in human beings. Moreover, we need to improve the preparation of the involved authorities in order to guarantee an early identification and a fair treatment of the victims.”

This opinion is in line with the position expressed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which recently released a report on the state of trafficking in human beings in Europe. Bearing the appalling title “Lives are for Sale in Europe”, the report highlights that trafficking is an under-detected crime in the continent. The study made by the UNODC reveals that European police forces are not putting the same energy in hunting down traffickers as they do against other much more unusual crimes such as kidnapping. In relation to the official estimations of the number of traffickers and victims, European police forces are arresting surprisingly few criminals involved in this activity, thus failing to save more victims. According to the report, only 9,000 victims were reported in 2006, which is 30 times smaller than the total estimated amount of trafficked people.

“Perhaps police are not finding the traffickers and victims because they are not looking for them”, says the Executive Director of the UNODC, Mr. Antonio Costa.