by SI UN Rep Vienna Dora Vrdlovec “The Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe IDM, organized the International Round Table Preventing Human Trafficking and Combating Child Trafficking & Exploitation in Europe, supported by the Austrian Federal Ministers for Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection, for Education and Women, and of Health. This interesting discussion was chaired by Helga Konrad, Head of the Regional Implementation Initiative on Preventing & Combating Human Trafficking.

A keynote address was made from Olivier Peyroux, Sociologist, France, who shared his research on child trafficking and exploitation in Europe (published in his book ‘Fantasies and Realities Fuelling Trafficking in Europe’). With the purpose of shedding light on the diversity of situations in which children from Eastern Europe become victims of trafficking and exploitation. The presentation provided concentrated data and analysed the intersecting fields of migration, Roma history, European Human Rights and child exploitation. He described the most egregious human rights violations of our time: the pervasive trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable children in Europe, one of the world’s richest continents.

In the big western cities many minors are trafficked, children aged between 8 and 16 are pushed by their own families, who are driven by poverty, or by groups who force children to steal, especially on the metro, and to perpetrate minor crimes.

Juveniles are not aware of being used or exploited; most of the time they believe to be part of a family, they trust their exploiters; in many cases very young girls get involved through a genuine or sham marriage to a man living abroad, who belongs to the criminal network. Having been cut off from their biological parents (who receive a sum of money for the bride) the organisation takes the place of a family in a way that the girls are not even aware of. Once the girl is married, her exploitative family-in-law makes it clear to her, she will have to repay the money they have paid for her, sometimes €10.000, through stealing activities. Marriage becomes a form of debt bondage: exploitative marriage used for controlling young victims who come mainly from Algeria, Vietnam, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, and East Europe.

The victims don’t know they are victims, making it difficult once they are caught, to speak to the authorities. Without total control over their silence, the criminal group would be in danger, to be sure that victims do not report them, they use not only threats ,physical violence, but also rewards, letting them gradually rise in the hierarchy of the group. In many European countries, non-sexual types of exploitations are not included in the statistics.

In 2000 the Palermo Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children favoured the harmonisation of national legislations of the signatory states, a necessary condition for the development of European and transnational police and juridical cooperation. The Optional Protocol on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) broadened the scope of activities considered as exploitation such as the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

Migration is often considered the only option to escape from a social situation, and prestige can be present in the different forms of exploitation, such as sexual forced criminality and drug dealing.

Ambassador Madina Jarbussynova, OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings, stated that trafficking in children is increasing, especially in the areas of sex and labour exploitation, forced criminality and organ removal.
Trafficking is lucrative business and can be perceived as posing no risks; the traffickers are very innovative in their actions. Therefore action by law enforcement and the collection of data are imperative, the economic reasons should be studied further. Integration of migrants through education is very important. OSCE (Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe) has established a project to implement training with social workers and police.

Peter von Bethlenfalvy, director CEIPA, (Centre for European and International Policy Action, in Belgium) presented the European Union approach which was established in 1995, he noted that some countries do not recognise the principle of solidarity, under article 18, which concerns the protection of migrants and victims, and the right to movement. (The right to asylum shall be guaranteed with due respect for the rules of the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 and the Protocol of 31 January 1967 relating to the status of refugees and in accordance with the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union). Concerning trafficking on a city level, data collection is needed, as is developing guidelines for cities.

Mike Dottridge, expert and consultant in the UK, spoke about more effective protection and prevention of trafficking in children and minors, and that most European authorities do not pay much attention to the UNICEF reference guide, which was published a decade ago. Instead there are endless statements by political leaders which muddle the issue of trafficking and exploitation. The result is that the protection available for trafficked children is inadequate and prevention measures being implemented are largely a waste of money, the political response to trafficking failed, in the last 15 years there have been lots of technical solutions.

Remedies can be first of all the distinction between facts and fiction: Helmut Sax, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights explained that trafficking can also occur internally in a country, child trafficking has many aspects to be aware of, severe form of child labour, child pornography, illegal adoptions, forced/early marriage. Trafficking is punished, but children who were forced to crime are victims.

Despite international reports which suggest an increase in trafficking in children/minors, trafficked children are hardly visible and not identified as victims of cultural/ethnic tradition, they are put in jails denying them their basic human rights.

Astrid Winkler, Director ECPAT Austria confirmed that if a child runs away from a shelter, it is difficult to bring them back, because they would look for help from their perceived family, ignoring that they have been abused. Therefore more training programmes on identification and protection of trafficked children are needed”.

View the Presentation by Olivier Peyroux here: https://thbregionalimplementationinitiative.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/olivier-peyroux-presentation-on-fueling-child-trafficking.pdf

UNICEF Child Trafficking in the Nordic Countries: Rethinking strategies and national responses. Technical report
https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/643/

Analysing the Business Model of trafficking in Human Beings to Better Prevent the crime
http://www.osce.org/secretariat/69028?download=true

Olivier Peyroux: Délinquants et Victimes / Fantasies and Realities Fuelling Trafficking in Children in Europe, ECPAT France http://www.editionsnonlieu.fr/Delinquants-et-Victimes