Increasing Protection for Victims of Human Trafficking
Monday, February 14, 2005 10:25 AM
Amnesty International and Anti-Slavery International are calling on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to strengthen the draft European Convention against Trafficking in Human Beings. They are urging PACE to require states to provide comprehensive protection and support and assistance measures that will allow victims to begin the recovery process. Specifically, Amnesty International and Anti-Slavery International want the December 2004 draft European Convention strengthened so that states are required to guarantee a wide range of services for victims, including necessary medical treatment, shelters, counseling, and physical protection for all victims and members of their families as necessary; access to education and employment; permission to remain in the country during a reflection period of at least three months; prohibition against detention or prosecution of trafficked persons for illegal entry or residence in the country or for activities that are a direct consequence of being a trafficked person; and the establishment of an effective monitoring of the implementation of the Convention, among other recommendations. More than 170 other NGOs from 30 countries have joined Amnesty International and Anti-Slavery International in urging the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers to strengthen the draft European Convention against Trafficking in Human Beings. For more information, visit www.amnesty.org. Compiled from: The Network of East—West Women—Polska/NEWW, “Better protection of Trafficked Persons, 11 February, 2005.