ECPAT Belgium was extremely honoured to meet with the Vice President of the European Parliament, Ms Sylvie Guillaume, in order to present the findings of the ReACT project.
Ms Guillaume was very interested by the outcomes of the project and has disseminated them through her website. Many possibilities have been discussed to better identify and protect children presumed to be victims of trafficking.
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In the framework of the ReACT project, ECPAT Belgium attended a training of trainers in Leiden (Netherlands) on child trafficking. This event gathered various professionals (guardians, lawyers, police officers, representatives of NGO’s, etc) from five countries (Belgium, France, Germany, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom). The purpose of such initiative was to reinforce the capacity of participants to better identify and protect children victims of trafficking, as well as exchange good practices and experiences.
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What kind of protection is offered to children against commercial sexual exploitation in Belgium? What are the possible improvements of the system?
ECPAT Belgium’s assessment of the situation in Belgium, is now available in English.
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The UN General Assembly officially designated July 30 as the first ever World Day against Trafficking in Persons. This day is meant to raise awareness, improve coordination, and promote the rights of victims of human trafficking. Trafficking in persons is defined as the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, or harbouring a person through the use of force, fraud, or coercion, with the intent to exploit. Individuals may be trafficked for purposes such as forced labour or commercial sex. The UN also urges countries to ratify and implement the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocol on Trafficking in Persons.
ECPAT Belgium supports the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons and advocates for the millions of individuals who are affected. This form of modern day slavery is an extreme violation of human rights. ECPAT Belgium specifically works to support the rights of the child and those affected by child prostitution, child sex tourism, child pornography, and child trafficking. It is important to recognize that children are particularly vulnerable to exploitation, especially those that are homeless or come from abusive backgrounds. UNICEF estimates that approximately 2 million children worldwide are exploited through commercial sex. The consequences of this crime are extremely severe and devastating. By taking measures to increase public awareness, collaborate with authorities, and strengthen legislation to promote the rights of the child, commercial sexual exploitation against children can end.
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VIENNA, 9 July 2013 – A research paper on trafficking for the purpose of organ removal – one of the least addressed forms of trafficking in human beings – was published today by the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro.
The OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, during a side event at the 13th Alliance against Trafficking in Persons conference, Vienna, 25 June 2013.
“Victims are unaware of the lifelong impact of organ removal; in fact they bear long-term and debilitating medical consequences including the inability to work, especially because they completely lack post-operative care or follow-up medical and psychosocial support. In addition, they very often do not receive the payment that was promised to them during their deceptive recruitment.”
The paper also calls attention to the link between trafficking for organ removal and organized crime, the role that corruption plays in facilitating organ removal, and the transplantation networks, which often include administrators and medical professionals.
It also suggests a series of steps to prevent this transnational crime, which is headed by international brokers connected with transplant surgeons and local organ recruiters.
Source: OSCE
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Our colleague from ECPAT UK, Colin Walker, was interviewed on Euronews On the Frontline news programme about the EU Directive on Trafficking.
Selling children into slavery – it is one of the world’s most heinous crimes and it is on the rise. By its very nature, trafficking is extremely hard to quantify – conservative estimates put the number of children trafficked globally at 1.2 million and those who are forced into slavery at 5.5 million.
In this edition our guests are Colin Walker, Deputy Director of the UK branch of the NGO ECPAT leading rights organisation for children, and Rani Hong, UN.GIFT Special Advisor on human trafficking and founder of the Tronie Foundation.
Source: Euronews
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