The PAHT team is looking forward to the next event of the Parliamentarians Against Human Trafficking calendar – a study visit to Helsinki, Finland on Thursday 21 June.

The study visit has been designed to give a small group of parliamentarians the opportunity to meet with key players involved in Finnish anti-trafficking work. The group will meet with Finnish MPs in the Finnish Parliament, before moving on to meetings with police, prosecutors, research organisation HEUNI and the Finnish Rapporteur on Trafficking, Eva Biaudet. The visit will finish with a roundtable discussion with NGOs working to combat trafficking in Finland.

Parliamentarians taking part in the visit include MPs from Poland, Slovenia, the UK and Finland.

Yesterday, Wednesday 18 April, the Polish Parliament hosted the fourth event of the Parliamentarians Against Human Trafficking (PAHT) project, a one day parliamentary seminar on the National Referral Mechanism.

Parliamentarians from across Europe travelled to Poland to meet with Polish experts and NGOs on trafficking, where they discussed a variety of topics relating to National Referral Mechanisms and how parliamentarians can continue to work together effectively to tackle human trafficking.

The event kicked off with a welcome address by Mr. Krzysztof Kwiatkowski, Polish Minister of Justice. This was followed by contributions from Jessica Glover, Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy, Warsaw, and Anthony Steen, Chairman of the Human Trafficking Foundation.

Mariana Katzarova, Senior Advisor on Anti-Trafficking Issues at ODIHR, then delivered a keynote speech on how the National Referral Mechanism contributes to better protection and assistance of victims of trafficking.

After a short press briefing, Baroness Butler-Sloss GBE (UK) chaired a session on how parliamentarians can build up groups as part of an EU parliamentary network. With contributions from Radek John MP (Czech Republic), Magdalena Vasaryova MP (Slovakia), Maria Paula Cardoso MP (Portugal), Arminas Lydeka MP (Lithuania) and Mailis Reps MP (Estonia) – as well as Robert Biedron MP and Ryszard Kalisz MP from Poland – parliamentarians from across the EU shared their contrasting experiences of developing awareness of trafficking in their parliaments.

The afternoon session focused on co-operation between NGOs and law enforcement representatives regarding referral of victims of trafficking. The session featured contributions from key Polish stakeholders in this area – including Piotr Mierecki (Ministry of Interior), Irena Dawid-Olczyk (National Consulting and Intervention Centre for Victims of Trafficking), Colonel Tomasz Semeniuk (Border Guards) and Inspector Monika Sokolowska (Anti-Trafficking Unit – Police Headquarters).

The Warsaw seminar followed previous events over the last few months in London, The Hague and Rome. The next seminar of the project will take place in Lisbon in June.

The project is very grateful for the assistance of Ryszard Kalisz MP and the staff of the Justice and Human Rights Committee in the Polish Parliament for their assistance with the seminar. We would also like to thank the British Embassy for their support of the seminar.

It’s just two weeks to go until the next seminar of the Parliamentarians Against Human Trafficking (PAHT) project – a seminar themed on the National Referral Mechanism, due to be held in the Polish Parliament, the Sejm.

The seminar will provide participants with the opportunity to explore how the National Referral Mechanism functions. The morning session will feature speeches on how the NRM contributes to better protection and assistance to victims of trafficking, before examining the role that MPs can play in ensuring the effective functioning of the NRM in their countries. After lunch, participants will look at how NGOs and law
enforcement representatives can work together in referrals of victims of trafficking.

The seminar will also provide parliamentarians with the opportunity to update each other on progress in establishing groups committed to fighting human trafficking in their own countries.

Already confirmed are parliamentary participants from Poland, the UK, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal and Romania.

A draft programme is available here

By Emma Makey, Project Assistant, Parliamentarians Against Human Trafficking

The third event of the Parliamentarians Against Human Trafficking project was held last Thursday, 22 March 2012, in the Italian Parliament, Rome. Hosted by the Italian Senate, the seminar provided a forum for
parliamentarians from across Europe to meet with NGOs, law enforcement representatives and experts on human trafficking to discuss anti trafficking legislation on protection of victims.

The meeting was attended by parliamentarians from the UK, Cyprus, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Spain, together with their counterparts from Italy.

The meeting kicked off with a welcome address from Senator Filippo Berselli, Chairman of the Italian Senate Justice Commission. Senator Berselli was then joined by Anthony Steen, Chairman of the Human Trafficking Foundation.

Then followed a series of keynote speeches from key figures involved in the formulation and enforcement of anti-trafficking legislation in Italy. Corrado Lembo, Deputy Prosecutor from the Court of Santa Maria Capua Vetere, provided a presentation for participants on Italian legislation relation to identification, protection and assistance of victims of trafficking. Giusto Sciacchitano, Deputy Prosecutor from the National Anti-Mafia Office, then discussed international collaboration in protection and assistance to victims of trafficking. Finally, Senator Alberto Maritati provided a presentation on anti-trafficking legislation in Italy.

We were delighted by the attendance of Senator Renato Schifani, Speaker of the Italian Senate, who addressed the seminar to commend the work being done across Europe to tackle human trafficking.

After a short break, Baroness Butler Sloss chaired a ‘countries overview’ session, providing parliamentarians from Cyprus, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and the UK to share their
experiences of tackling human trafficking and to provide an update on work done in their countries since January’s seminar in The Hague.

After lunch hosted by Senator Maritati, the afternoon session (chaired by Baerbel Uhl, EU Experts Group) provided participants with the opportunity to hear detailed case studies on victim protection by Anna
Bonifazi, Senior Officer from the Carabinieri, and Maria Pia Vigilante, Chair of ‘La Giraffa’ NGO. The seminar was concluded by Stana Buchowska, Project Co-ordinator.

We look forward to the next event of the project, a seminar of the National Referral Mechanism, which will take place in the Polish Parliament on Wednesday 18 April 2012.

By Stana Buchowska, Project Co-ordinator

Preparations are well advanced a month ahead of the third Parliamentarians Against Human Trafficking event, a seminar themed at anti trafficking legislation on protection of victims which will be held in Rome on Thursday 22 March 2012. The event will provide an opportunity for parliamentarians from across the EU to join together to discuss the Italian experience on anti-trafficking legislation on identification, protection and assistance to victims of trafficking and ways to use good practice and experience in the EU member states’ national contexts. The host of the PAHT seminar is Senator Alberto Maritati and Italian Senate. We are expecting participants from Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and UK together with their counterparts from Italy. The MPs will be joined by NGO counterparts from Bulgaria, Slovenia, Italy and UK, law enforcement judiciary representatives as well as business community representatives. The event will be held in the Italian Senate. The PAHT team is grateful to the office of Senator Alberto Maritati for their assistance in organising this event.

Yesterday, parliamentarians and NGOs from across the EU met in The Hague for the second event of the Parliamentarians Against Human Trafficking project.

Meeting in the Senate of the Dutch Parliament, the Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal, participants gathered for the Good Practice Exchange to learn about the role of the Dutch Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings, her work with the Dutch Parliament and how the system could work in other EU parliaments.

The day started with a welcome address by Senator Willem Brocker, host of the event, and Anthony Steen, Chairman of the Human Trafficking Foundation. Both explained the importance of having independent National Rapporteurs across the EU to assist in the fight against trafficking. Senator Brocker also reflected on the Dutch Parliament’s good relationship with the Dutch Rapporteur and how the work of the Rapporteur had significantly informed and improved counter-trafficking debate in the Dutch Parliament.

Next followed keynote speeches by Corinne Dettmeijer-Vermeulen, National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings in the Netherlands, and Ard Van Der Steur MP, member of the Dutch Parliament.

Ms. Dettmeijer-Vermeulen described the work of the National Rapporteur in checking the effectiveness of the fight against human trafficking. She explained how the role continues to evolve with the addition of fighting child pornography to her mandate.

Mr. Van Der Steur reiterated Senator Brocker’s endorsement of the work performed by the National Rapporteur’s office, highlighting the particular usefulness of the National Rapporteur’s reports in enabling parliamentary debate on human trafficking.

The morning’s discussions continued with an in depth session for parliamentarians focused on how parliamentarians can build up parliamentary groups as part of an EU network. Parliamentarians were also invited to provide overviews of the situations in their countries. Presided by Anthony Steen, the session featured contributions from Maria Cardoso MP (Portugal), Florin Paslaru MP (Romania), Peter Bone MP (UK), Anna Lo MLA (UK), Michael Connarty MP (UK), Elisabeth Naucler MP (Finland), Nassos Alevras MP (Greece), Robert Biedron MP (Poland), Ard Van Der Steur MP (Netherlands) and Senator Willem Brocker (Netherlands).

After a short lunch break, the afternoon kicked off with a lively interactive discussion on co-operation between NGOs and parliamentarians, chaired by Marieke Van Doorninck, La Strada International Netherlands and featuring contributions from Sandra Classen (BLINN), Bas De Visser (Comensha), Theo Noten (ECPAT Netherlands) and Jaana Kauppinen (Pro-Centre Finland). Debate centred on how MPs and NGOs could work together to convince colleagues of the importance of establishing an independent rapporteur in all EU member states.

Following a contribution from Steve Harvey on Europol’s work in fighting human trafficking, the day finished with brief concluding statements from Stana Buchowska, Project Co-ordinator, and Christine Beddoe, Project Director.

The next event of the PAHT project is scheduled to take place in Rome on Thursday 22 March 2012.

Preparations are in the final stages ahead of the second Parliamentarians Against Human Trafficking event, a Good Practice Exchange, which will be held in The Hague on Thursday 26 January 2012. The event will provide an opportunity for parliamentarians from across the EU to join together to discuss how a National Rapporteur can work with Parliaments to help in the fight against human trafficking.

Already confirmed are MPs from Greece, Romania, Portugal, Poland, the UK and Finland, together with their counterparts from the Netherlands. The MPs will be joined by NGO counterparts from Greece, Romania, Finland, the UK and the Netherlands.

The event will be held in the Senate, Parliament of the Netherlands.

The PAHT team is grateful to the Office of the Dutch National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings for their assistance in organising this event.

Parliamentarians and NGOs from across Europe convened in the House of Commons for the inaugural seminar of the Parliamentarians against Human Trafficking (PAHT) project on 24 November.

UK MPs and representatives from NGOs met delegates from Austria, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Romania to discuss the international obligations and issues facing governments tackling the trafficking of adults and children.

The all-day event, held in the House of Commons, was opened by Baroness Butler-Sloss, who introduced a session by Peter Bone MP entitled ‘How can parliamentarians build up parliamentary groups as part of an EU parliamentary network?’.

This was followed by a keynote speech – ‘The concept of prevention in the EU Directive on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings: theory to practice’ – by Aidan McQuade, director of Anti-Slavery
International.

Also in the morning was a panel discussion and Q&A on ‘How parliamentarians can help establish awareness parliamentary groups in their own parliaments’. This panel was fronted by Valeriu Zgonea MP, Romania, Ryszard Kalisz MP, Poland, Peter Bone MP, UK, Senator Mihaela Popa, Romania, Senator Alberto Maritati, Italy, Maria Paula Cardoso MP, Portugal, and Athanassios Alevras MP, Greece. It was chaired by Anthony Steen, the chairman of the Human Trafficking Foundation.

The afternoon sessions focused on prevention of human trafficking and sports events, with case studies presented from ECPAT Germany and ECPAT Austria with regards to their experience of the 2006 Fifa World Cup and Euro 2008 football championships. This looked at potential challenges facing the UK with regards to its hosting of the 2012 Olympic Games.

Additionally, there was a session on the areas of prevention that most needed addressing, featuring speeches from Klara Skrivankova of Anti-Slavery International, Margot James MP and Heike Rudat, Head
of Human Trafficking in the Criminal Investigation Department of Berlin, Germany. This was chaired by Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne.

The final session of the day focused on ‘How business and parliamentarians can work more closely together to combat human trafficking’, which was presided over by Michael Connarty MP and presented by Howard Rosen, the President of the Council of British Chambers of Commerce in Europe.

Project Coordinator Stana Buchowska said: “The London seminar was a fantastic introduction to the Parliamentarians against Human Trafficking project. The number of MPs, both from the UK and Europe, who are interested in working to raise awareness of human trafficking and to prevent it is really encouraging.

“This was the first of 11 events planned across Europe that will enable parliamentarians to learn good practice, share information and expand their contact with specialist NGOs and business leaders in Europe. After the success of this seminar, we look ahead to the Good Practice Exchange to be held on 26 January 2012 in The Hague, the Netherlands.”

The London seminar is the first such event to be held by the PAHT group, which aims to develop a European network of parliamentarians working to combat human trafficking in order to promote and develop cross-border cooperation and mutual understanding.

PAHT hopes to directly reach 100 parliamentarians across 15 countries, and 1,000 indirectly through the participating parliamentarians reporting back to their national parliaments.

The two-year project, which is principally funded by the European Commission, with finance from the Tudor Trust, is led by ECPAT UK, with key partners the Human Trafficking Foundation and the Asociatia High Level Group for Children (Romania).

European parliamentarians at the PAHT London seminar

PREVENTION OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING

The first seminar of the project will take place in Westminster on Thursday 24 November 2011. The seminar will provide a forum for parliamentarians, NGOs, law enforcement agencies and representatives from the business community to focus on two key points:

• How are EU member states complying with the EU directive on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings?
• Do international sports events increase the risk of trafficking in human beings?

The seminar will aim to provide parliamentarians with practical information for tackling human trafficking in their own countries.

Attendance at the seminar is by invitation only.

Coming up….

Good Practice Exchange – The Hague – January 2012

Seminar – Berlin – March 2012