Coe urges member states to ratify Convention against human trafficking

Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe Maud de Boer Buquicchio urged on Thursday CoE member states to ratify the Council’s Convention on action against trafficking of human beings, that would give the member states a ”pioneering treaty” in combating human trafficking.
The CoE in collaboration with the Cypriot Ministry of the Interior opened a two-day seminar on action against trafficking human beings with the participation of 150 persons, including penal code experts, representatives of Non Governmental Organisations from various CoE member states, and CoE experts.
Addressing the opening session of the seminar, Cypriot Minister of the Interior Neoklis Sylikiotis called for a global effort to combat human trafficking, which he described as a ”global phenomenon”, reiterating Cyprus’ commitment to combat this ”humiliation of human dignity.”
”Cyprus is committed to implement all necessary measures concerning prevention, protection and persecution, so we can effectively tackle the phenomenon,” he said, adding that the Cypriot House of Representatives will soon ratify a new Action Plan to combat human trafficking.
Buquicchio said that ”the political speech renounces trafficking human beings as a crime but this is not enough,” adding that ”against all logic, our society seems to tolerate this new form of slavery.”
”We have to put it plainly. Trafficking human beings is an affront to human beings, therefore a violation of the most fundamental human rights,” Buquicchio said.
Recalling that CoE had created in 2005 the Convention on action against trafficking in human beings, Buquicchio said it could enforce a pioneering treaty to prevent trafficking, strengthen international cooperation and create a monitoring mechanism to ensure effective implementation by member states.
”A year and a half after its adoption, I must voice my disappointment because until today the Convention has been ratified by four states and signed by thirty,” she added, noting that the Convention must be ratified by ten states in order to be put into force.
”We are still six ratifications short of its entry into force,” she concluded.
In his address, Cypriot Police Chief Charalambos Koulentis said that human trafficking appears in Cyprus in the form of sexual exploitation, adding that the illegal immigration flow to Europe from third countries constitutes a decisive factor in human trafficking, which finds fertile ground to flourish.
”Our presence here indicates our commitment and will to jointly combat this crime in the societies we live in,” Koulentis concluded.
Leda Koursoumba, Cyprus Law Commissioner and President of the National Institution for the protection of human rights, outlined the multilateral instruments in the field of combating human trafficking to which Cyprus is a party.
”The aim is three-fold, to prevent, combat and protect,” Koursoumba said, adding that combating human trafficking must constitute a priority and a challenge for the international community, Cyprus not excluded.”
She also said that Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos signed the CoE Convention in 2005 and that the ratification process has begun and will be concluded as soon as possible.
”What is most important is that Cyprus is committed and ready to start a coordinated action in combating human trafficking,” Koursoumba added.
Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Special Representative on Combating Trafficking Eva Biaudet commended CoE for its action against human trafficking, but expressed disappointment over the European countries’ level of implementation of legislation against this crime.
”Let us be realistic, we need a commitment for defending human dignity far beyond the papers,” she said, adding that ”still we are quite far from a turning point.”
After outlining the legal measures taking against human trafficking, Biaudet said that ”a lot of things remain to be done to improve the implementation of our commitment and obligations.”
She also pointed out the need for a distinction between illegal immigrants and victims of human trafficking, noting that ”the victim-centred approach is more an exception than a rule.”
Biauder referred to the numbers concerning human trafficking in Europe, noting that ”we believe that then figures reflect just the tip of the iceberg,” because ”not all forms of trafficking are recognised by all countries and addressed by criminal law.”