Council of Europe publishes report to address CH
The Council of Europe has published its first evaluation report on combating human trafficking, GRETA for short, addressed to Switzerland. It welcomes the finding of GRETA that the actors involved have already taken important steps in the fight against this misery, says Switzerland.
The GRETA report evaluates Switzerland's progress in combating human trafficking and praises the steps already taken, particularly in national and international coordination. Through recommendations, the report identifies where action is still needed. Some key recommendations include:
- Increased efforts to identify victims of human trafficking
- Strengthen the fight against trafficking in human beings for the purpose of labor exploitation, namely by training labor inspectors and developing tools to identify forced labor.
- Strengthen the protection of minor victims of trafficking in human beings, taking into account the best interests of the child
- Improve the recognition of victims in the asylum process
- Cooperation mechanisms against human trafficking should exist in all cantons
In the evaluation process, GRETA engaged intensively with Swiss authorities and civil society and integrated their feedback into the report based on the submission of the first draft.
The office of the Coordination Unit against Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants (KSMM), managed by fedpol, coordinated the cooperation of the Swiss authorities and NGOs with GRETA. The KSMM steering body will address GRETA's recommendations and take them into account when drafting the new National Action Plan against Human Trafficking (NAP).
GRETA and the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings
With its Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, the Council of Europe has created the first legally binding instrument in Europe. Switzerland was the 38th Council of Europe member to ratify the Convention, which entered into force in 2008. It entered into force for Switzerland on April 1, 2013. The Convention aims to combat all forms of human trafficking at the domestic and interstate levels.
GRETA was created in 2009 and consists of a maximum of 15 independent experts. These review the implementation of the measures set out in the Convention in the individual member countries. Representatives of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and those of the Contracting Parties that are not Council of Europe member states together form the Committee of the Parties. The Committee of the Parties will formally adopt the recommendations formulated in the GRETA Evaluation Report on November 30, 2015.
Press release fedpol
