Activities of Malin BJÖRK related to 2020/2029(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Implementation of the Anti-Trafficking Directive (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the implementation of Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims
Amendments (45)
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 a (new)
Citation 15 a (new)
- having regard to Directive 2011/93/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA,
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 a (new)
Citation 22 a (new)
- having regard to the Commission’s studies on trafficking in human beings, notably its 2020 study on the economic, social and human cost of human trafficking, its 2020 study on reviewing the functioning of Member States’ National and Transnational Referral Mechanisms and its 2016’s study on the gender dimension of trafficking in human beings;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas trafficking in human beings (THB) constitutes modern-day slavery and is a profound violation of fundamental rights, as outlined in Article 5(3) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; whereas trafficking is gender-specific;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the number of persons trafficked in the EU continues to increase[1]; [1] https://ec.europa.eu/anti- trafficking/sites/antitrafficking/files/third _progress_report.pdf
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Stresses that 70 % of trafficking victims and suspects in the EU are EU nationals[1]; [1] https://www.europol.europa.eu/publicatio ns-documents/trafficking-in-human- beings-in-eu
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Commends the good work done by the 2011-2019 EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator (EU ATC) in coordinating the EU’s response to THB and developing knowledge and findings on the various aspects of THB, including research into the gender dimension and the particular vulnerability of children; calls on the Commission to ensure the continuity of that work by appointing a full-time EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator with a clear mandate and relevant expertise, and a network of national representatives from Member States and Civil Society to ensure consistent cooperation across the EU;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses the importance of the funding of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), the Daphné fund and Internal Security Fund (ISF) programmes to continue to be used for projects tackling THB, as well as using other available instruments; recalls the need for gender specific projects and calls for a comprehensive policy review of projects financed directly by the EU since 2015;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Highlights that the lack of consistent and detailed data continues to hamper the adequate assessment of trends in THBAcknowledges the improvement in the collection of consistent and detailed data; calls on the Member States to keep improving data by collecting more up-to- date data disaggregated by age and gender and including internally trafficked people, byin compiling statistical information in cooperation with civil societyoperation with civil society and the European Institution for Gender Equality (EIGE); calls on the Commission to regularly compile and publish such data for the EU;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Urges the Commission and Member States to ensure the differentiation of THB and organised crime, and ensure that a human rights- based response remains at the core of analysis and responses to THB;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to monitor and assess the use of digital technologies for THB as one of the predominant tools used to recruit trafficking victims, and calls on them to promote and support adequate actions focusing in particular on awareness campaigns and training; stresses that all measures aiming at preventing the recruitment of victims or other illegal activities online must be targeted, effective and proportionate, in order not to unduly restrict freedom of expression and confidentiality of communications;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Highlights that the early identification of victims remains one of the main challenges to implementation, and is one of the most crucial in terms of enabling victims to exercise their rights; Notes that the number of identified victims is still too low compared to the real number of victims; calls on the Member States to give more actors responsibility for identifying victims of THB at all stages of the process, including civil society representatives, immigration and asylum officials, law enforcement officers, labour inspectors and social workers or healthcare staff, as well as to provide such actors with adequate training;
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls on all Member States to ensure that early expert legal intervention and advice is provided to potential victims of THB at the earliest possible moment, including accessible information about their legal rights and options;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on all Member States to effectively guarantee the rights of victims and to support them with a child-sensitive and gender- sensitive approach while ensuring complementarity with the Victims’ Rights Directive; notes that the Anti-Trafficking Directive prohibits the criminalisation of victims of THBobliges Member States to take the necessary measures to allow authorities not to prosecute or impose sanctions to victims for their involvement in activities they have been compelled to commit, and strongly condemns that victims of THB are still often criminalised or sanctioned in some Member States;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Regrets the lack of targeted protection and assistance programmes for vulnerable victims in some Member States; stresses the importance of providing specific services to women and girls victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation, and also to provide adequate assistance and support to victims with special needs, and to ensure adequate protection on the basis of an individual risk assessment; Calls on the Commission to ensure the effective implementation of existing EU law provisions in all Member States;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Points out the need for a coherent and coordinatedNotes that all Member States have in place a National Referral Mechanism (NRM) and a wide range of instruments for transnational cooperation that con-tribute to referral of victims of THB; points out the challenges in the coordination of different actors, combined with those posed by the limited trust of the victims, both of which negatively affect effective referral; stresses the need for a fully-functioning National Referral Mechanism (NRM); underlines that good cooperation between the police and non- governmental organisations (NGOs) cannot be a substitute for a fully fledged NRM defining the roles and responsibilities of all relevant actors16 ; _________________ 16 The recommendations by the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human beings (GRETA) include ensuring the application of the NRM to asylum seekers and persons in immigration detention.
Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Commission to monitor and assess the situation of compensation to victims in the Member States in terms of access, enforcement and actual payments, and to come forward with specific measures to ensure better and faster access to compensation in all Member States, as well as better information and support to victims in order to obtain compensation in another Member State; in this regard, stresses the importance of granting victims free legal aid in all Member States;
Amendment 234 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Highlights that sexual exploitation remains the most prevalent form of trafficking in the EU since 2008, as 60between 60 % and 69 % of victims are trafficked for sexual exploitation; notes that more thbetween 90 % and 906 % of these victims are women and girls, and that more than 70 % of traffickers are male;
Amendment 248 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Urges the Member States to adopt specific measures to address violence against women and gender inequalities as the root causes of trafficking; recommends that the Commission strengthen and develop the gender dimension in the monitoring of the implementation of EU anti-trafficking legislationcalls on Member States to recognise sex purchase as a form of violence against women and criminalise sex purchase in line with the Swedish Equality Model introduced in 1999;
Amendment 250 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Calls on the Commission to introduce a new legislative proposal on prevention and prosecution of sexual exploitation pursuant to Article 83(1) of the TFEU in order to comprehensively target demand for all forms of sexual exploitation, thus assisting in ending THB for sexual exploitation;
Amendment 252 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Recommends that the Commission and Member states strengthen and develop the gender equality dimension in the monitoring of the implementation of EU anti-trafficking legislation;
Amendment 255 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls on the Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, to examine howPoints out that the demand for sexual services drives trafficking, as traffickers tend to convey their victims to countries where prostitution is regulated and lawfully practiced, making it much easier for traffickers to use a legal environment in order to exploit their victims17 ; recalls that in some EU Member States where prostitution is legal, suspects were able to exploit children alongside adult victims18 ; _________________ 17Europol, Situation Report ‘Trafficking in Human Beings in the EU’, 18 February 2016. 18Europol, Situation Report ‘Criminal networks involved in the trafficking and exploitation of underage victims in the EU’, 18 October 2018.
Amendment 264 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls on the Commission to prioritise the prevention of the crime of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through adopting measures and programmes to discourage and reduce demand, and calls on the Member States to include the use of the services of victims of trafficking as a criminal offence in their national statutes, as recommended by Article 18 of the Anti-Trafficking Directive and reiterated by the Commission in 201819 ; _________________ 19Second progress report on the implementation of the Directive, COM(2018)0777, p. 6.
Amendment 275 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Urges the Member States to focus on the recurring and emerging patterns of THB for sexual exploitation, such as the increasing exploitation of children and the use of the ‘lover boy’ method as the most frequent means of recruiting victims by using online technologies;
Amendment 278 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Amendment 286 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Highlights the importance of gender-sensitive training programmes for officials attending victims to enhance the early identification of those who are victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation and encourages Member States to adopt measures to support victims, such as exit programmes, social and professional reintegration orand comprehensive sexual health services;
Amendment 294 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Urges the Member States to adopt comprehensive sexuality education as a key form of prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls including trafficking and sexual exploitation, to include consent and relationships education promoting attitudes of respect and equality in all interactions and the reality of prostitution and THB for sexual exploitation;
Amendment 317 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Emphasises that migration flows can increase the risk for migrants of becoming victims of, while the majority of victims are EU nationals, traffickers have been using migration routes to smuggle trafficking withinvictims into the EU20 ; points out in this regard that there has been a sharp increase in the number of Nigerian women and girls trafficked through the Central Mediterranean route for sexual exploitation in the EU21 ; _________________ 20Second progress report, COM(2018)0777; Europol, European Migrant Smuggling Centre (EMSC), 4th Annual Report, 2020; Europol, Situation Report ‘Trafficking in Human Beings in the EU‘, 18 February 2016. 21 Second progress report, COM(2018)0777, p. 3.
Amendment 328 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Reiterates that asylum seekers, refugees and migrants are particularly vulnerable to trafficking and that special attention should be given to the trafficking of women, children and other vulnerable groups; highlights that there are vulnerabilities and risks at the different stages in the migration process prior to migration itself, en route to the EU, at the destination and on return22 ; _________________ 22 European implementation assessment – ‘Implementation of Directive 2011/36/EU : Migration and gender issues’, Directorate- General for Parliamentary Research, Ex- Post Evaluation Unit, 15 September 2020, p. 50.
Amendment 342 #
23. Calls on the Member States to step up their efforts to early identify potential victims, in particular within migration flows and hotspots; calls on the Member States to provide adequate resources for specialised facilities for unaccompanied mhighlights that potential victims should be provided without delay with protection and access to a safe place where the potential victim could be provided with infors and female victims of traffickingmation and legal aid; calls on the Member States to provide adequate resources for specialised facilities for the detention of unaccompanied minors and of female victims of trafficking and ensure sufficient places in shelters;
Amendment 365 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Notes that the migration policies of Member States, geared towards fighting irregular migration, can have a ‘chilling effect’ among vulnerable migrantsundocumented migrants or migrants with a precarious status dependent on their employer and give perpetrators additional leverage to exploit victims with an irregular or precarious status24 ; calls on the Member States to decouple migration enforcement actions from law enforcement activities; _________________ 24Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), Insecure justice? Residence permits for victims of crime in Europe, May 2020.
Amendment 393 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Notes that Roma children are especially vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking at high risk of being subjected to sexual exploitation, labour exploitation, forced begging;
Amendment 397 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Notes that children in migration, and, in particular, unaccompanied migrant children, continue to be at higher risk of traffickingviolence and exploitation along migration routes en route to and within the EU; notes that girls are at risk of sexual exploitation and gender based violence throughout the migration routes, condemns that some Member States have been using detention as a “protection” for unaccompanied minors, including in police cells; recalls that detention can never be in the best interests of the child and the need to Member States to provide non-custodial child-friendly accommodation;
Amendment 423 #
30. Points out that not all Member States have introduced legislation relevant to Article 18 of the Anti-Trafficking Directive27 ; notes that the differing legal landscapes on criminalising the use of services exacted from victims may hamper efforts to reduce demand; Regrets that prosecution and conviction levels for use of victims’ services and sexual exploitation in the EU is low; reiterates its call on the Member States to establish the act of knowingly using the services of victims of human trafficking as a criminal offence; _________________ 27 Second progress report, COM(2018)0777, p. 29.
Amendment 432 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. CDeplores the fact that victims are still often subject to criminal charges and convictions for offences they have been compelled to commit, often in relation to the illegal entry into a Member State’s territory, which is often inherent to being trafficked; calls on the Member States to adopt clear provisions on the non- prosecution or non-punishment of THB victims and on decoupling protection from cooperation with law enforcement agencies;
Amendment 439 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Stresses the importance of financial investigation and ‘following the money’ as a key strategy for investigating and prosecuting the organised crime networks that profit from THB, as well as to confiscate the proceeds of THB in order to ensure that ‘crime does not pay’; urges Member States to use confiscated proceeds to support victims’ assistance and protection, including compensation of victims, as stressed by Recital 13 of the THB Directive; calls on the Commission to assess and promote the use of existing judicial and police cooperation, and the available tools;
Amendment 457 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Recalls the role of EU agencies in the early identification of victims and the fight against THB; calls for more resources for the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Agencies to enable their staff to be trained and capacity- building instruments to be developed in the area of detecting victims, including the appointment of gender-trained agency officers, especially in the Member States faced with increased mixed migratory flows; calls on the Commission to develop guidelines to mainstream gender expertise in the activities of law enforcement authorities across the EU;
Amendment 467 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
Amendment 479 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)
Paragraph 34 a (new)
34a. Recalls the Commission the need to carry out an evaluation report of the Anti-Trafficking Directive as it was foreseen five years after the adoption of the Directive;
Amendment 480 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 b (new)
Paragraph 34 b (new)
34b. Calls on the Commission to ensure the implementation of the directive and launch urgently infringement procedures against Member States that are not implementing the Directive;
Amendment 481 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 c (new)
Paragraph 34 c (new)
34c. Calls on the Commission to propose a complementary additional legislation criminalising the use of all services which involve exploitation;
Amendment 482 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 d (new)
Paragraph 34 d (new)
34d. Calls on the Member States to establish specific measures for the prevention and prosecution of trafficking for sexual exploitation as the largest area of THB, to improve measures for prevention and the early identification of victims, and to strengthen a horizontal gender perspective across all forms of trafficking;
Amendment 485 #
35. Emphasises the importance of a coherent approach to improve the identification of potential victims in the context of migration flows and in the hotspots, of improving access to asylum procedures and of ensuring their complementarity with the procedures related to trafficking; calls on the Commission to assess the implementation of the Anti-Trafficking Directive and to come forward with proposals to revise it;
Amendment 491 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
Amendment 502 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37