Activities of Alice KUHNKE 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 (54)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)
Citation 2 a (new)
- having regard to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR),
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 13
Citation 13
— having regard to the International Labour Organization (ILO) Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No 29), the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No 105) and the Forced Labour (Supplementary Measures) Recommendation, 2014 (No 203), the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No 182) and the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189),
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 13 a (new)
Citation 13 a (new)
- having regard to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human rights,
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)
Citation 14 a (new)
- having regard to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). “General recommendation on women’s access to justice” advance unedited version, 23 July 2015,
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas women and girls form the majority of THB victims; 78% of all children trafficked are girls and 72% of adults trafficked are women;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas gender inequality, poverty, forced displacement, unemployment, lack of socioeconomic opportunities, lack of access to education, gender based violence, discrimination and marginalization and corruption are some of the contributing factors that make persons, especially women and children, vulnerable to trafficking; whereas the root causes of THB remain insufficiently tackled;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas the victims of THB are often subject to multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence, including on the grounds of gender, age, race, disability, ethnicity, culture and religion, as well as national or social origin or other status, and that these forms of discrimination may themselves fuel trafficking in persons1a, _________________ 1a https://undocs.org/en/A/HRC/RES/44/4
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A d (new)
Recital A d (new)
Ad. whereas the Anti-Trafficking Directive sets out minimum standards to be applied throughout the European Union in preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting victims and provides for the definition of trafficking in human beings,
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A e (new)
Recital A e (new)
Ae. whereas some Member States have not yet completed the transposition of the Directive; whereas complete and correct transposition of the Directive, followed by its full implementation, is not only compulsory but also necessary in order to make progress in addressing trafficking in human beings,
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A f (new)
Recital A f (new)
Af. whereas Member States have an obligation to exercise due diligence to prevent THB, to investigate instances of trafficking and punish perpetrators, to support and empower victims and respect their dignity, and to provide for their protection and access to remedies, and that not doing so violates and impairs or nullifies the enjoyment of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of victims,
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A g (new)
Recital A g (new)
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A h (new)
Recital A h (new)
Ah. whereas the implementation of the Victims’ Directive is not satisfactory, particularly due to incomplete and/or incorrect transposition,
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Commends the good work done by the 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; considers, however, that in order to accelerate the EU’s response to THB, the mandate of the EU Anti- Trafficking Coordinator could be extended;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses the importance of the funding of the AsylumCitizens, Equality, MRigration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and Internal Security Fund (ISF) programmeshts and Values programme, in particular the Daphne fund to continue to be used for projects tackling THB, as well as using other available instruments, such as the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and Internal Security Fund (ISF) programmes;
Amendment 114 #
3a. Recalls that support organisations require sufficient funding for projects, and expresses concern that many, especially women’s organisations, are struggling because of funding cuts;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Highlights that the lack of consistent, comparable and detailed data continues to hamper the adequate assessment of trends in THB; calls on the Member States to collect more up-to-date data disaggregated by age and gender, gender and racial and ethnic origin and including internally trafficked people, by compiling statistical information in cooperation with civil society; urges the Member States to improve the recording and reporting of statistical data; recalls that more comprehensive evidence-based support will allow for a more accurate assessment of the nature of the problem, which is essential for future policy intervention;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to monitor the use of digital technologies for THB as the predominant tools used to recruit trafficking victims, while ensuring individuals’ fundamental rights and data protection, as well as victims’ right to privacy;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Recalls that the gender dimension must be consistently monitored in the implementation of EU anti-trafficking legislation, and urges the Commission to continue to monitor this in its assessment of Member States’ compliance and implementation of the Directive;
Amendment 155 #
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; calls on the Member States to give more actors responsibility for identifying victims of THB at all stagebut stresses that this does not diminish the responsibility of the Member States to protect them; recalls that under Article 11 of the Directive, Member States have an obligation to establish mechanisms to ensure the early identification of, assistance to, and support for victims, in cooperation with the relevant support organisations; stresses the need for an approach based on four key strategies: prevention, prosecution, victim protection and multi-level partnership; stresses that the identification of victims is crucial for victims to exercise their rights; calls ofn the process, includingMember States to give civil society representatives, immigration and asylum officials, labour inspectors and social workers or healthcare staffmedical staff more power for identifying victims of THB at all stages of the process ;
Amendment 170 #
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 gender- sensitive and gender-based approach while ensuring complementarity with the Victims’ Rights Directive; notwelcomes that the Anti-Trafficking Directive prohibits the criminalisation of victims of THB;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Laments that in certain member states access to services and protections including the right to residence for victims of human trafficking are contingent upon participation in criminal proceedings; calls on member states to offer unconditional protection to all victims of human trafficking including women and girls;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. 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 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Highlights that while the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet measureable, it is nevertheless clear that the crisis disproportionately affects the most vulnerable victims of THB, especially women and children and those in precarious situations;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Highlights the need to provide protection and effective and adequate gender-responsive and multidisciplinary assistance to victims of trafficking and considering also their direct dependants, on the basis of the specific needs of those persons, including child-appropriate measures and the use of multilingual staff, which must not be made conditional on their cooperation with law enforcement authorities; urges the Member States to step up efforts in this direction;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. Regrets that the trafficking of individuals in vulnerable situations such as women, children, LGBTI people, people with disabilities and people from racialized groups, is often overlooked; stresses the importance of improved data collection to enhance victim identification efforts with regard to these groups and developing best practice in dealing with the specific needs of these victims;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 c (new)
Paragraph 9 c (new)
9c. Notes that victims of THB require specialised services, including access to safe short- and long-term accommodation, witness protection schemes, healthcare and counselling, translation and interpretation services, legal redress, compensation, access to education and training, including teaching of the language of their country of residence, job placement, (re)integration, family mediation and resettlement assistance, and that these services should be further individualised case by case, with specific consideration given to the gender perspective; urges the Member States to ensure gender-specific provision of services to victims of THB that is appropriate to their needs, recognising any needs that may be specific to the form of trafficking to which they have been subjected;
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Points out the need for a coherent and coordinated National Referral Mechanism (NRM); underlines that good cooperation between the police and non- governmental organisations (NGOs) cannot be a substitute forshould be complementary to a fully fledged NRM defining the roles and responsibilities of all relevant actors16 in such a way as to ensure protection and promotion of the fundamental rights of victims of trafficking; _________________ 16The 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 215 #
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 and across borders in terms of access, enforcement and actual payments, and to come forward with specific measures to ensure better access to compensation;
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Is concerned that victims of THB are often not adequately informed of their rights, the assistance and support measures that are available to them; underlines the importance of having clear and consistent information for victims and for frontline staff who may come into contact with victims, such as security forces, judicial authorities, police and social services, including information on rights with regard to emergency assistance, medical treatment and healthcare, residence permits, employment rights, access to the courts and to a lawyer, the possibilities for seeking redress and the specific rights of children; stresses that there must be no discrimination in access to services;
Amendment 224 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Recalls that NGOs and individuals working to protect and help victims of THB should not be held responsible for any crime;
Amendment 225 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)
Paragraph 11 c (new)
11c. Highlights the effectiveness of awareness-raising schemes in educating consumers to select products from corporations that ensure a slavery-free supply chain, but notes that this in itself is not enough to reduce demand for THB; calls on Member States to take more proactive preventative actions such as information and awareness-raising campaigns, training, including training specifically designed for men, targeted workshops with people in vulnerable situation and education activities in schools, including promoting equality, combating sexist stereotypes and gender- based violence;
Amendment 236 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Highlights that sexual exploitation remains the most prevalentreported form of trafficking in the EU since 2008, as 60 % of victims are trafficked for sexual exploitation; notes that more than 90 % of these victims are women and girls, and that more than 70 % of traffickers are male;
Amendment 247 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Urges the Member States to adopt specific measures to address gender-based violence and violence against women ands well as 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 legislation;
Amendment 256 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls on the Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, to examine how the demand for sexual and cheap labour 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 258 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Underlines that THB is fuelled by high profits for traffickers and demand that fosters all forms of exploitation; recalls that MS have a legal obligation to discourage and reduce the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation;
Amendment 262 #
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 demand and use of the services of victims of trafficking as a criminal offence in their national statutes, as recommended by Article 8 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 273 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Urges the Member States to focus on the recurring and emerging patterns of THBall forms of THB including for sexual exploitation, such as the increasing exploitation of children and the use of the ‘lover boy’ method as the mostnd other frequent means of recruiting victims by using online technologies;
Amendment 284 #
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 forced labour or services including sexual exploitation and encourages Member States to adopt measures to support victims, such as exit programmes, social and professional reintegration or sexual health services, education and access to justice;
Amendment 291 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Reiterates the need to ensure victims and their family members access to justice and safe reporting, and providing trafficked persons with appropriate, relevant and understandable information on their rights, including the right to a remedy, the mechanisms and procedures available to exercise these rights, and on how and where to obtain legal and other necessary assistance;
Amendment 298 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17b. Calls on the Member States to combat impunity, criminalise trafficking and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice; urges the Member States to ratify all relevant international instruments, agreements and legal obligations which will make the efforts to combat THB, including the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings;
Amendment 301 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 c (new)
Paragraph 17 c (new)
17c. Recalls that in some EU MS, trafficking cases are handled by specially trained judges; regrets that this is not the mainstream practice among MS;
Amendment 310 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Emphasises that migration flows can increase the risk for migrants of becoming victims of trafficking within the EU20 ; points out that there has been a sharp increase in the last years concerning the number of women and girls trafficked through the Central Mediterranean route for sexual exploitation in the EU21 ; recalls that women and children may be compelled to exchange sex for protection, in order to survive, to advance along their migratory route, and for basic sustenance; underlines that women and children engaging in survival sex are not considered trafficking victims, and thus cannot receive the required assistance; _________________ 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 349 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Calls on the Member States to step up their efforts to early identify potential victims, in particularcluding within migration flows and hotspots; calls on the Member States to provide adequate resources for specialised facilities for unaccompanied minors and female victims of traffickingvictims of trafficking including women and unaccompanied minors;
Amendment 363 #
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 migrants and give perpetrators additional leverage to exploit victims with an irregular status24 ; calls on the Member States to decouple migration enforcement actions from law enforcement activities; recalls that, in order to prevent THB and people smuggling, it is important to create safe legal migration channels for women and children, such as humanitarian visas; calls upon the Commission and the Member States to provide safe and legal routes for migration, to ensure the presence of gender trained staff in reception facilities and to provide adequate support and funding to civil society organisations; _________________ 24Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), Insecure justice? Residence permits for victims of crime in Europe, May 2020.
Amendment 368 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Notes that informal and unregulated work should be brought within the protection of labour laws and it should be ensured that labour rights are applied to all workers irrespective of their gender, migration and residence status; recommends that control mechanisms should be set up to monitor businesses compliance with labour standards and human rights and sanctions for businesses that do not respect human rights and the law should be enacted;
Amendment 374 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Notes that children constitute nearly a quarter of all victims in the EU, with girls (78 %) making up the vast majority of child victims in the EU; points out that nearly 75 % of all child victims in the EU were EU citizens; is particularly concerned about the violence, abuse and exploitation faced by child victims in the EU, especially trafficked for sexual exploitation25 ; _________________ 25Europol, EMSC, 4th Annual Activity Report, 2020.
Amendment 404 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Requires Member States to provide unaccompanied child victims of trafficking with assistance, support and protection measures that meet their specific needs; recalls that such measures should not only take into account the best interests of the unaccompanied children, but also provide them with a durable solution;
Amendment 426 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30a. Notes that women are disproportionately criminalised due to their situation or status and are prevented from equal access to justice as a result of gender stereotyping, discriminatory laws, intersecting or compounded discrimination, procedural and evidentiary requirements and practices; calls on the Commission and Member States to ensure that access to justice is physically, economically, socially and culturally available to all women;
Amendment 436 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)
Paragraph 31 a (new)
31a. Is alarmed by the fact that trafficking takes place as a result of the high demand for products and services dependent upon the exploitation of human beings, which is a very profitable form of organised crime;
Amendment 460 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)
Paragraph 33 a (new)
33a. Is concerned that the gender perspective remains unevenly embraced within JHA agencies; calls on the JHA agencies to ensure that a sustained programme of ensuring gender balance is in place, particularly in decision-making relevant to THB;
Amendment 475 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Calls on the Commission to amend the Anti-Trafficking Directive with a view to updating its provisions, including the establishment of specific measures for the prevention and prosecution of trafficking for sexual exploitation as the largest area of THB, to address the use of online technologies in both the proliferation and the preventionackling of THB, to improve measures for prevention and the early identification and protection of victims, and to strengthen a horizontal gender perspective across all forms of trafficking, as well as to ensure that Member States explicitly criminalise the use of all services which involve exploitation;
Amendment 507 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 a (new)
Paragraph 37 a (new)
37a. Calls on the Member States to ensure that victims of THB have access to justice, compensation and reparation;
Amendment 508 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 b (new)
Paragraph 37 b (new)
37b. Calls on the Commission to implement a human rights based approach to the prevention of trafficking centring the rights of the victim; recommends that the Commission and Member states work together with civil society to provide necessary services and assistance to victims of trafficking free from judgement and stigmatisation;
Amendment 510 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 c (new)
Paragraph 37 c (new)
37c. Recalls that the Directive needs to be fully implemented, consistently and diligently applied by all actors in the field: legislators, judges, prosecutors, police and public administrations; stresses that proper training of all these actors is essential, as are preventive awareness- raising campaigns and cooperation between public administration and civil society organisations; urges the Commission and the Member States to step up efforts in this direction;