27 Amendments of Iratxe GARCÍA PÉREZ related to 2015/2118(INI)
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas trafficking in human beings is a serious form of organised crime driven by high demand for the forced services provided by its victims, which produce extremely high profits; whereas it affects women and men, girls and boys from the EU and from non-Community countries, in whom it causes severe damage that often affects them for the rest of their lives;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas trafficking in human beings is a complex transnational phenomenon that can be tackled effectively only if the EU institutions and Member States work together in a coordinated manner, with the focus being placed on identifying and protecting potential and actual victims in order to combat and successfully eradicate this serious human rights violation;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas THB can be the result of global economic and social inequalities and further exacerbated by societaleconomic, societal and education and training inequality between women and men;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas gender itself does not inherently create vulnerability, andreality and statistics show that women are far more vulnerable than men to being the target of THB; whereas there are many contributing factors to create a situation of vulnerability, including poverty, social exclusion and discrimination;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas minority and immigrant groups make up a disproportionate number of victims of THB as a result of being socially and economically marginalised;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. REmphasises that the EU’s legal and political framework recognises that trafficking is a gender-specific phenomenon and calls on Member States to adopt gender-specific measures 1 a; recalls that article 1 of the directive stresses the need to adopt a gender- sensitive approach to THB; highlights that women and men, girls and boys are vulnerable in different ways, and are often trafficked for different purposes, and that prevention, assistance and support measures must therefore be gender-specific; points out, further, that the EU strategy identifies violence against women and gender inequalities as one of the root causes of trafficking and lays down a series of measures to address the gender dimension of trafficking; __________________ 1a‘Mid-term report on the implementation of the EU strategy towards the eradication of trafficking in human beings’ SWD(2014) 318 final, page 9
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Welcomes the Commission’s creation of a webpage against trafficking that contains a database of EU-funded projects in the EU and elsewhere, up-to- date information on EU legal and political instruments, measures to combat people trafficking in the Member States, funding possibilities and EU initiatives;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Highlights the importance of having clear consistent information for victims and for frontline staff who may come into contact with victims, 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, the specific rights of children, etc.;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5c. Emphasises that it is also important to pay greater attention to labour market intermediaries, contractors, subcontractors and employment agencies, especially in high-risk sectors, as a way of preventing people trafficking, particularly for the purpose of labour exploitation but also for the purpose of sexual exploitation concealed behind what purport to be contracts for services in the hotel and catering industry and personal care services;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5d. Emphasises that the EU’s legal and political framework on THB combines the internal and external dimensions, recognising that action to combat trafficking, which is a serious human rights violation, constitutes a clear objective of the EU’s external action; emphasises, likewise, that countries outside the EU are often the countries of origin and transit for trafficking within the EU and that trafficking, as an illegal cross-border activity, is an important area for cooperation with non-Community countries; welcomes, in this connection, the fact that, at the request of the Council, the Commission and the European External Action Service have put together a package of information on activities carried out to combat people trafficking in priority countries and regions, as well as a list of the tools and instruments available to the EU and Member States, including external policies that deal with trafficking and projects funded by the EU and Member States in this field; calls on Member States to cooperate with the Commission and EEAS in combating people trafficking;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Stresses 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); points out that it is also important for destination countries to ensure that women migrants who have been granted legal residency in the destination countries have access to language teaching and other means of social integration, education and training in particular, with the aim of enabling them to exercise their rights as citizens;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Notes the huge and increasing role of the internet in the recruitment of victims andStresses that the internet plays a key role in facilitating THB, thereby adding to the challenges facing the security forces and police authorities in combating this serious form of organised crime; denounces the fact that, owing to the relative anonymity it offers, the internet is being used more and more for the recruitment of victims both within and outside the EU through false job offers, for the sale of services provided by exploiting the victims and for the exchange of information between criminal networks; calls on the Member States to ensure that their respective anti- trafficking policies take account of this and that law enforcement efforts addressing cyber technologies have the gender expertise needed to tackle this in the best way;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Insists that EU Member States must apply legislation against THB effectively in order to improve the identification of victims, including the criminalisation of people trafficking and assistance and protection for victims of trafficking; highlights, further, the need to ensure that the application and interpretation of provisions on crimes relating to trafficking and immigration laws do not clash with legislation against THB; stresses, likewise, that, in order to improve the identification of victims and the identification of subtle means of trafficking, the criminal justice system (legislation and practice) should focus more on the dynamics of exploitation and the application of the law, and prosecutors and judges should be carefully trained in this area;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Points out that victims’ clients are also an important source of information; suggests, in this connection, that consideration be given to the possibility of allowing cases to be reported anonymously in order to encourage clients to report possible cases of THB that they encounter, particularly in the context of prostitution;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Stresses that, to encourage victims of trafficking to report these crimes to the authorities and thus facilitate the early identification of victims, the law must be amended to recognise victims of trafficking as rights-holders in the eyes of the law; takes the view that victims of trafficking should be entitled to assistance and protection even if their case is dismissed by the courts; stresses the need to give more power to social workers, medical staff and immigration services to determine what constitutes trafficking and who are provided assistance and protection by law;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to work together to create gender-sensitive training programmes for persons coming in contact with victims of THB in an official capacity, including police officers and other security forces, border officers, judges, magistrates, lawyers, and other judicial authorities, front-line medical staff and social workers; stresses that training should include detection of victims, the formal identification process and appropriate, gender-specific assistance for victims;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Calls on the Member States actively to include social partners, trade unions and civil society, particularly NGOs working to combat trafficking and provide assistance to victims, in their initiatives to prevent THB, particularly in the field of labour exploitation, including as regards the identification of victims and awareness- raising activities;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Notes that the increased vulnerability of certain groups of people puts them at particular risk of falling victim of trafficking; deplores, however, 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 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Calls on the Member States to develop specific strategies for reducing demand for trafficking for sexual exploitation, such as exit programmes and schemes to empower and protect the rights of those in prostitution, and campaigns to discourage demand for sexual services, while also noting that the regulation of prostitution is a competence of the Member States;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Stresses that efforts to improve gender equality contribute to the prevention of THB, and should contain strategies for education and empowerment programmes for women and girls in order to strengthen their position in society and make them less vulnerable to trafficking, and awareness-raising campaigns and training specifically designed for men on the importance of equality between men and women and combating sexist stereotypes and gender violence;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Emphasises that to prevent trafficking, ensure the inviolability of the bodily integrity of women and combat gender violence, education promoting equality and combating sexist stereotypes is needed from an early age, to be supplemented with age-appropriate sexual education;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Notes that victims of THB require specialised services, including access to accommodation, witness protection schemes, healthcare and counselling, translation and interpretation services, and (re)integrationccess to education and training, including teaching on the language of their country of residence, and (re)integration, education, training and resettlement assistance, and that these services should be further individualised case by case, with specific consideration given to the issue of gender;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Stresses that the gender dimension of THB shows an obligation for Member States to address it as a form of violence against women; asks the Commission to come forward with a European strategy for combating gender violence, containing a legislative proposal on violence against women that includes THB;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Calls on the Member States to provide legal assistance free of charge to all of those who either self-identify, or meet an adequate number of the criteria for identification, as victims of THB, to help them access their rights, compensations and/or legal redress;
Amendment 224 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. Notes that the current EU Strategy towards the Eradication of THB comes to an end in 2016, and calls on the Commission to evaluate the current strategy and introduce a new one that follows a human rights-based approach, focusing on victims; includes a clear gender dimension and contains concrete actions in this regard; adequately and effectively addresses prevention, and continues to discourage the demand that fosters all forms of trafficking; calls for this strategy to be integrated and made coherent with other policy areas, with a view to ensuring effective implementation of anti-trafficking measures, including, but not limited to, security, migration and law enforcement.
Amendment 226 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40 a (new)
Paragraph 40 a (new)
40a. Calls on Member States to appoint, with a view to assessing their strategies and activities and improving efforts to combat trafficking, an independent national rapporteur with the legal right to appear before the national parliament and make recommendations on how best to combat THB;
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42 a (new)
Paragraph 42 a (new)
42a. Stresses that, to improve efforts to combat THB in the European Union, the EU institutions must carefully assess the implementation of EU legislation in the Member States, and take further legislative and other measures, if necessary;