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Wed, May 17 2006 11:30 CET 684 Views

The main obstacles on Bulgaria's way to EU accession remained money laundering and human
trafficking.

According to the article, the European Commission report from May 16 meant Bulgaria needed to
take urgent action in fighting organised crime if it wanted to join the EU in 2007. The Independent
said the report 'painted and alarming picture' of Bulgaria as one of 'Europe's centres of human
trafficking'.

Statistics show over 170 contract killings might have taken place in the last 14 years. Very few of
these were successfully investigated, the report said. Other problems listed in the report included
a 'very low' success rate in prosecuting corruption and human trafficking.

What the Independent called a 'litany of failings' included weak control over EU fund
administration.

Despite the problems, EU was likely to admit the two countries in 2007, the article said. This
would give Bulgaria and Romania a stimulus for speeding up the reforms pace. The Independent
said the most likely outcome was on on-time accession with some restrictions like limited access
to EU funds. A special monitoring system might also be required during the first three years after
Bulgaria joins the union.

EU home to 270,000 human-trafficking victims

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:21:18 GMT
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The alarming rise in the number of human trafficking victims in the European Union has prompted
the United Nations to issue a request for increased efforts in combating the illegal trade.

The United Nations announced on Sunday that estimates showed there could be around 270,000
victims of human trafficking in the EU, while authorities in the 27-nation bloc said only a small
percentage of the figure had been brought to their attention.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which disclosed the startling findings on European
Anti-Trafficking Day, expressed concern that a 2006 report had only estimated 9,000 victims ²
30 times less than the revised figure.

EU Anti-Trafficking Day aims to raise awareness for victims and people affected by the human
smuggling trade and the plights they face, ranging from forced slavery and hard labor to
prostitution and going through sexual abuse.

While 10 percent of the victims are minors, the majority of trafficking victims are women who are
forced into prostitution, according to the agency.

A damning UNODC report titled ³Trafficking in Persons: Analysis on Europe´ also shows that on
average, less than 1 in 100,000 people are being convicted for human trafficking in Europe than
"for rare crimes like kidnapping."

The report goes on to blame the police for lack of action.

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News & Updates

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Police in Italy and across Europe have arrested a group of mainly Nigerian citizens
accused of trafficking women for sex, European police agency Europol said.

Europol said it and the Italian 'carabinieri' paramilitary police had arrested 34 suspects in
Italy as well as in France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Spain and San Marino.
Members of the criminal group had also worked with two Italian doctors to organise
forced abortions, the Hague-based agency said.

Europol said investigations had focused on groups located in the coastal Marche region
of Italy, where victims were held in criminal cells led by 'madames' and had to hand over
all their earnings to pay off debt incurred for their journey to Italy. "The victims were
subject to continued intimidation and violence, aimed at guaranteeing a daily income and
to ensure their compliance," Europol said in a statement.

After providing victims with counterfeit documents, some were trafficked through the
Netherlands and France where they were met and accompanied to Italy by members of
the criminal group, while others came by sea or through Turkey and Greece.

The arrests follow a police bust of a drug trafficking network in April, in which drugs
were smuggled from Madrid in Spain to the Italian regions of Piedmont and Marche by
using drug 'mules', who were often the women forced into prostitution.

News & Updates

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Men will be prosecuted for paying women for sex under
plans backed by ministers, which are to go before the
Commons soon.
A former Labour minister today calls on ³laddish male´
ministers to help prevent Britain becoming the ³sex
slave´ capital of Europe and stop women being
exploited. Under proposed legislation tabled by Denis
MacShane, the former minister for Europe, and two
other former ministers, councils and police chiefs will
be given powers to put men before the courts if they pay
women for sex.
|he idea is to extend successful action against kerb
crawlers to brothels and massage parlours where the
majority of trafficked sex slaves in Britain are forced to
operate. |he MPs¶ campaign was boosted yesterday
when Harriet Harman, the women¶s minister, said that
such a move was necessary to stem the flood of sex
workers being trafficked into Britain. It was time to
consider such moves as governments tried to tackle
international human trafficking.
Ms Harman, Labour¶s deputy leader and the Leader of
the Commons, told BBC Radio 4¶s |oday programme:
³I think we do need to have a debate and unless you
tackle the demand side of human trafficking, which is
fuelling this trade, we will not be able to protect women
from it. My own personal view is that¶s what we need to
do as a next step.´
She added: ³Do we think it¶s right in the 21st century
that women should be in a sex trade or do we think it¶s
exploitation and should be banned? ³Just because
something has always gone on, it doesn¶t mean you just
wring your hands and say there¶s nothing we can do
about it.´
|he Government is also studying the law in Sweden,
where paying for sex has already been made illegal.
³|he time has come to tackle the demand side of the
ever-increasing exploitation of women and that means
making men accept that they have responsibility for the
sex-slave industry,´ Mr MacShane said.
He and Fiona Mac|aggart and Barry Gardiner have
tabled amendments calling for local authorities and the
police to be given powers to identify zones in town areas
where men caught paying for sex may be charged and
put before the courts.
Mr MacShane led the campaign to get the British
government to sign the Council of Europe Anti-
|rafficking Convention. |ony Blair rejected Home
Office objections that helping women trafficked as sex
slaves would encourage more migration to the UK and
signed the convention last year.
Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, has now pledged to
ratify the convention, which gives support to girls
trafficked as sex slaves if they escape their pimps and
helps the police to identify traffickers. Britain has an
estimated 25,000 women ± some under the age of 16 and
many under 21 ± who have been trafficked into the UK
to work in brothels and massage parlours.
Mr MacShane said: ³|hese are ruthlessly exploited
girls and women who are not willing sex workers but
who are beaten, raped and held as prisoners to satisfy
the demand of British men for paid-for sex. Most of the
women working in brothels are there in connection with
drugs or debt.
³|his is seedy, international crime and the men who
pay for it should be made to accept their responsibility
just as laws to stop kerb-crawling have seen an average
00 convictions a year since 2001 and helped reduce
that part of the sex trade.´
³|here are still some laddish male ministers who do not
see this in terms of supporting women against men
using money-power to exploit defenceless trafficked
girls,´ Mr MacShane said. ³In 2007, we celebrated the
200th anniversary of abolishing the slave trade so I
hope William Hague, David Cameron and Nick Clegg
will make 2008 the year when we got serious about the
sex-slave trade,´ he added.
³|his is an empowering amendment which leaves the
decision [to prosecute] in the hands of local councillors,
local communities and local police. ³It is not
Government deciding to abolish prostitution from on
high. |his is about local communities deciding if they
want to slow down and reduce the sex slave business.´
|he recently created All-Party Group on |rafficking is
expected to generate cross-party support on the issue.
|he tabling of the amendments follows talks with
newspapers to stop the publication of small
advertisements offering services at brothels believed to
be linked to human trafficking.
|he Home Office is not seeking to deport foreign
criminals given a jail term of less than 12 months unless
the court recommends removal or proceedings are
already under way. Prison governors have been told
that the Border and Immigration Agency as a rule has
³no interest´ in pursuing such offenders.
|he disclosure comes after the Prime Minister, Gordon
Brown, said in July: ³I want a message to go out. If you
come here, you work and you learn our language. If you
commit a crime, you will be deported from our
country.´
Since the 2006 scandal when it was found that foreign
national prisoners were being released from jail without
being considered for deportation, ministers have given
the impression that foreign criminals will be removed.
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