Local Euro MP says 'remember sex trafficking victims are not criminals' (Diana Wallis MEP)

Diana Wallis MEP <info@dianawallismep.org.uk>

Local Euro MP says 'remember sex trafficking victims are not criminals'

June 21, 2006 5:00 PM

Local Euro MP, Diana Wallis, today welcomed the announcement of a dedicated national police centre to be set up in Yorkshire to help the victims of the sex trafficking industry, but she warned that the government is potentially undermining this by failing to ratify an important European action plan on trafficking.

The Liberal Democrat MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber has recently met with local police in response to a number of high profile cases of sex trafficking in the region.

Commenting after the announcement Diana Wallis MEP said:

"I welcome the new police task force to Sheffield and wish it every success in its attempts to fight this abhorrent trade, however, I would strongly urge the government to sign and ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking, as this is the first step towards the much-needed coherent European policy to combat this evil trade."

"I also call on the government to put into operation the European Council Directive on residence permits for victims of sex trafficking. This would allow trafficked people to stay for an initial six-month recovery period. The UK has currently opted out of this, which is entirely unacceptable."

"Trafficked people must be given a recovery period in which they can consider pressing charges against the individuals who have forced them into slavery. There is a good chance that if victims are sent straight back to their own country they will fall victim to the gangs of traffickers once again.

"We must remember that we are dealing with victims and not criminals and treat them accordingly."

The national police task force comes in the wake of Operation Pentameter, a nationwide four-month project that has seen 200 arrests and 80 sex slave victims freed.

According to today's announcement by Home Office Minister, Vernon Coaker, the new centre, UKHTC (United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre,) to be based in Sheffield where a number of human traffickers have been convicted in recent years, will act as a research and intelligence function as well as co-ordinating training, so building on the work of Operation Pentameter, Deputy Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell, Programme Director for Pentameter and the new centre, said: "UKHTC is borne of the success of Pentameter. We have clearly identified a problem and we now need to expand on that and continue the work, capitalising on the intelligence database built up during Pentameter and co-ordinating the work of forces around the country."

Notes

1. www.southyorks.police.uk/news/details.php?id=2821

2. The Council of Europe Convention on Action against trafficking was adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 3rd May 2005. It aims to raise awareness among governments, parliamentarians, NGOs and civil society of the extent of the problem of trafficking in human beings in Europe today. So far 30 of the 46 members of the Council of Europe have signed the Convention. The UK has not.

3. The EU Council Directive (2004/81/EC) on the residence permit issued to third-country nationals who are victims of trafficking in human beings or who have been the subject of an action to facilitate illegal immigration that co-operate with the competent authorities, entered into force on the 29th April 2004. All EU states are obliged to bring their national law into line with the Directive before 6 August 2006, except those, like the UK, which have negotiated an "opt out" from this directive.