Minister Rajamäki: Embedding practical efficiency in the fight against human trafficking
"From the perspective of international law and EU law, combating human trafficking has improved significantly during the past few years. Accordingly, it can be stated that the legal basis is quite good at the moment. We must now ensure an effective implementation of the legislation and make sure that the operational activities proceed as planned," said Mr Kari Rajamäki, the Finnish Minister of the Interior, at the EU Seminar on the Identification of Children at Risk of Becoming Victims of Human Trafficking arranged by the Ministry of the Interior in Helsinki on 31 October.
According to Mr Rajamäki, common resources and expertise should be aimed at improving the operational activities and developing related international cooperation. The International community should show in practice that this global problem is being tackled. The effective implementation of the EU Action Plan on Trafficking in Human Beings is a good regional example of this.
"From a global perspective, different forms of child exploitation are widely spread all over the world. The use of child labour, for example, is a systematic part of the black economy in certain areas. Another similar example is the trafficking in minors for sexual exploitation. So far, the numbers of organ trafficking have been smaller, but this form of trafficking is in itself a lot crueller. Organ trafficking can often be a well-organised hidden crime, including unsolved disappearances. Children can be sent in good faith to travel with traffickers without definite information on their destination," Mr Rajamäki continued.
Victims of human trafficking should be identified at a very early stage, before they become victims of exploitation. The authorities should, according to Mr Rajamäki, be well-trained with thorough knowledge of human trafficking to be able to fight effectively against the crime of human trafficking, which has an established global cooperation network. The common mechanisms related to the identification of victims play a key role here. There are several different situations where a victim may be discovered, and the processes for identifying victims should be initiated flexibly whenever there are well-founded reasons for doing so.
"We cannot think that there are only certain typical situations where it is easy to uncover human trafficking. It is a common misconception that it is easy to pick the victims of human trafficking from passport control queues. We know all too well that this is not the case. The victim him or herself does not necessarily know what is waiting for him or her after the entry into the country. We should keep our eyes open under all circumstances," emphasised Mr Rajamäki.
One of the priorities for preventing victimisation must be circumstances in countries of origin. Cooperation with the authorities and organisations in countries of origin must also in practice be made an established part of preventive measures. Children and parents in countries of origin should be educated about the dangers of human trafficking and they should be told about the measures to be taken in problematic situations. Along with regions of origin, account should naturally also be taken of transit regions and destination countries when considering the actions to be taken. Furthermore, close cooperation among different authorities and international organisations is required in all the different phases of victim identification. International crime can immediately make use of potential gaps in the process.
Transit countries often have a problematic position in the fight against human trafficking. Growing air traffic increases the numbers of passengers at already crowded airports. At the EU's external border, potential victims of human trafficking can be identified through elaborate profiling. Criminals often advise the victim not to talk in such situations and to apply for asylum to avoid immediate refusal of entry. After this, the person concerned is taken to the reception centre for asylum seekers, and from there he or she disappears and proceeds freely in the Schengen area towards his or her destination.
In these situations, a well-functioning information exchange and follow-up should be arranged between the States. It is obvious that such action requires considerable resources and common planning. Furthermore, legislation and practices should be improved, where necessary, to remove any principal or factual obstacles to joint operations within the Schengen area, said Mr Rajamäki.
For further information, please contact Kari Salmi, State Secretary, tel. +358 9160 42802, or Pertti Knuuttila, Special Adviser, tel. + 358 9 160 44633