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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT - Combating trafficking in human beings and combating the sexual exploitation of children and child pornography; two proposals for framework decisions

1. INTRODUCTION

Trafficking in human beings and the sexual exploitation of children, including child pornography are abhorrent and increasingly worrying phenomena. Trafficking in human beings is not only an episodic phenomenon, affecting a few individuals, but of structural nature with extensive implications on the social, economic and organisational fabric of our societies. The phenomenon is facilitated by globalisation and by modern technologies. Globally, tens of thousands of human beings, especially women and children, are trafficked for exploitative purposes each year. Numerous cases of sexual exploitation of children and child pornography are reported. The Member States of the European Union and the candidate countries are much affected by these scourges to society. A variety of measures, including emphatic legal protection to all individuals, and preventive measures, as well as measures to ensure adequate protection of and assistance to the victims, are required. Measures should address the whole trafficking chain of recruiters, transporters, exploiters and clients. The underlying root causes of trafficking in human beings, such as poverty, including feminisation of poverty, discrimination against women, unemployment and lack of education and access to resources must be addressed in order to establish and maintain a comprehensive policy. In particular, women and children are vulnerable to become victims of trafficking due to inter alia lack of education and professional opportunities. A comprehensive policy therefore needs to include a clear gender perspective.

Against this background, the European Union has been actively engaged since 1996 in developing a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach towards the prevention of and the fight against trafficking in human beings and the sexual exploitation of children. It should for instance be recalled that the Council, with the active involvement of the Commission and the European Parliament, has set up the STOP [1] incentive and exchange programme and the DAPHNE Programme [2] to combat violence against women and children. The STOP Programme has in particular developed a multidisciplinary approach in which all relevant actors are involved; in addition to the emphasis on law enforcement co-operation, special importance is attached to non-governmental organisations and their crucial role in a comprehensive and successful approach against trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children. The importance of non-governmental organisations is also underlined by the DAPHNE Programme which is specifically designed to support an approach focusing on the non-governmental organisations and their work to protect and assist women and children who are the victims of violence.

[1] OJ L 322, 12.12.1996

[2] Decision N° 293/2000/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24.1.2000; OJ L34/1, 9.2.2000

Furthermore, in February 1997, the Council adopted a Joint Action [3] concerning action to combat trafficking in human beings and the sexual exploitation of children in which Member States agreed to review their relevant criminal law so as to ensure the criminalisation of certain behaviours and to encourage judicial co-operation. The European Union's initiatives have also contributed substantially to the raising awareness of these phenomena and to action at world wide level as illustrated by the recent, successful, conclusion of the United Nations-protocol on trafficking in human beings supplementing the Convention on Transnational Organised Crime.

[3] OJ L 063, 4.3.1997

At European level further impetus was given by Article 29 of the Amsterdam Treaty, which contains an explicit reference to trafficking in human beings and offences against children. The "Vienna Action Plan" [4] on the implementation of the Treaty's provisions on an area of freedom, security and justice, consequently also addresses these matters. Furthermore, concrete initiatives in these fields were requested in the conclusions of the Tampere European Council on 15-16 October 1999 (points 23 and 48). The European Council expressed, in particular, its determination on two aspects. First by combating those who engage in trafficking in human beings and economic exploitation of migrants. The Council was invited to adopt by the end of 2000 legislation foreseeing severe sanctions against these serious crimes. Secondly by considering that efforts to agree on common definitions, incriminations and sanctions should, in the first instance, be focused on, inter alia, trafficking in human beings, sexual exploitation of children and high tech crime. Hereafter, the Santa Maria da Feira European Council on 19-20 June 2000 called on the incoming French Presidency and the Commission to take forward urgently the Tampere conclusions in this area.

[4] OJ C 19, 23.1.1999

The Commission, for its part, indicated in the Scoreboard [5] to review progress on the creation of an area of freedom, security and justice in the European Union, its intention to table proposals by the end of 2000, with a view to the adoption of measures establishing, in particular, common rules relating to the constituent elements of criminal law linked with trafficking in human beings and the sexual exploitation of children, with particular reference to child pornography on the Internet. Such action was also called for by the European Parliament in several resolutions [6].

[5] COM (2000) 167 final, 24.3.2000

[6] E.g. Resolution of 19 May 2000 on the Communication « For further actions in the fight against trafficking in women » (A5-0127/2000) and Legislative Resolution of 11 April 2000 on the initiative of the Republic of Austria with a view to the adoption of a Council Decision to combat child pornography on the Internet (A5-0090/2000)

Apart from legislative initiatives, the Commission intends to continue a range of actions in the fight against trafficking in human beings and the sexual exploitation of children. The STOP and DAPHNE programmes are central to this policy and, the Commission has recently put forward a proposal for a Council Decision to extend the STOP Programme for a period of two years. This would allow for focused effort involving the candidate countries as well as co-operation with third countries and international organisations to prevent and combat trafficking in human beings and the sexual exploitation of children. In line with previous policy papers [7], budget lines targeting the candidate countries and third countries will also be used to support actions such as information campaigns to prevent trafficking in human beings and to address the underlying root causes of trafficking. One concrete example of this is the European initiative for Democracy and Human Rights which provides support to non-governmental and international organisations working to promote the human rights of women, children and other vulnerable groups in third countries. In the field of child pornography the Action Plan against illegal and harmful content on the Internet [8] will be applied. In accordance with the Council Recommendation 98/560/EC of 24 September 1998 [9] on the development of the competitiveness of the European audio-visual and information services industry by promoting national frameworks aimed at achieving a comparable and effective level of protection of minors and human dignity, the Commission also examines the measures taken by the Member States, in particular in the area of self regulation to promote the establishment of an environment of confidence in the fight against the distribution of illegal contents as regards human dignity in audio-visual and on-line services.

[7] COM (96) 567 final of 20.11.1996 and COM (98) 726 final of 9.12.1998

[8] OJ L 33 6.2.1999

[9] OJ L 270, 7.10.1998

2. THE PROPOSALS BY THE COMMISSION

Since the issues of trafficking in human beings and the sexual exploitation of children have been high on the political agenda of the European union, progress has been noted in Member States' policies and legislation. However, despite these positive developments the existing discrepancies and divergences make it difficult, in practice, to develop an efficient judicial and law enforcement co-operation in these areas. In preparing the present proposals, the Commission has considered that the main reason why the implementation of the Joint Action of February 1997 failed to achieve its objectives is to be found in the absence of commonly adopted definitions, incriminations and sanctions in the Member States' penal legislation. The aim of the Commission's present proposals on combating trafficking in human beings and the sexual exploitation of children is to remedy this unsatisfactory situation.

As far as the proposal for a Framework Decision on combating trafficking in human beings is concerned, the Commission wishes to underline that the objective is to cover not only offences concerning trafficking in human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation, but also offences concerning trafficking in human beings for the purpose of labour exploitation. Since it is crucial to address different forms of criminal movements of people that are operated by international criminal organisations, it should also be underlined that the Commission's proposal on trafficking in human beings for exploitative purposes is to be seen as to complement the important initiatives presented by the French Presidency [10] on facilitation of illegal entry, stay and residence.

[10] OJ C 253, 4.9.2000, proposals not yet adopted

As regards the Commission's present proposal for a Framework Decision on combating sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, the objective is, in particular, to improve the provisions of the Joint Action of February 1997 by ensuring that there are no safe havens for child sex offenders suspected of having committed an offence in a country other than their own.

Furthermore, the proposal is intended to address, as a matter of urgency, the worrying issue of child pornography on the Internet so as to illustrate the European Union's determination to implement common penal provisions in this field and contribute to provide Internet-users with a safe and crimeless environment.

Finally, the Commission wishes to highlight the fact that, where appropriate, its proposals have taken onboard the work reflected at international level by the United Nations-protocol on trafficking in human beings and by the future Cyber Crime Convention developed within the Council of Europe. The Commission considers that it is important that the European Union should, through swift adoption of the present proposals by the Council, demonstrate clearly its will to take on the fight against these unacceptable violations of human rights and human dignity by providing a common approach on criminal law and a further developed law enforcement and judicial co-operation.

Attached to this Communication are:

* one proposal for a Framework Decision on combating trafficking in human beings,

* one proposal for a Framework Decision on combating sexual exploitation of children and child pornography.