Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings
NSPCC factsheet
October 2011
The
Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings is an international treaty focusing on the protection of victims of trafficking and the safeguarding of their rights.
It also aims to prevent trafficking and to prosecute traffickers.
UK ratification
The UK government ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings on 17 December 2008.
The Convention came into force in the UK on 1 April 2009.
This represents a milestone in the fight against trafficking. It protects victims and improves the UK's enforcement capabilities.
Definition of trafficking
Article 4 of the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings defines trafficking in human beings as:
"the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons,
by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person
for the purpose of exploitation.
Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs."Child trafficking
Any child who is recruited, transported or transferred for the purposes of exploitation is considered to be a trafficking victim, whether or not they have been forced or deceived.
Even if a child understands that they have been trafficked, they may still believe that they took part of their own free will.
See the NSPCC factsheet on identifying victims of trafficking.
Measures to protect and promote the rights of victims
Chapter 3 of the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings bestows upon signatory states a responsibility to:
- take measures to prevent trafficking in human beings (Article 5)
- discourage the demand for trafficked human beings (Article 6)
- establish border, security and control of document measures to prevent and detect trafficking in human beings (Articles 7, 8 and 9)
- identify victims (Article 10)
- protect and assist victims (Articles 11 and 12)
- allow a recovery and reflection period for victims (Article 13)
- arrange where necessary a resident permit, compensation, legal redress, repatriation (Articles 14, 15 and 16).
National Referral Mechanism
As part of the UK's implementation of the Council of Europe Convention, the government have created a National Referral Mechanism (NRM).
This is a framework for identifying victims of human trafficking and ensuring they receive the appropriate care.
For more information please see the
NSPCC factsheet on the National Referral Mechanism (NRM).
References and further reading
Child trafficking homepageNSPCC
Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human BeingsCouncil of Europe
The National Referral Mechanism (NRM)NSPCC factsheet
Identifying victims of traffickingNSPCC factsheet
Contact the NSPCC Information Service for more information on child trafficking or any other child protection topic
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