Activities of Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP related to 2020/2029(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Implementation of the Anti-Trafficking Directive (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the implementation of Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims
Amendments (51)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6
Citation 6
— having regard to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (‘the Palermo Convention’) and the Protocols thereto, and, in particular, the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (‘the UN Trafficking Protocol’) and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air,
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)
Citation 7 a (new)
- having regard to the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10
Citation 10
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 a (new)
Citation 15 a (new)
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 21 a (new)
Citation 21 a (new)
- having regard to the Commission’s 2020 study on the economic, social and human cost of human trafficking; its 2020 Study on reviewing the functioning of Member States’ National and Transnational Referral Mechanisms and its 2016’s study on the gender dimension of trafficking in human beings,
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 a (new)
Citation 22 a (new)
- having regard to its resolution on 23 October 2020 on Gender Equality in EU’s foreign and security policy,
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 30 a (new)
Citation 30 a (new)
- having regard to the United Nations resolution ‘Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ (A/RES/70/1), adopted by the General Assembly on 25 September 2015,
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 30 b (new)
Citation 30 b (new)
- having regard to resolution 9/1 of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime on the establishment of a mechanism for there view of the implementation of UNTOC and its Protocols,
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 31 a (new)
Citation 31 a (new)
- having regard to the UNODC 2018 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons,
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas THB is a highly gendered phenomenon, including in the case of sexual exploitation as stated in 2014 Parliament Resolution on sexual exploitation and prostitution and its impact on gender equality;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas there are other forms of trafficking that remain under-recorded and under-reported, including some that are highly gendered, such as forced marriage and domestic servitude;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas THB continues to increase, with Europol warning that the impact of the pandemic could further increase the numbers of victims1a; whereas the situation of trafficked victims has worsened since the beginning of the crisis and the support services have encountered difficulties to assist victims; _________________ 1aThird progress report on the implementation of the Directive, COM(2020)661, p.1.
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A d (new)
Recital A d (new)
Ad. whereas THB remains a complex and prevalent crime affecting the possibility to reach all the SDGs, in particular SDGs 5 (gender equality), 8 (decent work and economic growth), 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) and 17 (partnerships for the goals);
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Points out the need for a coordinated and coherent framework at EU level that guarantees the protection of victims of THB, including through coordinated implementation with the rights conferred by the Victims’ Rights Directive, the Residence Permit Directive and the Compensation Directive15 ; _________________ as the lack of harmonised legislation across the EU and differences between Member States legislation are indicated as two of the main pull and facilitating factors of human trafficking in the Union1a; _________________ 1aEuropol, Situation Report "Trafficking in Human Beings in the EU", 18 February 2016. 15 Council Directive 2004/80/EC of 29 April 2004 relating to compensation to crime victims, OJ L 261, 6.8.2004, p. 15.
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Commends the good work done by the former EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator (EU ATC) in coordinating the EU’s response to THB and developing knowledge and findings on the various aspects of THB, including research into the gender dimension and the particular vulnerability of children;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls on the Commission to ensure the continuity of the EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator’s work by appointing a full- time EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator with relevant expertise that works in coordination with a network of national representatives from States and Civil Society to ensure consistent cooperation across the EU;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses the importance of the funding of the Daphne fund, the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and Internal Security Fund (ISF) programmes to continue to be used for projects tackling THB, as well as using other available instruments;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Highlights that the collection of relevant data has improved but the lack of consistent and detailed data continues to hamper the adequate assessment of trends in THB; calls on the Member States to collect more up-to-date dataimprove the collection of data and to increase efforts and funding for the research, collection and analysis of data of all forms of trafficking in human beings at EU level disaggregateding by age and gender and including internally trafficked people, by compilingin due respect for the rights of trafficked persons to privacy and autonomy and to protect their personal data; stresses that the compilation of the statistical information should be done in cooperation with civil society, the European Institution for Gender Equality (EIGE) and relevant international organisations;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Welcomes the adoption of the establishment of the Mechanism for the Review of the Implementation of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols thereto; calls on the Commission to position itself as a role model in this review process;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Urges the Commission and the Member States to ensure differentiation between trafficking andin persons and migrant smuggling, which require different responses in law and policy; highlights that the confusion between them often leads to failings in correctly identifying victims and in ensuring that they can access protection measures and avoid secondary victimisation;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Urges the Commission and Member States to ensure the differentiation of THB and organised crime, and ensure that a gender perspective and a human rights-based response remains at the core of analysis and responses to THB;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to regulate third party responsibility for technology companies hosting exploitative materials, recognising the increased use of digital technologies to exploit victims, including through pornographic and so-called “only fans” sites;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Highlights that the early identification of victims remains one of the main challenges to implementation, and is one of the most crucial in terms of enabling victims to exercise their rights; calls on the Member States to give more actors responsibility for identifying victims of THB at all stages of the process, including, among others, civil society representatives, immigration and asylum officials, labour inspectors, law enforcement officers and social workers or healthcare staff;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls on all Member States to ensure that early expert legal intervention and advice are provided to potential victims of THB at the earliest possible moment, including accessible information about their legal rights and options;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Is worried that even if many EU Member states have protection and support services for women survivors of sexual exploitation, they do not have adequate legislation and enough implementation of those services for victims of other forms of exploitation; calls on the Member States to take into account all forms of trafficking when giving protection, assistance and support to victims;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Highlights that while the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet measureable, it is nevertheless clear that the crisis disproportionately affects the most vulnerable victims of THB, especially women and children and those in irregular and precarious situations; recalls that the root causes driving human trafficking have been exacerbated during the pandemic, pushing vulnerable populations to higher risks of trafficking; that criminals have adapted their operating methods, increasing the advertisement of victims online and exploiting them in private facilities; and that there has been a sharp increase in sex predators targeting children, the exchange of online child abuse material and the demand for child pornography in Europe;
Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Points out the need for aNotes that all Member States have in place a National Referral Mechanism (NRM) and instruments for transnational cooperation that contribute to referral of victims of THB; points out the challenges in the coordination of different actors, stresses the need for a fully-functioning coherent and, coordinated and financially supported National Referral Mechanism (NRM); underlines that good cooperation between the police and non- governmental organisations (NGOs) cannot be a substitute for a fully fledged NRM defining the roles and responsibilities of all relevant actors16 ; _________________ 16 The recommendations by the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human beings (GRETA) include ensuring the application of the NRM to asylum seekers and persons in immigration detention.
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Commission to monitor and assess the situation of compensation to victims in the Member States in terms of access, enforcement and actual payments, and to come forward with specific measures to ensure better access to compensation, without prejudice to other forms of reparation;
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Highlights that sexual exploitation remains the most prevalent form of trafficking in the EU since 2008, as 60 data shows that between 60 % and 69% of victims are trafficked for sexual exploitation; notes that more than 90 % of these victims are women and girls, and that more than 70 % of traffickers are male;
Amendment 243 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Urges the Member States to adopt specific measures to address violence against women and gender inequalities as the root causes of trafficking, including the social acceptance of sexual exploitation; recommends that the Commission strengthen and develop the gender dimension in the monitoring of the implementation of EU anti-trafficking legislation;
Amendment 265 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls on the Commission to prioritise the prevention of the crime of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through adopting measures and programmes to discourage and reduce demand, and calls on the Member States to include the use of the services of victims of trafficking as a criminal offence in their national statutes, as recommended by Article 18 of the Anti-Trafficking Directive and reiterated by the Commission in 201819 ; _________________ 19Second progress report on the implementation of the Directive, COM(2018)0777, p. 6.
Amendment 267 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Calls on the Commission to introduce a new legislative procedure on prevention and prosecution of sexual exploitation to fulfil the obligations stemming from Article 83(1) of the TFEU;
Amendment 281 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Highlights the importance of gender-sensitive training programmes for all officials attendingdealing with trafficking cases, investigations and potential victims to enhance the early identification of those who armay be victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation and encourages Member States to adopt measures to support victims, such as exit programmes, viable social and professional reintegration orpportunities and comprehensive sexual health services;
Amendment 290 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Urges the Member States to adopt comprehensive sexuality education as a key form of prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls, including trafficking and sexual exploitation, and to include consent and relationships education promoting healthy attitudes of respect and equality in all interactions and the reality of prostitution and THB for sexual exploitation;
Amendment 309 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17b. Emphasises that the EU’s legal and policy framework on THB combines both the internal and external dimensions, recognising that action to combat trafficking, which is a serious crime and a human rights violation, constitutes a clear objective of the EU’s external action; calls on the Commission and the Member States to enhance cooperation with third countries in order to combat all forms of trafficking in human beings and to strengthen opportunities for joint investigations and specialized prosecutions, including by considering the support to the establishment of networks of specialized prosecutors at the regional and international level as a way to share knowledge and expertise, learn from others experiences and practices and build common understandings;
Amendment 312 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Emphasises that migration flows can increase the risk for migrants of becoming victims of, while the majority of victims are EU nationals, traffickers have been using some migration routes to smuggle trafficking withinvictims into the EU20 ; points out in this regard that there has been a sharp increase in the number of women and girls trafficked through the Central Mediterranean route for sexual exploitation in the EU21 ; _________________ 20 Second progress report, COM(2018)0777; Europol, European Migrant Smuggling Centre (EMSC), 4th Annual Report, 2020; Europol, Situation Report ‘Trafficking in Human Beings in the EU‘, 18 February 2016. 211a; calls on the Commission and Member States for a coherent and coordinated rights-based and gender-sensitive approach to prevent and address human trafficking _________________ 1a Second progress report, COM(2018)0777, p. 3.
Amendment 343 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Calls on the Member States to step up their efforts to early identify potential victims, in particular within migration flows and hotspots; calls on the Member States to provide adequate resources for specialised facilities for unaccompanied minors and female victims of traffickinghighlights that potential victims identified should be provided with protection and an access to a safe place where they could be provided with information; calls on the Member States to provide adequate resources for specialised facilities for unaccompanied migrant children, separated children and female victims of trafficking and ensure sufficient places in shelters;
Amendment 364 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Notes that the migration policies of Member States, geared towards fighting irregular migration, can have a ‘chilling effect’ among vulnerable migrants and give perpetrators additional leverage to exploit victims with an irregular status24 ; calls on the Member States to decouple migration enforcement actions from law enforcement activities; stresses that safe reporting and effective complaint mechanisms should be established for all vulnerable persons; _________________ 24Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), Insecure justice? Residence permits for victims of crime in Europe, May 2020.
Amendment 400 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Notes that children in migration, and, in particular, unaccompanied and separated migrant children, continue to be at higher risk of trafficking and exploitation along migration routes en route to and within the EU;
Amendment 405 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Notes with high concern the prevalence of child pornography and normalisation of trafficking and sexual exploitation, and calls on the Commission to regulate pornographic sites and hosting platforms to ensure full prevention of the risk of such materials becoming available and normalised;
Amendment 420 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Notes the low number of prosecutions and convictions for the crime of trafficking; urges the Member States to take measures to improve the quality of the investigation of trafficking cases and to put in place strong criminal sanctions for the crimes of human trafficking;
Amendment 427 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30a. Calls on the Commission to introduce a new legislative procedure tackling the use of services of victims of sexual exploitation in line with Article 18 of the Anti-Trafficking Directive, considering the low numbers of cases and prosecutions;
Amendment 431 #
31. Calls on the Member States to adopt clear provisions on the non- prosecution or non-punishment of THB victims and on decoupling victim protection from cooperation with law enforcement agencies; calls also on the Member States to take the necessary measures to ensure that assistance and support for a victim are not made conditional on the victim’s willingness to cooperate in the criminal investigation, prosecution or trial in accordance with Article 11 of the Anti-Trafficking Directive;
Amendment 438 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Stresses the importance of financial investigation and ‘following the money’ as a key strategy for investigating and prosecuting the organised crime networks that profit from THB; calls on the Member States to launch financial investigations and work with money laundering specialist when starting a new trafficking investigation; calls on Member Sates stresses to strengthen cooperation in freezing and confiscating the assets of individuals involved in trafficking and providing compensation to victims; calls on the Commission to assess and promote the use of existing judicial and police cooperation, and the available tools;
Amendment 445 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)
Paragraph 32 a (new)
32a. Calls on Member States to criminalise the profiting off, enablement and dissemination of sexual abuse and exploitation content involving trafficked humans by pornographic websites, as well as its consumption;
Amendment 455 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Recalls the role of EU agencies in the early identification of victims and the fight against THB; calls for more resources for the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Agencies to enable their staff to be trained and capacity-building instruments to be developed in the area of detecting victims, including the appointment of gender- trained agency officers, especially in the Member States faced with increased mixed migratoryion flows; calls on the Commission to develop guidelines to mainstream gender and human rights expertise in the activities of law enforcement authorities across the EU;
Amendment 465 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)
Paragraph 33 a (new)
33a. Calls on the Commission to review the implementation of the Anti- Trafficking Directive by Member States and to adopt strong measures where there has been a lack of effective implementation, taking into account all forms of trafficking;
Amendment 468 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Calls on the Commission to amend the Anti-Trafficking Directive with a view to updating its provisions, including and to introduce new legislation, including laws to tackle demand for sexual exploitation, the establishment of specific measures for the prevention and prosecution of trafficking for sexual exploitation as the largest area of THBall forms of trafficking, particularly for sexual exploitation, to address the use of online technologies in both the proliferation and the prevention of THB, to improve measures for prevention and the early identification of all victims, and to strengthen a horizontal gender perspective across all forms of trafficking, as well as to ensure that Member States explicitly criminalise the use of all services which involve exploitation and to conduct evidence-based research on risk factors and how different policy areas (e.g. labour market governance, migration and mobility, temporary agency work, bogus self-employment, posting of workers) intersect with trafficking in persons in risk sectors;
Amendment 494 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
36. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to monitor and assess the risk for the persons being smuggled of becoming victims of trafficking, with a particular focus on the situation of unaccompanied minorschildren, separated children and women; underlines, in this context, the need for more legal and safe routes for migration in order to prevent the exploitation of vulnerable people with irregular status;
Amendment 505 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 a (new)
Paragraph 37 a (new)
37a. Calls on the Commission to review the application of Directive 2004/81/EC on granting residence permits to victims of trafficking who are third country nationals ensuring that victims are not returned upon expiry of reflection period; also calls on the Member States to grant that the unconditional access to assistance and support mandated by Directive2011/36/EU is reconciled with Directive 2004/81/EC and its application; calls on the Commission to review Directive 2004/81/EC to ensure that residence permits for trafficked persons are not made conditional to the participation or willingness to participate of the trafficked person in the investigation or criminal proceedings of the case;