Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the "Proposal for a Council Framework Decision on combating trafficking in human beings"
Date: 2001-06-14
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: fight against crime, human rights, pornography, sexual violence, trafficking in human beings

14.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 357/41

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on:

— the ‘Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on
the Combating of trafficking in human beings, the sexual exploitation of children and child
pornography’,

— the ‘Proposal for a Council Framework Decision on combating trafficking in human beings’,

and

— the ‘Proposal for a Council Framework Decision on combating the sexual exploitation of

children and child pornography’

(2001/C 357/11)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament
on the: Combating of trafficking in human beings, the sexual exploitation of children and child
pornography; Proposal for a Council Framework Decision on combating trafficking in human beings;
and the Proposal for a Council Framework Decision on combating the sexual exploitation of children and
child pornography [COM(2000) 854 final — 2001/0024 (CNS) — 2001/0025 (CNS)];

having regard to the decision taken by its Bureau on 13 June 2000 under the fifth paragraph of
Article 265 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, to draw up an Opinion on this matter
and to instruct Commission 7 for Education, Vocation Training, Culture, Youth, Sport and Citizen’s
Rights to undertake the preparatory work;

having regard to the draft opinion (CdR 87/2001 rev.) adopted by Commission 7 on 23 April 2001
[rapporteur: Mrs Nicole Morsblech, (D/ELDR)],

adopted the following opinion unanimously at its 39th plenary session of 13 and 14 June 2001 (meeting
of 14 June).

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS’
VIEWS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The Committee of the Regions

expresses its concern that

1.
the trafficking in human
beings in Europe for the purposes of sexual exploitation, the
exploitation of workers and the sexual exploitation of children,
together with the dissemination of child pornography, have
become pressing problems;

emphatically welcomes the fact that the EU has recog-
2.
nised these problems, has been endeavouring to tackle them
for a number of years and is now putting forward further
proposals for combating trafficking in human beings and the
sexual exploitation of children;

4.
is convinced that the measures set out in the framework
decisions with a view to harmonising criminal law provisions
and improving cooperation between prosecution bodies are a
vital prerequisite for more effective measures to combat
trafficking in human beings and the sexual exploitation of
children but need to be backed up by additional measures
at EU, national and regional
level; therefore supports the
Commission’s intention to bolster the legislative measures by
the implementation of further measures;

5.
considers that the endeavour to set out common defi-
nitions and descriptions of the elements of an offence is a key
objective with a view to establishing uniform provisions on
criminal liability and more effective prosecution of criminal
acts;

3.
firmly believes that these problems should be addressed
at pan-European level, which should also involve cooperation
at regional level and the participation of both the applicant
states and other non-EU states;

shares the view that the two framework decisions should
liability provisions; rules governing the
legal persons and the protection of victims;

6.
focus on: criminal
liability of
jurisdiction and cross-border cooperation;

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Official Journal of the European Communities

14.12.2001

7.
advocates steps being taken to bring home to the
applicant states, at an early stage, the need to fall into line with
the measures to establish uniform standards of criminal law
and to participate in the measures for improving cooperation
between prosecution bodies; takes the view that talks should
also be held, with a view to achieving similar objectives, with
countries bordering on the EU which are not applicant states
(e.g. Albania and Yugoslavia) and countries bordering on
applicant states (e.g. states of the former Soviet Union);

agrees with the European Commission over the need to
8.
take concerted action to combat trafficking in human beings,
sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, particu-
larly in the light of the impending enlargement of the EU and
believes that cooperation between EU regions and regions in
the applicant states also has role to play here;

9.
advocates in this context that cooperation with the
Council of Europe should also be sought as this would provide
a means of involving a large number of additional countries
beyond the confines of the EU,
in particular, central and
eastern European countries, in the campaign;

10.
welcomes the fact that the measures to combat traffick-
ing in human beings include trafficking for the purpose of
exploiting workers, in addition to trafficking for the purpose
of sexual exploitation, thereby backing up measures to combat
the organised smuggling of illegal immigrants/migrants;

11.
calls upon the EU to support and help organise a
coordinated campaign against trafficking in human beings,
particularly with south-eastern and eastern European
countries;

12.
is in favour of closer cooperation between the countries
of origin of the victims of trafficking in human beings, the
countries through which they pass and their countries of
destination; such cooperation should be backed up by,
in
particular, the exchange of data, criminal
intelligence and
research findings;

13.
highlights the fact that it is particularly the economic
and social situation in their country of origin which makes
women become the victims of trafficking in human beings and
therefore calls for resolute support to be given to measures to
achieve positive economic and social development in these
countries in order to lessen the danger that women fall victim
to such trafficking because they are in a hopeless economic
and social situation;

14.
also endorses closer cooperation between EU states and
non-EU states, as typified by the current agreement between
Austria and Switzerland on the introduction of joint border
patrols;

15.
endorses the establishment of and support for a net-
work of organisations which look after the repatriation,
reintegration and provision of support for victims of trafficking
in human beings;

16.
recognises, with regard to the trafficking in human
beings, that there is, in particular, a need to put an end to the
shipment of human beings across frontiers for the purposes of
sexual exploitation or the exploitation of workers; does,
however, at the same time support the aim of applying the
same penalties under criminal
law in cases where similar
offences take place within the Member States of the EU;

17.
recognises that the Internet, in particular, has consider-
ably facilitated the dissemination of child pornography and
would point out that special difficulties arise in preventing this
phenomenon and penalising it under criminal law, particularly
in the case of dissemination via the Internet; therefore stresses
the need to attach particular urgency to these efforts and
highlights the danger that, in the absence of forceful measures
to tackle the dissemination of child pornography via the
Internet, this overall phenomenon could trigger large-scale
crime;

18.
considers that there is an urgent need, especially in the
light of the problems of prosecuting under criminal law those
who disseminate child pornography on the Internet,
to
promote general prevention by levying severe penalties under
criminal law; regards the Commission’s proposal as providing
a good foundation in this respect;

19.
supports the Commission’s proposal that the offence
of child pornography can only be established if the children
concerned are below the age of 18 and, while regarding the
proposals as being very far-reaching, nonetheless considers the
proposed age limit to be both desirable and advisable with a
view to protecting children and young people and promoting
clear-cut prosecutions;

20.
draws attention to the fact that the processing of cases
of cyber child pornography is very labour-intensive as regards
staff and highly time-consuming, particularly as regards the
analysis of material contained on equipment which has been
seized; there is therefore a need for the competent bodies to
engage more staff;

21.
stresses the need to use all necessary means to encour-
age the competent bodies in all EU Member States to equip
themselves using vocational
training and the very latest
computer technology, as these are vital tools in the fight
against the new forms of crime associated with the trafficking
of human beings,
in particular the dissemination of child
pornography on the Internet;

22.
emphatically welcomes the fact that under the Com-
mission’s proposal the possession of child pornography is also
to be subject to uniform penalties throughout the EU;
it
regards this as an absolutely essential step in the light of the
technical possibilities for distributing child pornography over
the Internet;

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that

draws attention to the fact

23.
the opportunities
provided by the new technologies, particularly the Internet,
are also being exploited to disseminate information on supply
and demand with regard to trafficking in women and calls
upon the Member States to take resolute steps to combat this
practice, too, by interpreting their criminal
law provisions
accordingly and through the work of their prosecution bodies;

24.
advocates the promotion of information campaigns
addressed to applicant states and other non-EU states, with the
participation,
in particular, also of NGOs, with a view to
adopting a preventive approach to protecting vulnerable
groups of individuals against the phenomena of trafficking in
human beings and the sexual exploitation of children;

also regards NGOs as representing a key cooperation
25.
partner who should be involved in joint campaigns, particu-
larly in the applicant states and other non-EU states;

26.
highlights the particular importance of international
extradition agreements and national provisions on criminal
law jurisdiction with a view to ensuring that criminal acts
committed wholly or partially outside the home country of
the offender can be punished under criminal
law without
loopholes;

27.
regards improved cooperation between prosecution
bodies as providing a key platform for tackling the problems
involved and sees the establishment of the necessary legal and
administrative framework and the achievement of improved
cooperation as areas in which not just the national states but
also the regions have a key role to play, in accordance with
national provisions governing jurisdiction;

Brussels, 14 June 2001.

28.
underlines the fact that it regards the provision of social
and legal assistance for the victims of both human trafficking
and the sexual exploitation of children as an important task
and strongly welcomes the fact that the Commission is seeking
to commit the Member States to assuming this task;

29.
firmly believes that efforts must be made to provide
special support and care for the victims of trafficking in
women; these measures should include,
for example, the
provision of adequate accommodation, reintegration into the
labour market in the host country or the victim’s home
country, financial, psychological and legal support, and the
rejection of discriminatory treatment in the host country or
the victim’s home country;

regards measures to promote the further training and
30.
exchange of groups of persons responsible for measures to
combat
the trafficking in human beings and the sexual
exploitation of children, particularly in the fields of the courts,
the police and public administrations, as key measures and
welcomes the proposed continuation of the joint measures
being taken in respect of persons working in these fields;

31.
calls upon the Commission and the Member States to
seek to achieve rapid agreement on the framework decisions
on combating trafficking in human beings, the sexual exploi-
tation of children and child pornography;

urges the EU Member States to transpose the proposals
32.
set out in the framework decisions into national law without
delay and to implement, in collaboration with the EU and
working jointly with the regions, the necessary additional
measures for improving the general conditions.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Jos CHABERT