2006/619/EC: Council Decision of 24 July 2006 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Community, of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women And Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime concerning the provisions of the Protocol, in so far as the provisions of the Protocol fall within the scope of Part III, Title IV of the Treaty establishing the European Community
Date: 2006-07-24
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: UN convention, child, help for victims, judicial cooperation, legal cooperation, organised crime, protocol to an agreement, trafficking in human beings, woman

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COUNCIL DECISION

of 24 July 2006

on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Community, of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress
and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women And Children, supplementing the United
Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime concerning the provisions of the
Protocol, in so far as the provisions of the Protocol fall within the scope of Part III, Title IV of the
Treaty establishing the European Community

(2006/619/EC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Com-
munity, and in particular Articles 62 point 2, Article 63 point
3 and Article 66 in conjunction with the first subparagraph of
Article 300(2), and first subparagraph of Article 300(3) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (1),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

The elements of the Protocol which are subject to Com-
munity competence were negotiated by the Commission,
with the approval of the Council, on behalf of the Com-
munity.

The Council instructed the Commission to negotiate the
accession of the Community to the international agree-
ment in question.

Negotiations were
successfully concluded and the
resulting instrument was signed by the Community on
12 December 2000 in accordance with Council Decision
2001/87/EC of 8 December 2000 (2).

Some Member States are parties to the Protocol while
the ratification process is under way in other Member
States.

This Decision is without prejudice to the position of the
United Kingdom and Ireland under the Protocol
inte-
grating the Schengen acquis into the framework of the
European Union and under the Protocol on the position
of the United Kingdom and Ireland, annexed to the
Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing
the European Community, hence the UK and Ireland are
not bound by this Decision to the extent that it concerns
the exercise of an external power by the Community in
fields where its internal legislation does not bind the UK
and/or Ireland.

This Decision is without prejudice to the position of
Denmark under
the Protocol on the position of
Denmark annexed to the Treaty on European Union and
the Treaty establishing the European Community, hence
Denmark does not take part in its adoption and is not
bound by it.

(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

(11)

the Community

The conclusion of the Convention was approved on
behalf of
by Council Decision
2004/579/EC of 29 April 2004 (3) which is a condition
for the Community to become a Party to the Protocol,
pursuant to Article 37(2) of the Convention.

The other conditions permitting the Community to
deposit
the instrument of approval provided for in
Article 36(3) of the Convention and Article 16(3) of the
Protocol have been fulfilled.

In so far as the provisions of the Protocol fall within the
scope of Part III, Title IV of the Treaty, the conclusion of
the Protocol should be approved on behalf of the Com-
munity.

In so far as the provisions of the Protocol fall within the
scope of Articles 179 and 181a of
the
conclusion of the Protocol on behalf of the Community
should be approved by means of a separate decision of
the Council (4).

the Treaty,

The Community should, when depositing the instrument
of approval, also deposit a declaration on the extent of
the Community's competence with respect to matters
governed by the Protocol under Article 16(3) of the Traf-
ficking Protocol,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The Protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in
persons, especially women and children, supplementing the
United Nations Convention against
transnational organised
crime, as set out in Annex I, is hereby approved on behalf of
the European Community.

The Community's instrument of
comprise
Article 16(3) of the Protocol as set out in Annex II.

formal confirmation shall
to

competence

declaration

according

of

a

(1) Not yet published in the Official Journal.
(2) OJ L 30, 1.2.2001, p. 44.

(3) OJ L 261, 6.8.2004, p. 69.
(4) See page 44 of this Official Journal.

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Article 2

This Decision shall apply in so far as the provisions of the
Protocol fall within the scope of Part III, Title IV of the Treaty.

Article 3

is authorised to designate the
The President of the Council
person empowered to deposit the instrument of formal confir-
mation in order to bind the Community.

This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the
European Union.

Done at Brussels, 24 July 2006.

For the Council

The President

K. RAJAMÄKI

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ANNEX I

PROTOCOL

to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children,
supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime

PREAMBLE

THE STATES PARTIES TO THIS PROTOCOL,

DECLARING that effective action to prevent and combat trafficking in persons, especially women and children, requires
a comprehensive international approach in the countries of origin, transit and destination that includes measures to
prevent such trafficking, to punish the traffickers and to protect the victims of such trafficking, including by protecting
their internationally recognised human rights,

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the fact that, despite the existence of a variety of international instruments containing rules
and practical measures to combat the exploitation of persons, especially women and children, there is no universal
instrument that addresses all aspects of trafficking in persons,

CONCERNED that, in the absence of such an instrument, persons who are vulnerable to trafficking will not be suffi-
ciently protected,

RECALLING General Assembly resolution 53/111 of 9 December 1998, in which the Assembly decided to establish an
open-ended intergovernmental ad hoc committee for the purpose of elaborating a comprehensive international conven-
tion against transnational organised crime and of discussing the elaboration of, inter alia, an international instrument
addressing trafficking in women and children,

CONVINCED that supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime with an inter-
national instrument for the prevention, suppression and punishment of trafficking in persons, especially women and
children, will be useful in preventing and combating that crime,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

Relation with the United Nations Convention against
Transnational Organised Crime

1.
This Protocol supplements the United Nations Conven-
tion against Transnational Organised Crime. It shall be inter-
preted together with the Convention.

The provisions of the Convention shall apply, mutatis

2.
mutandis, to this Protocol unless otherwise provided herein.

3.
The offences established in accordance with article 5 of
this Protocol shall be regarded as offences established in accord-
ance with the Convention.

Article 2

Statement of purpose

The purposes of this Protocol are:

(a) to prevent and combat trafficking in persons, paying par-

ticular attention to women and children;

(b) to protect and assist the victims of such trafficking, with

full respect for their human rights; and

(c) to promote cooperation among States Parties in order to

Article 3

Use of terms

For the purposes of this Protocol:

(a) ‘trafficking in persons’ shall mean the recruitment, transpor-
tation, 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;

(b) the consent of a victim of trafficking in persons to the
intended exploitation set forth in subparagraph (a) of this
article shall be irrelevant where any of the means set forth
in subparagraph (a) have been used;

(c) the recruitment,

transportation,

transfer, harbouring or
receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation shall be
considered ‘trafficking in persons’ even if this does not
involve any of the means set forth in subparagraph (a) of
this article;

meet those objectives.

(d) ‘child’ shall mean any person under 18 years of age.

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Article 4

Scope of application

This Protocol shall apply, except as otherwise stated herein, to
the prevention, investigation and prosecution of the offences
established in accordance with article 5 of this Protocol, where
those offences are transnational in nature and involve an orga-
nised criminal group, as well as to the protection of victims of
such offences.

Article 5

Criminalisation

other relevant organisations and other elements of civil society,
and, in particular, the provision of:

(a) appropriate housing;

(b) counselling and information, in particular as regards their
legal rights, in a language that the victims of trafficking in
persons can understand;

(c) medical, psychological and material assistance; and

(d) employment, educational and training opportunities.

4.
Each State Party shall take into account, in applying the
provisions of this article, the age, gender and special needs of
victims of trafficking in persons, in particular the special needs
of children, including appropriate housing, education and care.

1.
Each State Party shall adopt such legislative and other
measures as may be necessary to establish as criminal offences
the conduct set
this Protocol, when
committed intentionally.

forth in article 3 of

5.
Each State Party shall endeavour to provide for the
physical safety of victims of trafficking in persons while they
are within its territory.

2.
Each State Party shall also adopt such legislative and
other measures as may be necessary to establish as criminal
offences:

(a) subject to the basic concepts of its legal system, attempting
to commit an offence established in accordance with para-
graph 1 of this article;

(b) participating as an accomplice in an offence established in

accordance with paragraph 1 of this article; and

(c) organising or directing other persons to commit an offence
established in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article.

II. PROTECTION OF VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS

Article 6

Each State Party shall ensure that

6.
its domestic legal
system contains measures that offer victims of trafficking in
persons the possibility of obtaining compensation for damage
suffered.

Article 7

Status of victims of trafficking in persons in receiving
States

In addition to taking measures pursuant to article 6 of
1.
this Protocol, each State Party shall consider adopting legislative
or other appropriate measures that permit victims of trafficking
in persons to remain in its territory, temporarily or perma-
nently, in appropriate cases.

Assistance to and protection of victims of trafficking in
persons

2.
In implementing the provision contained in paragraph 1
of this article, each State Party shall give appropriate considera-
tion to humanitarian and compassionate factors.

1.
In appropriate cases and to the extent possible under its
domestic law, each State Party shall protect the privacy and
identity of victims of trafficking in persons, including, inter alia,
by making legal proceedings relating to such trafficking confi-
dential.

Each State Party shall ensure that its domestic legal or
that provide to

2.
administrative system contains measures
victims of trafficking in persons, in appropriate cases:

(a) information on relevant court and administrative proceed-

ings;

(b) assistance to enable their views and concerns

to be
presented and considered at appropriate stages of criminal
proceedings against offenders, in a manner not prejudicial
to the rights of the defence.

Each State Party shall consider implementing measures to
3.
provide for the physical, psychological and social recovery of
victims of
in appropriate
in cooperation with non-governmental organisations,
cases,

trafficking in persons,

including,

Article 8

Repatriation of victims of trafficking in persons

1.
The State Party of which a victim of trafficking in persons
is a national or in which the person had the right of permanent
residence at the time of entry into the territory of the receiving
State Party shall facilitate and accept, with due regard for the
safety of that person, the return of that person without undue
or unreasonable delay.

2. When a State Party returns a victim of trafficking in
persons to a State Party of which that person is a national or in
which he or she had, at the time of entry into the territory of
the receiving State Party, the right of permanent residence,
such return shall be with due regard for the safety of that
person and for the status of any legal proceedings related to
the fact that the person is a victim of trafficking and shall
preferably be voluntary.

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3.
At the request of a receiving State Party, a requested State
Party shall, without undue or unreasonable delay, verify
whether a person who is a victim of trafficking in persons is its
national or had the right of permanent residence in its territory
at the time of entry into the territory of the receiving State
Party.

In order to facilitate the return of a victim of trafficking
4.
in persons who is without proper documentation, the State
Party of which that person is a national or in which he or she
had the right of permanent residence at the time of entry into
the territory of the receiving State Party shall agree to issue, at
the request of the receiving State Party, such travel documents
or other authorisation as may be necessary to enable the
person to travel to and re-enter its territory.

This article shall be without prejudice to any right
5.
afforded to victims of trafficking in persons by any domestic
law of the receiving State Party.

This article shall be without prejudice to any applicable
6.
bilateral or multilateral agreement or arrangement that governs,
in whole or in part, the return of victims of trafficking in
persons.

III. PREVENTION, COOPERATION AND OTHER MEASURES

Article 9

Prevention of trafficking in persons

States Parties

1.
programmes and other measures:

shall establish comprehensive policies,

(a) to prevent and combat trafficking in persons; and

(b) to protect victims of

trafficking in persons, especially

women and children, from revictimisation.

2.
States Parties shall endeavour to undertake measures such
as research, information and mass media campaigns and social
and economic initiatives to prevent and combat trafficking in
persons.

Policies, programmes and other measures established in
3.
accordance with this article shall, as appropriate, include coop-
eration with non-governmental organisations, other relevant
organisations and other elements of civil society.

4.
States Parties shall take or strengthen measures, including
through bilateral or multilateral cooperation, to alleviate the
factors that make persons, especially women and children,
vulnerable to trafficking, such as poverty, underdevelopment
and lack of equal opportunity.

5.
States Parties shall adopt or strengthen legislative or other
measures, such as educational, social or cultural measures,
to
including through bilateral and multilateral cooperation,
discourage the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation of
persons, especially women and children,
that leads to traf-
ficking.

Article 10

Information exchange and training

1.
Law enforcement, immigration or other relevant authori-
ties of States Parties shall, as appropriate, cooperate with one
another by exchanging information, in accordance with their
domestic law, to enable them to determine:

(a) whether individuals crossing or attempting to cross an
international border with travel documents belonging to
other persons or without travel documents are perpetrators
or victims of trafficking in persons;

(b) the types of travel document that individuals have used or
attempted to use to cross an international border for the
purpose of trafficking in persons; and

(c) the means and methods used by organised criminal groups
for the purpose of trafficking in persons,
including the
recruitment and transportation of victims, routes and links
between and among individuals and groups engaged in
such trafficking, and possible measures for detecting them.

States Parties shall provide or strengthen training for law
2.
immigration and other relevant officials in the
enforcement,
prevention of trafficking in persons. The training should focus
on methods used in preventing such trafficking, prosecuting
the traffickers and protecting the rights of
the victims,
including protecting the victims from the traffickers. The
training should also take into account the need to consider
human rights and child- and gender-sensitive issues and it
should encourage cooperation with non-governmental organi-
sations, other relevant organisations and other elements of civil
society.

3.
A State Party that receives information shall comply with
any request by the State Party that transmitted the information
that places restrictions on its use.

Article 11

Border measures

1. Without prejudice to international commitments in rela-
tion to the free movement of people, States Parties shall
strengthen, to the extent possible, such border controls as may
be necessary to prevent and detect trafficking in persons.

Each State Party shall adopt legislative or other appro-
2.
priate measures to prevent, to the extent possible, means of
transport operated by commercial carriers from being used in
the commission of offences established in accordance with
article 5 of this Protocol.

3. Where appropriate, and without prejudice to applicable
include estab-
international conventions, such measures shall
lishing the obligation of commercial carriers,
including any
transportation company or the owner or operator of any
means of
to ascertain that all passengers are in
possession of the travel documents required for entry into the
receiving State.

transport,

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4.
in
Each State Party shall take the necessary measures,
accordance with its domestic law, to provide for sanctions in
cases of violation of the obligation set forth in paragraph 3 of
this article.

5.
Each State Party shall consider taking measures that
permit, in accordance with its domestic law, the denial of entry
or revocation of visas of persons implicated in the commission
of offences established in accordance with this Protocol.

6. Without prejudice to article 27 of the Convention, States
Parties shall consider strengthening cooperation among border
inter alia, establishing and maintaining
control agencies by,
direct channels of communication.

Article 12

Security and control of documents

Each State Party shall take such measures as may be necessary,
within available means:

(a) to ensure that travel or identity documents issued by it are
of such quality that they cannot easily be misused and
cannot readily be falsified or unlawfully altered, replicated
or issued; and

(b) to ensure the integrity and security of travel or identity
documents issued by or on behalf of the State Party and to
prevent their unlawful creation, issuance and use.

shall be consistent with internationally recognised principles of
non-discrimination.

Article 15

Settlement of disputes

States

Parties

1.
disputes
concerning the interpretation or application of this Protocol
through negotiation.

endeavour

settle

shall

to

2.
Any dispute between two or more States Parties
concerning the interpretation or application of this Protocol
that cannot be settled through negotiation within a reasonable
time shall, at the request of one of those States Parties, be
submitted to arbitration. If, six months after the date of the
request for arbitration, those States Parties are unable to agree
on the organisation of the arbitration, any one of those States
Parties may refer the dispute to the International Court of
Justice by request in accordance with the Statute of the Court.

3.
Each State Party may, at the time of signature, ratification,
acceptance or approval of or accession to this Protocol, declare
that it does not consider itself bound by paragraph 2 of this
article. The other States Parties shall not be bound by para-
graph 2 of this article with respect to any State Party that has
made such a reservation.

Article 13

Legitimacy and validity of documents

4.
Any State Party that has made a reservation in accordance
with paragraph 3 of this article may at any time withdraw that
the
reservation by notification to the Secretary-General of
United Nations.

At the request of another State Party, a State Party shall, in
accordance with its domestic law, verify within a reasonable
time the legitimacy and validity of travel or identity documents
issued or purported to have been issued in its name and
suspected of being used for trafficking in persons.

IV. FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 14

Saving clause

1.
Nothing in this Protocol shall affect the rights, obligations
and responsibilities of States and individuals under international
law, including international humanitarian law and international
human rights law and,
the
1951 Convention (1) and the 1967 Protocol (2) relating to the
Status of Refugees and the principle of non-refoulement as
contained therein.

in particular, where applicable,

2.
The measures set forth in this Protocol shall be inter-
preted and applied in a way that is not discriminatory to
persons on the ground that they are victims of trafficking in
persons. The interpretation and application of those measures

(1) United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 189, No 2545.
(2) Ibid., vol. 606, No 8791.

Article 16

Signature, ratification, acceptance, approval and accession

1.
This Protocol shall be open to all States for signature
from 12 to 15 December 2000 in Palermo, Italy, and thereafter
at United Nations Headquarters in New York until 12 December
2002.

2.
This Protocol shall also be open for signature by regional
economic integration organisations provided that at least one
member State of such organisation has signed this Protocol in
accordance with paragraph 1 of this article.

is subject

This Protocol

3.
to ratification, acceptance or
approval. Instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval
shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United
Nations. A regional economic integration organisation may
deposit its instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval if
at least one of its member States has done likewise. In that
instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval, such organi-
sation shall declare the extent of its competence with respect to
the matters governed by this Protocol. Such organisation shall
also inform the depositary of any relevant modification in the
extent of its competence.

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4.
This Protocol is open for accession by any State or any
regional economic integration organisation of which at least
one Member State is a Party to this Protocol. Instruments of
accession shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the
United Nations. At
its accession, a regional
economic integration organisation shall declare the extent of its
competence with respect to matters governed by this Protocol.
Such organisation shall also inform the depositary of any rele-
vant modification in the extent of its competence.

the time of

Article 17

Entry into force

This Protocol shall enter into force on the 90th day after
1.
the date of deposit of
the 40th instrument of ratification,
acceptance, approval or accession, except that it shall not enter
into force before the entry into force of the Convention. For
the purpose of this paragraph, any instrument deposited by a
regional
integration organisation shall not be
counted as additional to those deposited by Member States of
such organisation.

economic

For each State or regional economic integration organisa-
2.
tion ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to this Protocol
after the deposit of the 40th instrument of such action, this
Protocol shall enter into force on the 30th day after the date of
deposit by such State or organisation of the relevant instrument
or on the date this Protocol enters into force pursuant to para-
graph 1 of this article, whichever is the later.

Article 18

Amendment

1.
After the expiry of five years from the entry into force of
this Protocol, a State Party to the Protocol may propose an
amendment and file it with the Secretary-General of the United
Nations, who shall
thereupon communicate the proposed
amendment to the States Parties and to the Conference of the
Parties to the Convention for the purpose of considering and
deciding on the proposal. The States Parties to this Protocol
meeting at the Conference of the Parties shall make every effort
to achieve consensus on each amendment.
If all efforts at
consensus have been exhausted and no agreement has been
reached, the amendment shall, as a last resort, require for its
adoption a two-thirds majority vote of the States Parties to this
Protocol present and voting at the meeting of the Conference
of the Parties.

2.
Regional economic integration organisations, in matters
within their competence, shall exercise their right to vote under
this article with a number of votes equal to the number of their
Member States that are Parties to this Protocol. Such organisa-
tions shall not exercise their right to vote if their Member
States exercise theirs and vice versa.

3.
An amendment adopted in accordance with paragraph 1
of this article is subject to ratification, acceptance or approval
by States Parties.

4.
An amendment adopted in accordance with paragraph 1
of this article shall enter into force in respect of a State Party
90 days after the date of the deposit with the Secretary-General
of the United Nations of an instrument of ratification, accep-
tance or approval of such amendment.

5. When an amendment enters into force, it shall be binding
on those States Parties which have expressed their consent to
be bound by it. Other States Parties shall still be bound by the
provisions of this Protocol and any earlier amendments that
they have ratified, accepted or approved.

Article 19

Denunciation

1.
A State Party may denounce this Protocol by written noti-
fication to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Such
denunciation shall become effective one year after the date of
receipt of the notification by the Secretary-General.

2.
A regional economic integration organisation shall cease
to be a Party to this Protocol when all of its Member States
have denounced it.

Article 20

Depositary and languages

The Secretary-General of the United Nations is designated

1.
depositary of this Protocol.

The original of

2.
this Protocol, of which the Arabic,
Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts are equally
authentic, shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the
United Nations.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF,
the undersigned plenipotentiaries,
being duly authorised thereto by their respective Governments,
have signed this Protocol.

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ANNEX II

Declaration concerning the competence of the European Community with regard to matters governed by the
to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women And Children,
Protocol

supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime

Article 16(3) of the Protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children,
provides that the instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval of a regional economic integration organisation shall
contain a declaration specifying the matters governed by the Protocol in respect of which competence has been trans-
ferred to the organisation by its Member States which are Parties to the Protocol.

The Protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children, shall apply, with
regard to the competences transferred to the European Community, to the territories in which the Treaty establishing
the European Community is applied and under the conditions laid down in that Treaty, in particular Article 299 thereof
and the Protocols annexed to it.

This declaration is without prejudice to the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland under the Protocol integrating
the Schengen acquis into the framework of the European Union and under the Protocol on the position of the United
Kingdom and Ireland, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community.

This declaration is equally without prejudice to the position of Denmark under the Protocol on the position of Denmark
annexed to the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community.

Pursuant to Article 299, this declaration is also not applicable to the territories of the Member States in which the said
Treaty does not apply and is without prejudice to such acts or positions as may be adopted under the Protocol by the
Member States concerned on behalf of and in the interests of those territories. In accordance with the provision referred
to above, this declaration indicates the competence that the Member States have transferred to the Community under
the Treaties in matters governed by the Protocol. The scope and the exercise of such Community competence are, by
their nature, subject to continuous development as the Community further adopts relevant rules and regulations, and the
Community will complete or amend this declaration, if necessary, in accordance with Article 16(3) of the Protocol.

The Community points out that it has competence with regard to the crossing of external borders of the Member States,
regulating standards and procedures when carrying out checks on persons at such borders and rules on visas for
intended stays of no more than three months.

The Community is also competent for measures on immigration policy regarding conditions of entry and residence and
measures to counter illegal immigration and illegal residence, including repatriation of illegal residents. Moreover, it can
take measures to ensure cooperation between the relevant departments of the administrations of the Member States, as
well as between those departments and the Commission, in the aforementioned areas. In these fields the Community has
adopted rules and regulations and, where it has done so, it is hence solely for the Community to enter into external
undertakings with third States or competent international organisations.

In addition, Community policy in the sphere of development cooperation complements policies pursued by Member
States and includes provisions to prevent and combat trafficking in persons.