Statement: realizing the rights of victims of human trafficking requires closer cooperation and sufficient resources

The Human Rights Centre gave the Ministry of Foreign Affairs a statement on the third monitoring round of the Council of Europe Anti-Trafficking Convention. Central goals of the Anti-Trafficking Convention are to prevent and combat human trafficking and to protect the human rights of victims of human trafficking. The monitoring round of the Convention examines how well Finland has implemented the obligations set by the Convention and how the human rights of victims of human trafficking are realized in Finland.

In its statement, the Human Rights Centre focused particularly on legal remedies for victims of human trafficking and the importance of fundamental and human rights actors. In its statement, the Centre discussed the findings of its recent report on national fundamental and human rights actors from the perspective of the status of victims of human trafficking and the accessibility of legal remedies.

According to the Centre, from the perspective of an individual, such as a victim of human trafficking in a vulnerable position, it is important that legal remedies are clear and accessible. The importance of clarity and accessibility is particularly emphasized when there are many fundamental and human rights actors with different roles and competencies. In Finland, the National Rapporteur on human trafficking is the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman. The Parliamentary Ombudsman and the Chancellor of Justice of the Government can receive complaints and take their own initiatives related to the realization of the rights of victims of human trafficking.

Human trafficking is a clandestine phenomenon that requires close cooperation between the aforementioned actors and other authorities. The activity and cooperation of the authorities is particularly important because victims of human trafficking might be afraid to contact the authorities themselves to report a crime. If victims of human trafficking are not properly identified, it is difficult to protect their rights. Combating human trafficking requires allocating sufficient resources to the authorities working with the phenomenon.

Read the full statement (in Finnish only):