Country visit Caritas 26 april 2017 Content of the presentation 1 Myria 2 Victim profiles statistics 3 Cases and best practices 4 Case law 5 Recommandations Myria Myria ID: 626803
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Slide1
Role of Independent national rapporteur, an evaluation of best practices and experiences relating to Belgian policy in the field of human trafficking
Country
visit
Caritas 26 april 2017Slide2
Content of the presentation
1. Myria
2.
Victim
profiles/
statistics
3. Cases and best practices
4. Case
law
5. RecommandationsSlide3
MyriaSlide4
Myria
Independant
public body
Director
Board
3 missions:
Ensure
protection of
fundamental
rights
of migrants
Analysis
of migration
flows
Stimulate
fight
against
human
trafficking
and
smugglingSlide5
Myria
Independant
National Rapporteur (officially: September 2014, before: “de facto”)
Evaluation of policy
implementation
Not
coordinating: role of Interdepartmental coordination platform (
Centre
is a member): complementary
roleSlide6
Role of
Myria
in THB
To
stimulate the fight against THB
Main
tool: Annual evaluation report on the evolution and results of the fight against
THB/SM
Independent and public, submitted to the government /Parliament + actors in the field
Evaluation
(through
case study and interviews actors in the field)
Content:
Evolution of legislative and policy framework
analysis cases
Case law
Statistics
Focus
Experiences and best practices
R
ecommandationsSlide7
Role of
Myria
in THB
To stimulate the fight against THB
Legal proceedings
Secretariat of the Interdepartmental coordination unit for the fight against THB and smuggling
Ensure for good collaboration between 3 specialized centres for victims (database)Slide8
Victim
profiles/
statisticsSlide9
Number of new victimsSlide10
Gender and sector
of exploitation
(2015) Slide11
Sexual exploitation
Forced
prostitution (
physical
violence,
threaths
)
Criminal
groups
from
Eastern
Europe
Victims
bought
Minors
Debt
bondage (pays
debts
through
prostitution)
Asian
victims
(
Thai
massageparlours
)
Sham
marriages
Corruption
Criminal
organisation
Cultural
dependency
(
voodoo
→ Nigeria)
Exchanges programmes
through
Europe
Minors
International
criminal
organisations (Belgium, NL, Spain,
Sweden
)
Loverboys
victims
(
emotional
dependency
)
Belgian
or
foreigners
,
adults
and
minors
Recruitment
in country of
origin
or in Belgium
D
rugsSlide12
Labour exploitation
Undocumented
third
-country
nationals
C
arwash
Domestic
servitude
Cleaning
industry
Dependency
constructions
(
posted
workers
,
bogus
selfemployed
):
Construction
Agriculture
T
ransport
Debt
bondage
Restaurants
and
cafesSlide13
Other forms
Forced
begging
H
andicap
M
inor
Forced
criminality
Organised
theft
(
shoplifting
,
houses
)
D
rugsSlide14
Cases
and best practicesSlide15
Sexual
exploitationSlide16
Case: The Lobby 2010
(
annual
report 2013, 2015)
Perpetrators
and
victims
from
Tirgu
Jiu
(
Roumania
)
Minor Roma-
victims
of loverboys
recruited
by
facebook
Victims
and
loverboys
moved
to
Santarem
(Portugal)
for
job
agriculture
Forced
into
prostitution
by
violence
and
treaths
Victims
sold
in
portugal
: 2000 – 5000 euro
Moved
to
Belgium
and
Europe:
forced
prostitution
Start
investigation
:
complaints
and
info
neighbours
house
Observations
,
phonetap
, house search,
victim
declarations
International
collaboration
Belg-
Roum
-Portugal:
seizures
Conviction
human
trafficking
and
criminal
organisationSlide17
Case: The Lobby
Best
Practices
Quality
Investigation
: financial,
phonetap,internet
D
ifferent
victims
in
victim
status THB
10
perpetrators
convicted
,
also
leaders country
origin
Confiscation
512.000
euro
3
victims
civil
party in trial
Moral
and
material
compensation
victims
with
a part of
confiscation
1
victim
: 5000 (
moral
)
and
25.000 (
material
)
compensation
2
victims
: 5000 (
moral
)
compensationSlide18
Case: Massage
Parlour
(
annual
report 2011, 2013, 2016
)
Thais
travel
agency
organises
sham
marriage
Bribery
personnel
airport
for
illegal
entry Thai
victims
Debt
bondage:
victims
must
pay
15.000 euro
for
documents
and
plane
Victims
sold
for
3000 euro
to
aged
Belgian
male partners
for
marriage
False
documents
for
marriage
prepared
in
embassy
by
adhoc
collaborator
Victims
brought
to
massage
parlours
to
pay
off
their
smuggling
debts
Investigation
phone
tap:
victims
ordered
for
prostitutionwork
in
many
countriesSlide19
Case: Massage
Parlour
Good
Practices
Investigation
: internet, financial,
phonetap
Conviction
HT
and
smuggling
,
Moneylaundering
,
confiscation
Material
and
moral
compensation
with
a part of
confiscation
Bad
experience
Rogatory
commission
between
Belgium
and
Thailand: no
succes
Main
defendant
in Thailand
could
not
be
arrestedSlide20
Labour exploitationSlide21
Case
construction
(
annual
report 2010)
Investigation
started
on the base of
victim
declarations
Posted
workers
for
a
Romanian
construction
company
System of
subcontracting
Recruited
by
advertisement in Romania
Daily
work
from
9h
until
23h,
nearly
payed
Medical
care on building site
refused
If
they
asked
questions
,
transferred
to
dirty job
Victim
fysical
treath
Situation
slum landlordsSlide22
GOOD PRACTICE:
Victim detection posted workers
6 workers in victim status
Case
constructionSlide23
Case
lawSlide24
Labour exploitationSlide25
Case
law
on labour exploitation
Judges: THB for labour exploitation if several of following elements:
Wages/payment conditions
Work circumstances and work environment (number of hours, type of work, work safety,…)
Housing circumstances
Dependence of employer (ex: salary deductions, watching camera’s,…)
Fraudulent structures to conceal the exploitation: cascade subcontracting, frauds (abuse posted workers, bogus self employed)
Work accident ignored by employer: determining factorSlide26
Catering industry
Criminal
court Tournai, 6 september 2012:
Chinese restaurant
owner
exploiting
fellow
C
hinese in restaurant
O
ne
victim
:
arrived
through
“
snakehead
organisation
”,
passport
ripped
up, 14 h/
day
400
euros
/
month
,
Harsh
Conditions
: no breaks,
payment
of
broken
crockery
,
only
customers
leftovers
for
food
Housing
:
makeshift
conditions
(basement
with
hiding
place
)
Charge of
trafficking
(
victims
’ statements):
vulnerable
situation
, no ID
documents
,
staying
illegally
,
working
and
living
conditions
contrary
to
human
dignity
: low
wages
, no
social
security cover, inhumane
work
relations;
excessively
long
hours
and
rudimentary
conditions
Convictions
: 2
years
emprisonment+5.500
euros
fine
Civil
claimants
:
between
7.500
and
41.000
eurosSlide27
Agriculture
Criminal
court Courtrai, 16
February
2015
:
Wide-
scale
exploitation and
slum
landlords in a
mushroom
farm
Conviction of 10
defendants
,
including
several
companies
THB
Slum
landlords
activities
Social
legislation
breaches
Sentences: 15
month
to 3
years
, fines (16.500), confiscations (100.000 euros)
Victims
:
mostly
Bulgarians
(one
minor
)
Start investigation: 2008: social
inspectorate
inspected
mushroom
farm
with
support of policeSlide28
Agriculture
Criminal
court Courtrai, 16
February
2015
:
Discovering
of 15 people, all of
foreign
origin
,
with
precarious
residency
status
, picking
mushrooms
Statements
workers
:
I
n a « trial
period
»
Earn
very
little
,
often
didn’t
know how
much
they
would
get
Bulgarian
workers
caught
sealing
food
in shops on
several
occasions→forced
to
since
not
paid
for a
whileSlide29
Agriculture
Criminal
court Courtrai, 16
February
2015
:
THB: conditions
contrary
to
human
dignity
:
Victims
wages
well
below
scales
for
that
sector
, not
paid
on a
regular
basis,
working
for
hours
on end,
without
being
paid
overtime
for night and week-end
Working
illegally
in
precarious
and
dangerous
conditions
Bulgarian
:
bogus
self -
employed
(
avoid
paying
social and
tax
contributions)
Being
satisfied
of
working
conditions in country of
origin
is
not relevant
Living
conditions:
H
ouses
belonging to main defendant: rent directly deducted from
wages
O
vercrowded
spaces
,
mattresses
on the
floor
,
limited
sanitary
facilitiesSlide30
D
omestic
work
Decision
Criminal
court Brussels, 22
J
anuary
2013
(
confirmed
by Court of
appeal
Brussels, 12 May 2015)
C
onviction
for THB +
Criminal
labour
law
Victim’s
statements
/
results
house
search
/
hearing
witnesses
Defendant
:
women
from
Congo
exploiting
fellow
citizen
to look
after
disabled
son
Anonymouns
denunciation
Not
paid
, sleeping on the
floor
in
children’s
bedroom
Looking
after
child
+
housework
and shopping
Passeport
detained
by
defendant
Compensation
: 52.000 euros (
material
) + 5000
moralSlide31
Others
formsSlide32
Begging’s
exploitation
Criminal
Court of Nivelles, 25
January
2013
Slovakian
defendent
exploiting
begging
of
disabled
compatriots
Victims
statements
+
international police
information +
huge
amount
of money
found
in
defendent’s
possession
Recruiting
,
lodging
in
his
house,
dropping
in
different
car
parks
and
fetch
in the
evening
All the money
earned
taken
Compensation: 2.500 and 17.500 eurosSlide33
Forced
criminality
Criminal
Court of
Liège, 8
January
2014 (
drugs
)
Maroccan
national
brought
nephew
into
country
clandestinely
,
using
forged
documents for «
work
» in
selling
drugs
→
chief
and
organisator
of network (distribution of
drugs
)
Minor
assisted
by
specialised
shelter
for
minors
victims
Prosecution
defendants
for diverse
drug-related
offences
Uncle
:
aggravating
circumstance
(
using
minor
),
criminal
organisation,
smuggling
THB
forced
criminality
≠ one of the charges
File:
defendants’statements
,
wiretaps
, observations and
findings
by police,
statements
from
customers
Convictions:
between
3 and 8
years
+ confiscations Slide34
Specific
example
:
extraterritorialitySlide35
Sexual
exploitation (
Nigerian
girl)
Criminal
Court of
Brussels, 6
November
2015 (final)
Nigerian
defendant
living in Spain
Prosecuted
in Belgium
(
a.o
. THB
sexual
exploitation and exploitation of prostitution)
Victim
:
underaged
at
time of
acts
, civil
claimant
Facts
revealed
following
checks
on «
rooms
»in Brussels
→
number
African
girls
saying
to
be
victim
of
Nigerian
organisation
→ check
adress
:
discovering
of girl
→ false promises,
brought
over
from
Nigeria to Spain in 2002 (network
organised
by
defendant
and
wife
)
→
forced
to prostitution
through
coercion
(
voodoo
) and
threats
, all
earnings
to
defendant
→
begin
2010: escape to Belgium (no
other
ways
of
subsistence
:
turned
to prostitution)
→
coerced
by
defendant
, made
payments
throuh
Western UnionSlide36
Sexual
exploitation (
Nigerian
girl)
Criminal
Court of
Brussels, 6
November
2015 (final)
Rogatory
commission to Spain
:
search
at
defendant’s
home:
suitcase
found
with
victim’s
personal
belongings
Defendant
arrested
in Spain and
extradited
to
Belgium
Court
asserted
jurisdiction
to examine
acts
committed
in Spain (THB)
→
same
criminal
intent
that
took
place in Belgium (charges of
extortion
and money
laundering
)
→ case
law
Court of Cassation:
authority
of
Belgian
judge
can
be
extended
(code of
criminal
procedure
)
Court
accepted
all the charges
(
victim’s
statements
,
results
of
rogatory
commission in Spain,
payments
via Western Union,
statement
worker
specialised
centre)
Conviction
: 6
years
+ fine 2.750 euros + confiscation 16.000 euros
C
ompensation civil party
: 16.200 euros (
material
damage) +1.000 euros (moral damage)Slide37
RecommandationsSlide38
Start
investigation
Detection
THB
situations
and
victims
Detection
: controle,
complaint
victim
,
internet research, call violence
,
situation
slum landlords
,
annoyances
,
conflict,
anonymous
info
Detection
:
immediately
contact
specialised
THB
prosecutor
Victims
isolated
from
suspects
Don’t
leave
the
victims
:
to
avoid
their
disappearance
Contact
specialised
shelter THB-
victims
Role
interpreterSlide39
Victims
Status THB-
victim
Collaborator shelter has
to
explain
in detail
victim
status,
not
the
police
:
b
uilding trust
Relevant
declarations
sufficient
for
victim
status
Trial:
c
ompensation
victimSlide40
Victims :
T
ransnational referral mechanism
Good and bad practices in transnational cases
Nigerian
victim
(
exploited
in Belgium,
intercepted
in The Netherlands
and
placed
in a
deportation
centre
)
→
victim
detected
and
helped
by
chance (
nothing
structural
)
Nigerian
victim
(
exploited
in Belgium,
brought
to
the Netherlands
under
false
identity
for
abortion
,
detected
by
B.
police
by
phonetaps
,
contacts
between
B.
and
N.
polices
,
victim
brought
to
B. in shelter)
→
good
collaboration
between
countries
Structural
alert system
needed
(via liaison
officers
)Slide41
Quality
investigation
Multidisciplinary
control actions
Objectify
declarations
victims
Testimony
witness
,
neighbours
, experts
Phone contacts, mobile-
messages
Observations
photos
,
phone
tapping
(House) search, hearings suspects-
confrontations
Financial
investigation
,
seizures
,
confiscation
International:
r
ogatory
commissionSlide42
Thank
you
for
your
attention!
www.myria.be