Increased convictions for human trafficking last year, as well as formal recognition of several fishermen as trafficking victims, has garnered US State Department praise for the Republic’s “overall increasing efforts” to combat the crime.
In its 2022 Trafficking in People report published on Tuesday, the US upgrades the State to what is known as a “tier 2″ country, though added it was “not fully [meeting] the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking”. Ireland had been downgraded last year to what is known as a “tier 2 watch list” country.
Welcoming the upgrade, Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission chief commissioner, Sinead Gibney, said the Republic was “starting from a very low base” and remained “one of the worst countries in Europe for our responses to trafficking”.
The US report says the tier 2 ranking means the State is not meeting minimum standards but “making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards. These efforts included increasing convictions compared with the year prior — including two convictions under the anti-trafficking law for the first time since at least 2013 — and consequently assigning significant sentences.
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“The Government formally recognised seven sea-fishers as trafficking victims and identified potential trafficking victims during inspections, which was an increase compared with prior year reporting.
“The Government also expunged more than 600 prior convictions for commercial sex offences, many of which may have involved prior sex trafficking victims, and launched an awareness campaign in partnership with an international organisation. Furthermore, the Government increased funding for victim assistance and for public awareness and prevention efforts compared with the prior year.”
However, there were failings “in several key areas”. The report says there were fewer prosecutions of suspected traffickers and none of labour traffickers. There were “systemic deficiencies in victim identification, referral, and assistance” while “services for victims remained inadequate”.
There was a failure to “uniformly screen for trafficking in vulnerable populations, like sea-fishers, before referring them to immigration authorities for deportation, even when victims self-identified”.
‘Vulnerable’ people
Among its “priority recommendations”, the report calls on the State to “increase efforts to identify and protect all victims, especially Irish citizens” and “victims of labour trafficking, forced criminality, and vulnerable populations like children, sea-fishers, and asylum seekers”.
It calls for “improved victim identification” and “a revised national referral mechanism [NRM]” which would include victim identification training for frontline officials, which it says should include NGOs, social workers, healthcare professionals, and labour inspectors as well as gardai.
Welcoming the upgrade, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said: “ “We are confident the victim-centred policy approach we are taking … should help us gather the information and evidence needed to strengthen prosecutions and convictions.
“Next week I will seek Government approval to publish the general scheme of the Criminal Justice (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Bill 2022, which, among other things will put a revised national referral mechanism on a statutory footing. This will also provide a formal role for civil society groups that support victims to be part of the formal identification process.”
Ms Gibney welcomed the upgrade and the commitment to a new NRM but said it must be “speedily” implemented.
“Moving up a tier on this US ranking should not be seen as job done. It is only job started. Key preconditions for an effective human trafficking response remain unfulfilled, including gender-specific accommodation for victims of trafficking. This is an essential practical arrangement that has to be established to put Ireland on track to fulfil its obligations to support victims of this heinous crime.”
