The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) attended the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime – Working Group on Trafficking in Persons, held in Vienna on 6-8 September 2017.
The PAM High-level delegation was composed of Sen. Alia Bouran, PAM vice-President and President of the 1st PAM Standing Committee; Hon. Amir Peretz, PAM vice-President and head of the Israeli delegation to PAM; Hon. Belal Qasem, PAM Vice-President and head of the Palestinian/PNC Delegation to PAM; Hon. Eleni Avlonitou, head of the Greek Delegation to PAM and vice-President of the 2nd PAM Standing Committee; and Hon. Maria das Mercês Borges, Member of the Portuguese delegation to PAM.
Participating delegations were invited to consider a number of issues when discussing effective criminal justice responses to trafficking in persons centred on addressing the protection and assistance needs of different groups and types of victims, with particular reference to victims of trafficking within mixed migration movements. Topics included, inter alia, Identification; Provision of immediate protection and support; Non-prosecution or detention; Access to remedies and the provision of legal assistance; Residence and safe and voluntary return; Obligations for child victims; Assistance related to gender; and Specific measures to respond to mixed migration movements.
Sen. Dr. Alia Bouran and Hon. Belal Qasem addressed the Conference on behalf of PAM.
Sen. Bouran underscored how Jordan, but also Lebanon, Greece, Italy and Turkey are struggling to cope either with the influx of asylum seekers or economic migrants, while maintaining their primary obligation to their own populations to provide services, jobs, and security. “On the security side, PAM is strongly committed to finding a political solution to the Syrian and Libyan crises, as it was reiterated on the occasion of the PAM high-level mission to the Middle East in July”, Sen. Bouran said. Jordan is burdening most of the aid to Syrian refugees, who exceed 1.5 million and have reached 20% of the national population, as stated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Jordan during the PAM Mission to Jordan, and only one third of the international assistance pledged to Jordan has in reality been received. Indeed, transnational organized crime is a growing challenge to security and development and represents one of the most challenging and serious threats to human rights and to our society. It threatens the very foundations of the rule of law, the integrity of public institutions, and the basic security and health of people and communities. Populism in Europe is growing exponentially on the feeling of fear.
There is no region, no country, no community, Sen. Bouran added, that is unaffected by this criminal activity. Human trafficking affects all societies and all regions of the world, no matter whether developed or developing, and cannot be solved within each country; instead, it requires dialogue and cooperation among States and Parliaments. “Our mission as parliamentarians is to put an end to this crime against humanity. PAM is strongly committed to encourage enhanced cooperation and collective actions in dealing with the problems and challenges related to migration and human mobility, including mixed movements involving migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees.
Hon. Qasem highlighted the human trafficking of both asylum seekers and economic migrants through the Middle East.
Although the flow has been drastically reduced as consequences of the EU-Turkish agreement, there still are reports of people stranded in the Sinai Desert. Now that it is more difficult to cross even via Libya, more desperate people will try again to cross through the Middle East, which poses a new threat, due to the possible infiltrations by terrorists of ISIS.
“Therefore dealing with populations movement both in North Africa and in the Middle East requires our utmost attention, in order to address the key elements which are: Protection of civilians; Respect of human rights; Repression of organized crime; Countering terrorism and radicalization which are associated to it”, Hon. Qasem concluded.