Background
Nowadays, irregular migration towards Europe is of great concern, the routes taken by people who decide to leave their countries are increasingly long and dangerous, and the number of individuals undertaking them seems to be increasing, reaching 8,962 deaths in 2024 alone. What happens during the migration journey and what happens to those who undertake it? Between hostile terrains and man-made factors, the lives of migrants who decide to reach a safer place seem to be threatened by constant human rights violations, turning migrant smuggling into a real human trafficking. According to article 3 (1) of the Protocol against the Smuggling of migrants by Land, Sea and Air, the Smuggling of migrants is “the procurement, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit, of the illegal entry of a person into a State of which the person is not a national or a permanent resident” and it can easily turn into an human trafficking especially if they are unable to pay the smuggler due to an increase in ransom demands. This situation often leads to migrants being subjected to labor and sexual exploitation or being held in a state of slavery to pay off their debt. However, it seems that this phenomenon is particularly concerning for women and children, and it is not limited to countries along the migration route but also affects European nations where there is “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring of people through force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them for profit”.
Child Trafficking
Inequalities within and between countries, increasingly restrictive immigration policies, discrimination, poverty and the growing demand for cheap and disempowered labour are just some of the main factors that make individuals vulnerable to human trafficking. Particular attention should be paid to child trafficking, which occurs in the context of child migration and accounts for a substantial proportion of the total number of trafficking victims. In addition, the so-called refugee and migration crisis of 2015 has led to a sharp increase in the number of unaccompanied minors and their consequent vulnerability to sexual and physical harassment, abuse or exploitation during their journey and in the country of destination.
The European Union records a very high percentage of unaccompanied minors who, following their arrival, disappear from the reception/accommodation centres provided for them and rely on the traffickers who force them into sexual and labor exploitation, as well as criminal and begging rings. In line with this, over 18.000 migrants and refugees children went missing in Europe between 2018-2020. However, 51,433 children disappeared after arriving in European countries between 2021 and 2023, with a small percentage of unaccompanied minors from European countries. While in previous years the majority of victims identified were EU citizens, in 2022, 63% of victims identified in the EU overall were non-EU citizens, mainly from Nigeria, Ukraine, Morocco and Bangladesh. Among all trafficking victims, 15% were children trafficking between European countries, and in particular the Republic of Cyprus recorded 13% of them in 2022. The island of Cyprus is, indeed, considered a destination country, with the most prevalent forms of trafficking being sexual exploitation and forced labour, which are widespread on both sides of the UN-controlled buffer zones that facilitate this crime.
Cyprus Government’s Response and Coordinate EU Actions
International and regional conventions as well as national laws are important instruments in the fight against child trafficking in the European countries and provide the Republic of Cyprus with a framework to direct its efforts towards its elimination. At the local level and within the framework of European measures, such as the new Anti-Trafficking Directive of 13 June, 2024, Cyprus already has a well-established referral mechanism to implement its national plan. The National Action Plan (2023-2026) includes services such as social welfare, which acts as a first responder and coordinates all victim support procedures, as well as the police, asylum services and medical and psychiatric services. It is based on targeted actions such as prosecution, protection, and prevention, as provided for the new EU Strategy, which simultaneously calls for a coordinating action with the Member States and various stakeholders.
Furthermore, if it is essential for the Republic of Cyprus and for all European countries, to adhere to well-known regional conventions, such as the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings & GRETA (2005) and the Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (2007), it is equally important to rely on the provided internal laws, such as Law 117(I)/2019 and Law 60(I)/2014). These laws aim to criminalize human trafficking and protect the life of the victim, according to the international human rights described in the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (2000) and to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). In this context, international human rights law imposes important and additional responsibilities on States when it comes to identify child victims of trafficking and to ensure their safety, while respecting and guaranteeing the best interests of the child.
Conclusion
Across Europe, the detection and identification of victims as well as the prosecution and conviction of human traffickers, remain a challenge. In this sense, close cooperation between law enforcement, judicial authorities, and EU agencies is crucial for successful action against traffickers. This is particularly true in Cyprus, where the phenomenon is growing and it should be combated by increasing efforts to investigate potential cases of labor and sex trafficking among domestic workers and individuals in the agriculture sector, funding specialized training for the police anti-trafficking unit, and formalizing the role of NGOs in the national referral mechanism.