A Council of Europe
report said Monday that Italy is not doing enough to combat
human trafficking.
The report by the Council of Europe's expert group on
human trafficking, GRETA, said that in Italy "there are
shortcomings in the identification of victims of trafficking and
data collection, lack of awareness about the problem of THB
(trafficking in human beings) among the general public
and certain public officials, and insufficient attention to
trafficking for purposes other than sexual exploitation".
It said that reports suggested that human trafficking for
the purpose of labour exploitation of undocumented migrants
had assumed "worrying proportions in Italy, but is not addressed
adequately".
It added that the trafficking of children for sexual
exploitation, forced begging and forced crime is reportedly on
the rise
The report also said it was "concerned that the conviction
rates are very low".
It noted that only 14 human traffickers were convicted in
Italy in 2010 and nine in 2011.
The Council of Europe conceded that Italy is particularly
vulnerable to migrant smuggling and trafficking, due to its
geographical position and long coastline.
The report called on Rome to strengthen efforts to ensure
that "crimes related to THB for all types of exploitation are
proactively investigated and prosecuted promptly and
effectively, leading to proportionate and dissuasive sanctions".
Italy is struggling to cope with a big increase in the
number of migrants coming from North Africa this year.
Italy has received over 118,000 arrivals this year, most
of them rescued at sea by Italy under its naval operation, Mare
Nostrum.
Rome set up Mare Nostrum after 400 people perished in two
migrant boat disasters off the coast of Sicily last October.
The United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR, said last week
that more than 2,500 people have drowned or gone missing
attempting the Mediterranean crossing this year alone, including
over 2,200 since the start of June.
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