Экспертный орган Совета Европы по борьбе с торговлей людьми заявляет, что Беларусь не смогла предотвратить торговлю людьми на своих границах

Группа экспертов Совета Европы по борьбе с торговлей людьми (ГРЕТА) подготовила второй оценочный доклад о применении БеларусьюКонвенции Совета Европы о противодействии торговлей людьми. В докладе дается оценка хода выполнения требований Конвенции с момента опубликования первого оценочного доклада ГРЕТА в 2017 году и до июля 2022 года, включая период, отмеченный беспрецедентным перемещением мигрантов на границах Беларуси в 2021 году (см. доклад на фр. яз.).

In the period 2017-2021 the Ministry of the Interior formally identified 753 persons (90% of whom were women and girls) as victims of human trafficking and related crimes. Almost all the identified victims were Belarusian citizens, and more than 80% of them were exploited within Belarus. Sexual exploitation remained the prevalent form of exploitation of the victims. There were no identified victims of trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation among the roughly 20,000 foreign workers in Belarus.

GRETA's visit took place during a period marked by the arrival in Belarus of tens of thousands of migrants, lured with false promises of easily crossing into the EU. Many of them remained stuck for prolonged periods of time on or near the borders with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, without being able to claim asylum and have an assessment of their vulnerabilities. This unprecedented movement of migrants has created heightened risk of abuses, including trafficking in human beings. The information at GRETA's disposal led it to conclude that the Belarusian authorities had not only failed to prevent trafficking of foreign nationals through Belarus, but had actively encouraged it and in doing so, may have themselves contributed to trafficking in human beings.

GRETA regrets that the involvement of civil society in anti-trafficking work is limited and decreasing. During the visit to Belarus in September 2021, GRETA was unable to hold meetings with most of the NGOs involved in action against human trafficking, as they had been dissolved or their representatives had fled abroad for fear of persecution. GRETA is concerned that the widespread and systematic clampdown on civil society organisations in Belarus creates a significant risk that violations of human rights concerning victims of trafficking will not be recognised as such. It also severely reduces access to specialised assistance for victims.

GRETA calls on Belarus to strengthen border controls to prevent and detect trafficking in human beings. This should include the provision of information to foreign nationals, in a language that they can understand, about the risks of human trafficking, their rights and where to turn for advice and assistance. GRETA also urges the Belarusian authorities to strengthen their efforts to ensure that human trafficking cases for different forms of exploitation are investigated and prosecuted proactively, and lead to effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions.

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Экспертный орган Совета Европы по борьбе с торговлей людьми заявляет, что Беларусь не смогла предотвратить торговлю людьми на своих границах

ГРЕТА и Беларусь