Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe. The yearbook gives an overview of developments in the area of irregular migration, human smuggling and trafficking in the wider Central and Eastern European region in 2010. The information provided in the yearbook was collected through a questionnaire distributed to border agencies, ministries of the interior and other national authorities dealing with issues related to irregular migration. The data is directly obtained from states’ authorities and therefore provides authentic information as reported by the contact points. The country chapters summarise the developments in each of the countries or territories. After many years of decreasing numbers of apprehensions, the overall numbers of migration-related border apprehensions increased slightly in the region in 2010. While Greece and Turkey remained the countries reporting by far the most apprehensions, considerable numbers of apprehensions were also found in Albania as well as in Hungary. Citizens from Ukraine and the Russian Federation were often among the top citizenship groups apprehended for illegal entry or stay in the region. The number of human smugglers apprehended decreased, while the number of smuggled persons increased in the region. Also, the number of victims of trafficking increased in the region. The special topic of this year’s edition is detention of asylum seekers and migrants prior to deportation. The data provided in this yearbook provides a unique overview of practices and statistics on the detention of migrants in terms of the use of detention centres, numbers of persons in detention and maximum duration allowed for detaining migrants. The yearbook aims to support fact-based discussions on irregular migration and contribute to well-informed policy decisions.

Trafficking for labour exploitation has increasingly attracted the interest of policy makers, investigators and labour inspectors in Europe. Recognising this interest, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands funded the project Capacity Building for Combating Trafficking for Labour Exploitation. The project aimed at setting up a programme of training sessions on trafficking for labour exploitation and related matters, such as cross-border judicial cooperation, transnational police investigation, and European and international legal framework of combating labour exploitation. In addition to strengthening the capacity of relevant officials to handle cases of trafficking for labour exploitation, the sequence of trainings laid the foundation for improved transnational and intra-European cooperation on this issue. The project was implemented in cooperation with the OSCE Special Representative and Coordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings.

The draft Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Identification and Referral of Trafficked Persons in Lebanon have been elaborated in the framework of the project ‘’Training to Enhance Lebanese Anti-trafficking Effort (TELAE): Identification, Referral and Policy Responses’’ implemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) and financially supported by the United States Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. The SOPs are carefully in line with human rights and international standards and policy developments. The SOPs are adapted to the national procedures and anti-trafficking legislation in Lebanon, Law Number 164 Punishment of the Crime of Trafficking in Persons, and are meant to build upon the existing national mechanisms and take them a step further towards more coordinated action. The draft document, divided into two Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) sections, was jointly developed and validated by the nominated focal points from the relevant governmental, non- governmental and international organizations in Lebanon. Each institution/organization nominated two representatives to participate in the elaboration of the SOPs as well as in the other activities of the project.

The Strength to Carry On: Resilience and Vulnerability to Trafficking among People Travelling along Migration Routes to Europe analyses the incidence of human trafficking among people travelling along migration routes to Europe; factors of resilience to trafficking and other abuses; and factors of vulnerability to trafficking and other abuses. The study covers the Eastern Mediterranean, Balkan and Central Mediterranean migration routes.The research findings indicate the significance of the context of the migration routes for people’s experiences: the geography of the routes; and the policies and practices applied during different periods in different places. Due to the lack of legal channels for migrating and seeking asylum, and the lack of possibilities to transit regularly along the routes, almost everyone who travels the routes uses migrant smuggling services, at least at some point. Migration policies and responses to the situation on the migration routes have focused largely on combating irregular movement and are characterised by border restrictions and fortification, which significantly increases the vulnerabilities of people using the routes. 69 potential trafficking cases were identified in the course of the research, and 14 cases of deprivation of liberty for extortion. A minority of these cases were officially identified by the authorities. People on the move are trafficked for sexual exploitation, labour exploitation and forced migrant smuggling. The study also shows that deprivation of liberty for extortion involves the abuse of a person’s rights in order to obtain financial or material benefits. The main modus operandi of traffickers in the context of the migration routes, regardless of whether or not they also provide migrant smuggling services, is abusing people’s position of vulnerability. This vulnerability arises from their need to use, and to pay for, migrant smuggling, due to the lack of alternatives for regular travel.

This Note provides guidance for the assistance, protection and humanitarian diplomacy activities of Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies in the Asia Pacific region in the context of labour migration and trafficking. The Note builds upon existing International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement policies, guidance and commitments relevant to migration and displacement. The Note also contains a collection of case studies of existing initiatives by Asia Pacific National Societies, demonstrating the strength and diversity of National Societies’ activities related to labour migration and trafficking. The Note is designed to support the existing initiatives of Asia Pacific National Societies, as well as provide guidance for those National Societies considering new initiatives in the context of labour migration and trafficking. The Note will be useful to National Societies across all departments - from leadership to migration, disaster management, health, shelter, Restoring Family Links (RFL), welfare and beyond.The note will also be useful for representatives from governments, regional institutions, academia, civil society organisations and United Nations (UN) agencies to deepen their understanding of the core mandate and strengths of Asia Pacific Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies in the context of labour migration and trafficking.

The Mara Salvatrucha, better known by their acronym MS-13, is one of the largest and most violent transnational criminal organizations in the world. Their motto is “Kill, Rape, Control.”Since the 1980s, MS-13 members have typically engaged in a wide range of violent and criminal activity including, “drug distribution, murder, rape, prostitution, robbery, home invasions, immigration offenses, kidnapping, carjacking/auto thefts, and vandalism.” More recently there has been a rise in MS-13 engaging in various forms of human trafficking. This paper seeks to explore the connection between the MS-13 and human trafficking.

Human trafficking occurs in almost every country in the world, but it takes on particularly abhorrent dimensions during and after conflict. It is defined as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of people through the threat or use of abduction, abuse of power or vulnerability, deception, coercion, fraud, force, or giving payments or benefits to a person in control of the victim for the purpose of exploitation. While many trafficking victims are exploited within their countries of residence, other victims are trafficked across regions More than 72 percent of detected victims are women and girls; Western and Central Europe and North America, Central America, and the Caribbean have particularly high rates of detected women and girls. Some forms of trafficking are particularly prevalent in the context of armed conflict, such as sexual exploitation, enslavement, and forced marriage; forced labor to support military operations; recruitment and exploitation of child soldiers; and removal of organs to treat injured fighters or finance operations.Traffickers also target forcibly displaced populations. On migration routes, human traffickers deceive people into fraudulent travel arrangements and job opportunities. Migrants face unique danger as they go through holding points and informal settlements or accept unsafe employment opportunities. Refugee women and girls are at particular risk of sex trafficking and forced marriage.

Trafficking in Persons (TiP) is a core protection issue violating the dignity and integrity of the person, endangering their life and physical security. It is a serious crime and a grave violation of human rights. In normal times, TiP is widespread, and in emergencies the risk and prevalence is known to rise. This document explains why there is an elevated risk of TiP during the Covid-19 pandemic, who is likely to be most affected, and what operational approaches can be adopted to prevent, mitigate or respond to TiP by Movement actors. It also includes advocacy messages for consideration in engagement with government, donors and the wider humanitarian sector. Underpinned by our Fundamental Principles, these messages call for a more comprehensive and coordinated prevention and response to TiP. This guidance complements the Covid-19 Impact on Trafficking in Persons Factsheet, developed for a general Red Cross Red Crescent audience, by providing more technical and detailed advice. It should be read in conjunction with the Global Protection Cluster Anti-Trafficking Task Team ‘COVID-19 Pandemic: Trafficking in Persons (TIP) considerations in internal displacement contexts’. Existing Movement guidance on responding to the needs of trafficked people and migrant workers are referenced at the end of this document.

Efforts to counter the COVID-19 pandemic have seen unprecedented restrictions on movement being imposed in many countries, both at borders and within countries. Some communities and policymakers have adopted increasingly hostile attitudes towards migrants, whom they perceive as contagion risks. Barriers to movement are therefore not only state-imposed but can also be community led. While these measures are reducing migration and the smuggling business in many regions in the short term, they are also heightening migrant-protection risks. Such measures are also likely to swell the profits of the smuggling industry in the medium term. COVID-19, and the measures introduced to control it are likely to increase the drivers for movement; the vulnerability of migrants at any point in their journey; the militarization of borders; and the further reduction of safe and legal routes. As the policy environment becomes more hostile to migration, the operating risks and prices of smuggling look set to rise. This may drive out operators with a lower risk appetite and attract organized-crime groups, who are more likely to exploit migrants for ever greater profit. To avoid emerging into a post-pandemic landscape characterized by a dramatically more severe migrant crisis and a more lucrative and professionalized smuggling market controlled by organized crime, it is key to monitor and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on migrants and refugees throughout the pandemic.

This factsheet is intended as a quick reference tool to support National Societies to consider how the Covid-19 global pandemic may place communities at increased risk of trafficking, how it may impact trafficked persons and provide advice on practical actions that can be taken to respond and mitigate risks.