Page 50 - FMR64_Trafficking and smuggling & Climate crisis and local communities_2020_web

FMR 64
50 Trafficking and smuggling
www.fmreview.org/issue64 June 2020

that they will receive the appropriate care and the timely identification of victims of
upon being transferred. The State requesting trafficking and the facilitation of adequate
to make a transfer can only do so if neither provision are highly questionable. If explicit,
the transfer itself (because of potential individual guarantees with regard to the
risk of physical or psychological harm) nor proper reception of asylum seekers who
the subsequent reception conditions are have been trafficked are not given (or if
in contravention of relevant provisions in there are reasons to doubt that in practice
European law, including – but not limited to these guarantees cannot be fulfilled), States
– the European Convention on Human Rights should refrain from instigating Dublin
and the Council of Europe’s Convention. transfers of these asylum seekers to Italy.
Other international treaty bodies have
also issued decisions regarding the legality Lucia Della Torre lucia.dellatorre@osar.ch
of Dublin transfers to Italy. In 2018, the UN Adriana Romer adriana.romer@osar.ch
Committee against Torture decided in two Margarite Zoeteweij
cases that the transfer of asylum seekers margarite.zoeteweij@unifr.ch
who had been subjected to torture would
infringe their rights under the Convention Lawyers, Swiss Refugee Council OSAR
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman www.refugeecouncil.ch
or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 1. Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 of the European Parliament and of
as the provision of adequate health care the Council, commonly known as the Dublin Regulation.
bit.ly/DublinRegulation
could not be guaranteed upon their arrival. 2. UNHCR and Italian Ministry of the Interior (2016)
The Swiss Federal Administrative Tribunal ‘L’identificazione delle vittime di tratta tra I richiedenti protezione
as well as several German courts have internazionale e procedure di referral’
bit.ly/UNHCR-Italy-trafficking-2016
also partially recognised the problematic 3. Swiss Refugee Council OSAR (2020) ‘Reception conditions
situation in Italy. For example, in a December in Italy: Updated report on the situation of asylum seekers and
2019 judgement the Swiss tribunal ruled beneficiaries of protection, in particular Dublin returnees, in Italy’
that Italian authorities are required to bit.ly/OSAR-Italy-2020
furnish guarantees on an individual case 4. GRETA (2019) ‘Report concerning the implementation of the
Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in
basis concerning reception conditions. Human Beings by Italy’, p66, §284
Pre-existing precarious conditions in https://rm.coe.int/greta-2018-28-fgr-ita/168091f627
the Italian reception system have been 5. CJEU, Case C-233/18, Haqbin v Federaal Agentschap voor de opvang
van asielzoekers, 12 November 2019 bit.ly/CJEU-c233-18
exacerbated by recent legislative reforms,
Trafficking, ritual oaths and criminal investigations

Ana Dols García
The influence of traditional beliefs in the trafficking of Nigerian women for sexual
exploitation must be better understood in order to help identify and protect victims and to
properly inform judicial processes.
Oaths play a crucial role in Nigerian Oaths directly ties women with the
trafficking networks. By sealing the pact spirits, from whom retaliation is expected
between women who want to migrate if the agreement is breached. Women are
to Europe and their traffickers, oaths persuaded that terrible things, including
strengthen the ties between women and illness, death and madness, will befall
their traffickers, their family and the spirit them and their families if they do not repay
world. Through these vows – known as their debt. Furthermore, breaking the pact
juju oaths – women promise to pay off is seen as an act of dishonour that reflects
the debt, respect the traffickers and not badly upon a woman’s family. Women also
report their traffickers to the police. consider that, having accepted the oath, they