Council of Europe reports about its Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA)’s report on the situation of human trafficking in Romania and their concerns.
In the report published this month, GRETA notes that Romania has continued to develop the legislative and policy framework relevant to action against trafficking. Among the developments is Romania’s decision to increase the minimum penalty for trafficking in children in 2020.
Shortcomings noted by GRETA include a significant number of sentences being suspended and plea bargaining or similar agreements allowing offenders to have their punishment reduced. Another important concern stated in the report is the fact that compensation to victims awarded by the courts is rarely being paid. Also, names and addresses of victims of trafficking are publicly available on judicial websites, which poses further safety concerns.
Other concerns noted by GRETA include:
- lack of an adequate number of police investigators and prosecutors in human trafficking
- appointment of lawyers to the victims being slow
- shortcomings in the pace of victim identification
During the period covered by the report, from 2016 to 2019, there have been 2613 victims identified, with three out of four being women and half of them children.