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Thematic Debate on Partnerships among international organisations active
in the field of trafficking in human beings: need for co-ordinated action
in the framework of the 4th meeting of the Committee of the Parties
to the CoE Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings
Statement of Ms Doris Stump (Switzerland, SOC)
Vice-Chairperson of the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men
13 September 2010 |
Dear Chairperson,
Distinguished guests,
First of all, I would like to thank you for giving me the floor. I am a Swiss member of Parliament and the Vice-Chairperson of the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
As you know, in January this year, the Parliamentary Assembly adopted Resolution 1702 (2010) on “Action against trafficking in human beings: promoting the Council of Europe convention”. This text represents a renewed commitment of parliamentarians to combat trafficking in human beings, promote the signature, ratification and implementation of the Council of Europe Trafficking Convention and give political support to the work of the Council of Europe in this area.
In this resolution, the Assembly also decided “to organise a conference in 2010 on action against trafficking in human beings with all the partners involved in such action, with the aim to reinforce co-operation among them, including consideration of modalities for interaction with GRETA”.
I would like to take this opportunity to inform you that this conference will take place on 3 December 2010 in Paris. It will be primarily directed to parliamentarians of Council of Europe member and observer states, whether or not they have signed or ratified the Convention, but it will also address inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations, which are essential partners of parliaments in the prevention and fight against trafficking.
In addressing forced prostitution, forced labour and domestic slavery, the Conference will look at victims, clients and traffickers. Amongst its main objectives are:
1. strengthening co-operation between international parliamentary assemblies involved in this area with a view to co-ordinating our efforts: also at parliamentary level, partnerships between international organisations are needed. We will therefore liaise with Members of the European Parliament, the Inter-parliamentary Union, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Nordic Council to improve synergy and complementarity;
2. discussing the contribution that national parliaments could give in monitoring the implementation of this convention at national level, consistent with Resolution 1702 (2010), in which the Parliamentary Assembly invited “national parliamentarians of member states which have ratified the convention to monitor its implementation in their domestic law and to produce an annual written report on progress to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe” (para. 7). As you know, monitoring adopted laws is a core competence of national parliaments. With the Trafficking convention, it is the first time that PACE is encouraging national parliaments to take an active part in the monitoring of a Council of Europe instrument at domestic level. I am convinced that this parliamentary effort can be complementary to the work of GRETA, with a view to ensuring the full and effective implementation of the Council of Europe convention.
Once again, thank you for giving me the floor. I hope that representatives of your parliaments and organisations will take an active part in the interparliamentary Conference in Paris on 3 December 2010. I look forward to your comments or questions - and to your fruitful discussions today.
Thank you for your attention.
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Contact :
Secretariat of the
Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men
F - 67 075 STRASBOURG Cedex
tel : + 33 (0) 3 88 41 2370
fax : + 33 (0) 3 90 21 56 52
e-mail : sonia.sirtori@coe.int
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