Doc. 8965

5 February 2001

Trafficking in organs in eastern Europe

Written Question No. 391 to the Committee of Ministers

by Mrs Pozza Tasca

      Considering that, in addition to the odious trafficking in women and children, another form of trafficking in “human flesh” is gaining ground in eastern Europe, namely organ trafficking;

      Having established that the route taken by the organ sellers starts in Moldova and continues though Romania and Bulgaria using coaches made available to the mafia-type organisation, and arrives in the Asian part of Istanbul, where the organs are surgically removed, and that the cost of the journey is USD 50 for the ticket and USD 180 for the entry visas for Romania and Bulgaria;

      Considering that Europe cannot allow its citizens to be forced by poverty to risk their lives by selling parts of their body;

      To ask the Committee of Ministers,

1.       What steps it intends to take to investigate the causes behind this phenomenon in the countries of origin, particularly poverty, socio-economic conditions, the profiles and motives of the individuals concerned, especially the victims; to develop a global alert system to monitor the routes taken by this traffic in order to take appropriate preventive and repressive action; to train police forces, the judicial authorities and the staff of embassies, consulates and immigration offices to identify the potential victims; to bring about more effective co-ordination between the intelligence services of the countries of origin, destination and transit of the victims of the trafficking in organs during investigations and judicial procedures so as to identify and dismantle the networks of this traffic, with particular attention paid to the laundering of the profits of illegal activities.

2.       What it intends to do to take action on the causes behind this phenomenon through programmes to combat poverty, financed by the banks of the European Social Fund, and through the sustainable development co-operation instruments with nations, such as Moldova, where per capita income is 6 dollars and where poverty pushes people towards death.

Signed:

Pozza Tasca, Italy, LDR