Cyprus Mail 11 June 2020 - by Jean Christou
Justice is rarely received in the courts the report says
The number of presumed victims of trafficking referred to Cyprus police between 2015 and 2019 was 801, of whom 190 were formally identified as victims, and 80 per cent of whom were women, the Council of Europe’s watchdog on human trafficking (Greta) said in a report published on Thursday.
The third Greta evaluation concluded that Cyprus continues to be primarily a country of destination for trafficked persons and the number of convictions remains low, especially for labour exploitation. The focus of the evaluation was on victims’ access to justice and effective remedies.
Greta said Cyprus established a national referral mechanism in 2016, defining the cooperation framework between the relevant services and NGOs for identifying and referring victims of trafficking to services. A new plan for 2019-2021 was adopted last September.
It said that according to the national plan, initial information on victims’ rights should be provided by the social welfare services, which act as the first point of contact with victims.
“However, the procedure is reportedly not always followed. Greta considers that the Cypriot authorities should strengthen the provision of information to presumed and formally identified victims of trafficking regarding their rights, the services available and how to access them, as well as the implications of being identified as a victim of trafficking,” the report said.
It also said that no legal aid is provided to victims of trafficking before or during investigations, and only two applications for legal aid for the purpose of claiming compensation had been approved by the attorney general’s office.
“Greta urges the Cypriot authorities to strengthen their efforts to facilitate and guarantee access to justice for victims of trafficking by ensuring that they receive specialised legal assistance and free legal aid at an early stage of the criminal proceedings,” the report said.
Victims of trafficking are also allowed to claim compensation through criminal proceedings or a civil claim but again there were no examples of compensation granted by decision of a criminal court judge in human trafficking cases. The setting up of the victim support fund, which can be used to compensate victims of trafficking, has been delayed, “and no victim has so far received state compensation in Cyprus”.
Greta urged authorities to adopt measures to facilitate and guarantee access to compensation that cases are “investigated more promptly, prosecuted successfully, and lead to effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions”.
To achieve this, further training should be provided to prosecutors and judges in order to ensure that human trafficking cases are not re-qualified into other offences which carry lighter penalties, the report said.
Greta said the setting up of the Children’s House in Nicosia, which makes it possible to limit the number of interviews of child victims of sexual abuse, was another welcome development but the practice of cross-examination of child victims of trafficking should be avoided to the extent possible.
It also recommended that authorities provide sufficient resources and training to labour inspectors to enable them to fulfil their mandate, as well as ensuring that inspections can take place in private households with a view to preventing abuse of domestic workers and detecting cases of human trafficking.
Greta welcomed the “good living conditions” provided in the state-run shelter for female victims of trafficking and the NGO-run open house but said there was a lack of systematic rehabilitation and integration measures for victims of trafficking.
“Further, vulnerable asylum seekers who are presumed to be victims of trafficking are provided with a meagre allowance and are expected to find accommodation by themselves, exposing them to risks of sexual and other exploitation,” the report said.
Greta urged the Cypriot authorities to provide assistance, including safe accommodation, adapted to the specific needs of male victims of trafficking as well as to develop a programme for long-term support and integration of victims. The authorities should also review the level of assistance provided to asylum seekers, it added.
