Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1285850
2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 6 SEPTEMBER 2020 NEWS Cases 2014 Active 399 Recoveries 1601 Deaths 14 Swabs 200,586 LATEST COVID-19 www.maltatoday.com.mt/covid19 MATTHEW VELLA THE Maltese government re- mains lagging in the fight against human trafficking, without even increasing prosecutions over 2019, the United States' Traffick- ing In Persons report says. Still stuck as its Tier 2 level of countries, Malta has increased efforts on victim care funding, public awareness, and convic- tions – which included signifi- cant prison sentences – but the US Department of State said both investigations and prosecu- tions had decreased, and fewer victims were identified due to a lack of coordination among min- istries. Nor were labour recruitment regulations or massage parlours controlled, where vulnerability to trafficking was high. "The government made une- ven law enforcement efforts," the TIP report said. While penalties of penalties of four to 12 years' imprisonment were sufficiently stringent, fewer investigations were initiated by police. In 2019, the police vice squad initiated five investigations into eight suspects for sex trafficking and one investigation into one suspect for labour trafficking. It also continued the investigation of five cases involving eight sus- pects ongoing from prior years. This compared with 10 investi- gations in 2018. Additionally, the government did not prosecute any suspect- ed traffickers in 2019, compared with 10 prosecutions in 2018. Prosecutions of 20 suspects, all of whom were released on bail, from prior reporting periods remained ongoing. Three traf- fickers were convicted in 2019 – one man and one woman got 12 years' imprisonment; another man got two years' jail for forced labour. But the United States report found the perennial issues with rule of law, corruption, slow court proceedings, and an un- derstaffed police force hamper- ing prosecutions and convic- tions. "While there were no new in- vestigations or prosecutions of government employees com- plicit in trafficking offences, an investigation, initiated in 2004, of a former police officer who al- legedly acted as an accomplice to a convicted trafficker, remained ongoing during the reporting period. A court hearing for the former police officer was sched- uled for April 2019, but the gov- ernment reported the case was deferred for final submissions; if guilty of complicity in trafficking, the prolonged court proceedings and lack of a court judgement contributed to impunity and in- hibited justice for victims." Identification and protection Despite its first year of a public awareness campaign against hu- man trafficking, police identified 11 foreign trafficking victims in 2019 compared with 24 and 30 victims, respectively, in the two prior reporting periods. There were nine victims of la- bour trafficking and two victims of sex trafficking, four of whom were male and seven female. The majority of victims were from the Philippines, but there were also victims from Bangladesh, Co- lombia, The Gambia, and India. Police continued to screen for sex trafficking victims among individuals in commercial sex. In 2019, the government spent €83,400 on victim care, includ- ing salaries for two social work- ers, training, and safe housing for victims; this amount was an increase compared with €53,000 in 2018. Foreign victims who decided to assist police in prosecuting traf- ficking cases were entitled to a renewable six-month temporary residence permit free of charge, police protection, legal assis- tance, and the right to work. The government could grant compensation to victims from state funding; unlike in previ- ous years, the government did not issue compensation to any victims during the reporting pe- riod because it received no such requests. Additionally, prose- cutors could file for restitution from traffickers in criminal cas- es; unlike in previous years, the government did not award resti- tution to any victims during the reporting period. The TIP report also said an in- ter-ministerial anti-trafficking monitoring committee did not meet during 2019, and its na- tional action plan remains a draft plan for 2020-2023. "Authorities and NGOs contin- ued to report a lack of effective inter-agency coordination on trafficking issues. The govern- ment reduced its anti-trafficking training budget from €20,000 in 2018 to €16,000 in 2019." Forced labour and trafficking profile Fraudulent labour recruitment remained a significant concern during the reporting period: traf- fickers would sometimes replace the originally signed contract with a less favourable one upon arrival, or force victims to per- form a different job than what was agreed upon. "NGOs continued to report a lack of oversight and regulation on the licensing for massage par- lours, which remained places of high concern for sex trafficking. Traffickers would sometimes confiscate the passports of vic- tims upon arrival… "Labour trafficking victims originate from China, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia, with increasing numbers from the Philippines. Women from Southeast Asia working as do- mestic workers, Chinese na- tionals working in massage par- lours, and women from Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and Ukraine working in nightclubs represent populations vulnerable to trafficking." The US embassy estimates ap- proximately 5,000 irregular mi- grants from African countries reside in Malta. These remain vulnerable to trafficking through the black labour market of jobs, including within the construc- tion, hospitality, and domestic sectors. "Co-nationals and Mal- tese citizens frequently work to- gether to exploit trafficking vic- tims." Fight against human trafficking, forced labour still sluggish Malta's law enforcement efforts on trafficking, forced labour and massage parlours remain uneven PAGES 12-13 One of the images for the 2019 public awareness campaign on human trafficking by the Maltese government. But the United States embassy's own assessment of Malta's efforts on human trafficking says law enforcement action is still uneven "NGOs continued to report a lack of oversight and regulation on the licensing for massage parlours, which remained places of high concern for sex trafficking"