Category: News

The Euro-Arab Foundation Presents VANGUARD’s Intelligence Analysis Conclusions to GRETA

On June 24, researcher Karen Hough, representing the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies, presented the conclusions of the VANGUARD Project’s intelligence analysis on human trafficking to the sixteen independent experts of GRETA (Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings). This Council of Europe body is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Convention on the matter in Strasbourg.

This presentation is part of the project’s contribution to advancing intelligence-led responses to trafficking across Europe. Drawing on multidisciplinary research, the analysis examined emerging trafficking dynamics, the adaptation of organized crime, and shifting exploitation patterns. The findings provide a strategic evidence base to inform policy development, operational decision-making, victim identification, and the responsible deployment of advanced technological tools to support the prevention, detection, and disruption of trafficking networks in both national and transnational contexts.

A central focus of the presentation was the epistemological and operational value of survivor expertise within intelligence-led responses to human trafficking. Rather than positioning survivors solely as recipients of protection and assistance, the analysis recognized them as critical repositories of knowledge whose lived experiences generate unique forms of intelligence that are often inaccessible through conventional research methods.

Survivor-informed perspectives provide valuable insights into recruitment mechanisms, coercive control, exploitation pathways, barriers to reporting, and institutional responses, strengthening both strategic and operational intelligence. Furthermore, the presentation argued that survivor expertise must be integrated not only into policy and operational practice, but also into the design and monitoring of technologies aimed at combating human trafficking.

The subsequent discussion with GRETA underscored the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration among intelligence professionals, researchers, survivors, law enforcement, civil society, and technology developers. Integrating these perspectives can reinforce early victim identification, enhance intelligence collection and analysis, support responsible technological innovation, and optimize the disruption of organized trafficking networks, while promoting the sustainable recovery and resilience of survivors.

Human Trafficking for the Purpose of Forced Criminality on the Rise in Europe

In its latest annual report, GRETA expressed concern over the increase in human trafficking for the purpose of forced criminality, urging European Union member states to step up victim identification and effectively apply the non-punishment principle. The report, which reviews progress in implementing the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, highlights that people’s vulnerabilities are increasingly being exploited to force them into committing crimes, ranging from shoplifting and forced begging to cannabis cultivation, drug trafficking, and online financial fraud.

Victims are typically recruited through fake job offers on social media and internet platforms, with minors and individuals in situations of extreme social exclusion or precarious migration status being the most affected groups. The report emphasizes that many of these victims are not recognized as such by law enforcement and judicial authorities, which causes them to end up being arrested, prosecuted, and convicted for the crimes they were coerced into committing, rather than receiving the protection and assistance they are entitled to under the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.

News Projects victory

The Euro-Arab Foundation at the Council of Europe’s Week Against Hate Speech

The Council of Europe organised the Week Against Hate Speech, between June 17 and 19 in Strasbourg (France). This international gathering’s main objective is to strengthen global democratic responses and foster citizen mobilization against the proliferation of hate speech in our society.

During the meeting, the Euro-Arab Foundation contributed to reviewing the implementation of Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)16 on combating hate speech. This key tool provides fundamental guidelines to member states to prevent and combat this issue through a robust legal framework, as well as essential non-legal measures, with a special emphasis on the field of education.

The Euro-Arab researcher, Lucía Alonso Pérez, represented the Foundtion during this international meeting

Presentation of the VicTory Project

Within the framework of this event, the Foundation also had the opportunity to present the research findings on challenges and best practices in supporting victims of hate. This research was carried out as part of the European project VicTory, which promotes a restorative and victim-centered approach to mitigating hate.

Tags hate speech

EUKH EN News

The Euro-Arab Foundation Participates in Organizing the EU Knowledge Hub ‘Exchange Conference’

On June 11 and 12, the Exchange Conference of the EU Knowledge Hub on Prevention of Radicalisation (EUKH) brought together member state representatives, policymakers, researchers, and practitioners in Brussels to reflect on the future of radicalisation prevention in Europe. The Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies actively participated in organising this key meeting as a member of the EUKH consortium.

Faced with a rapidly evolving threat landscape, the working sessions allowed participants to take stock of the actions developed under the current Strategic Guidelines (2024–2026), as well as to debate the priorities that should guide the next phase of the European Union’s prevention efforts.

During the conference, critical issues were addressed, such as online radicalization, hybrid ideologies, resilience building, rehabilitation, and the protection of minors. The conclusions and key insights obtained will directly inform the upcoming Strategic Guidelines for the 2027–2029 period and will contribute to the implementation of the ProtectEU framework. The central axis of these forward-looking debates consisted of the evaluation frameworks and trend analysis driven by the 7 EUKH Thematic Panels, in which the Euro-Arab Foundation actively participates as part of several Research Secretariats.

News Projects victory

The Euro-Arab Foundation Presents the Restorative Justice Potential of the VicTory Project in Poznan

The Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies participated, from June 11 to 13, in the international conference of the European Forum for Restorative Justice, held in Poznan, Poland. The event brought together experts, academics, and legal and social professionals from across Europe to discuss the future and challenges of restorative processes.

The Euro-Arab Foundation delegation attended as the coordinating entity of the European VICTORY project and leader of Work Package 2 (WP2). Led by Daniel F. Pérez García and Rascha Albaba Acosta, the team presented the project’s main milestones and conclusions, which aim to strengthen restorative justice models across the continent.

Other members of the VICTORY consortium completed the panel’s comprehensive overview: IPS spoke on the importance of multi-agency cooperation and the specialized training programs designed within the project framework, while the ARARTEKO focused its presentation on lessons learned and fieldwork from the restorative justice program implemented by the Ombudsman Office of the Basque Country.

The most emotional and meaningful moment of the session came with the first-person testimony of Franco Bonisoli, a former member of the Italian Brigate Rosse. During a panel discussion moderated by the ARARTEKO. Bonisoli, who today is fully committed to and immersed in restorative justice processes, provided a human perspective on the transforming power of reparation, dialogue, and reconciliation, moving beyond purely punitive justice.

Intercepted News

New INTERCEPTED Campaign: The Rise of Cyber-Laundering

The INTERCEPTED project has launched an awareness video campaign targeting the rapidly evolving financial strategies of human trafficking networks. The campaign sounds the alarm on “cyber-laundering”, a high-tech shift that allows organised crime groups to clean illicit profits at fast speeds while remaining virtually invisible.

The INTERCEPTED project emphasizes that cyber-laundering is the ultimate enabler of parallel criminal economies, fueling not just human trafficking and forced prostitution, but also illegal gambling and predatory usury (loan sharking).

News Projects VANGUARD

The Euro-Arab Foundation Presents VANGUARD Project Research at the XV Spanish Congress of Criminology

On June 10, the 1st Iberian Congress / XV Spanish Congress of Criminology (SIEC) hosted the presentation of the research paper “Repositioning the Role of ICTs and AI in Combating Human Trafficking.”

The study was conducted by Karen Latricia Hough and Noelia Gómez Bosque (Euro-Arab Foundation), Theodora Tsikrika, Despoina Chatzakou, and Theoni Spathi (CERTH), alongside Tatiana Duarte Nicolau (University of Granada), in collaboration with KU Leuven. Drawing from the findings of the Horizon Europe VANGUARD project, the research analyzed how anti-trafficking efforts have struggled to respond to the growing digital dimensions of human trafficking, while perpetrators increasingly weaponize AI and digital technologies to facilitate recruitment, coercion, and exploitation.

Based on more than 220 sources and 67 in-depth interviews with survivors, perpetrators, law enforcement, border guards, policymakers, NGOs, and experts, the study identified major vulnerabilities in current anti-trafficking responses. These include:

Fragmentation of data systems.
An over-reliance on reactive policing approaches.
Limited involvement of survivors.
Risks posed by algorithmic bias and the misuse of surveillance technologies.

The presentation also highlighted how online trafficking and poly-exploitation (which encompasses sexual exploitation, forced criminality, and labor exploitation) continue to evolve faster than many institutional responses. To address this, the VANGUARD project introduced AI-driven tools, co-developed with key stakeholders, to help anticipate and disrupt digital trafficking pathways.

However, the researchers emphasized that technology alone cannot solve systemic challenges. The presentation called for stronger human rights protections, enhanced training for front-line staff, refined regulatory frameworks, and more inclusive, survivor-centered innovation processes.

The paper concluded by advocating for a paradigm shift: moving from fragmented and reactive anti-trafficking strategies toward coordinated, evidence-based, and ethically grounded approaches that are better adapted to the realities of the digital age.

The 1st Iberian Congress / XV Spanish Congress of Criminology, organized under the slogan “Shared Horizons in Criminology” between June 10 and 12, is promoted by the Spanish Society for Criminological Research (SEIC) alongside its Portuguese counterparts. This scientific gathering serves as a strategic forum to debate the most pressing methodological, theoretical, and practical challenges within the discipline.

News PARTES-COM EN

PARTESS-COM Trains Religious Leaders and Civil Society in Sofia (Bulgaria)

19 participants from Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas, and Bratislava

The European Union funded project Partess-com, in which the Euro-Arab Foundation is a research partner of the consortium, facilitated a one-day capacity-building training on May 15 for religious leaders, communities and institutions, civil society, and public entities in Sofia, Bulgaria. The session was led by experts from Enhancing Faith Institutions (EFI) specialised in security and the protection of religious institutions.

Shaukat Warraich, Director at EFI, and Kaashif Awan, Senior Consultant at EFI, alongside with Yoana Barakova from the Center for the Study of Democracy, who brought the Balkan perspective and served as the Bulgarian voice among the trainers, conducted the session attended by 19 participants from Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas, and Bratislava.

Content and Objectives

The training offered practical tools and good European practices applicable to institutional work and inter-institutional cooperation. Its primary focus was on prevention and response to security risks facing religious communities and places of worship a topic of growing relevance across Europe.

Throughout the day, participants were introduced to concepts of preventive security and extremism management, approaches to crisis communication, and methods for conducting basic vulnerability assessments of religious sites. Special attention was given to the role of communities and citizens in reporting security-related incidents, as well as to the practical application of available resources. The training also created space for open exchange of experience and proven solutions among participants – something that is, in itself, a form of dialogue.

Additional emphasis was placed on strengthening cooperation between public institutions, religious communities, and civil society – particularly in the areas of extremism prevention and the protection of places of worship. This triangular relationship between the state, religion, and civil society is key to sustainable prevention and to building trust within diverse communities.

News Projects SHIELDed EN

The Euro-Arab Foundation and the City Council of Granada Reinforce the Protection of Places of Worship against Hate Speech

On June 9, the headquarters of the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies hosted the second meeting of the Local Working Group for the Protection of Places of Worship in Granada. This space for dialogue and intervention is co-directed and coordinated by the City Council of Granada and the Euro-Arab Foundation, within the framework of the European project SHIELDed.

The Working Group was established as one of the fundamental pillars of this European project, serving as a local, cross-sectoral platform for dialogue. Its objective is to provide institutions and religious communities with a sustainable space for exchange with civil society actors, allowing them to identify protection needs and jointly develop security and coexistence measures.

An Integrated Approach: From Physical Threats to the Digital Environment

Through a participatory approach that integrates religious communities, NGOs, public administrations, and State Security Forces, the project seeks to foster greater involvement and social cohesion. The action plan not only addresses protection against physical threats—such as vandalism or attacks on temples and worshipers—but also places a priority focus on preventing hate speech, polarization, misinformation, and social marginalization.

This second session builds on the work initiated during the kickoff meeting in December 2025. On that occasion, members of the Group had already expressed their deep concern over the rise of online hostility. Consequently, the focus of this meeting centered specifically on analyzing online discrimination and xenophobia at the national level, as well as identifying effective mechanisms and channels for reporting them.

Institutional Support and Expert Analysis

The event was opened by Amparo Arrabal, Councilor for Social Policy, Family, Disability, and Seniors, and María Eugenia Luzón Molero, technical director and coordinator of the Religious Diversity Bureau, representing the City Council of Granada. On behalf of the Euro-Arab Foundation, researchers Rascha Albaba and Javier Montilla welcomed the attendees and reviewed the activities and milestones achieved to date.

The core segment of the session was dedicated to strategies for tackling online intolerance. This featured a presentation by Mario Lara Delgado, Head of Section at the Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia (OBERAXE), under the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration. Lara Delgado detailed the Observatory’s work in monitoring, tracking, and reporting potentially criminal behavior on social media.

Police Cooperation and Reporting Channels

Additionally, representatives from the Security Forces participating in the Group outlined detection methods and action protocols regarding hate crimes. José Luis Soriano (National Police), Benjamín Salas (Civil Guard), and José Antonio Rebollo (Granada Local Police) delivered a joint presentation on the communication and direct reporting channels available to religious communities and the general public.

Conclusion: As the meeting drew to a close, participants agreed that discrimination and hate in the digital environment often serve as a prelude to physical assaults in real life. In this regard, they underscored the urgent need to raise awareness about the importance of reporting any discriminatory behavior and to urge authorities to act firmly against hate attacks.

News

Euro-Arab Foundation Delivers a Seminar on Human Trafficking Frameworked by the INTERCEPTED Project

On May 28, the Euro-Arab Foundation delivered a seminar on human trafficking for students enrolled in the Master’s Degree in Peace and Cooperation at the University of Granada. The session analysed emerging trends in trafficking within virtual environments, as well as the role of digital tools in prevention and early detection.

During the session, the five strategic pillars of the European project INTERCEPTED were formally presented. First and foremost, this initiative seeks to gain a thorough understanding of how traffickers exploit digital platforms for various forms of exploitation. Additionally, the project focuses on developing advanced technological tools to detect online recruitment and suspicious advertisements at an early stage, while enhancing cooperation between the public and private sectors through the use of open-source intelligence (OSINT).

The project also promotes the creation of a unified European mechanism for reporting suspicious cyber activities related to this crime, while simultaneously strengthening the digital competencies and technical expertise of law enforcement agencies across the continent.

News Projects VANGUARD

University of Granada Master’s Students Engage with VANGUARD Project Through “Red Flags” Awareness Game

On 28 May, the Euro-Arab Foundation’s researcher, Karen Latricia Hough, in collaboration with Marina Garcia Carmona (UGR) delivered a seminar for students enrolled in the Master’s Programme in Peace and Cooperation entitled “From Coercion to VANGUARD: Advanced Technological and Societal Solutions to Disrupt Trafficking in Human Beings” at the University if Granada.

The seminar presented the VANGUARD project, its methodologies, and its anticipated impact in addressing trafficking in human beings (THB). The session actively engaged students and other stakeholders present, in reflection and discussion on the challenges posed by THB and the role of innovation in prevention and detection.

The seminar introduced the multidisciplinary approach of the VANGUARD project in combating THB and demonstrated how trustworthy artificial intelligence could support the detection and prevention of online-facilitated trafficking activities, including those occurring at border checkpoints. Participants also explored the societal, ethical, and behavioural dimensions of THB, while being encouraged to think critically about their own role in prevention and responsible engagement.

A particularly innovative aspect of the seminar was the presentation of awareness-raising tools developed within the project, including the serious game Red Flags.

The game, created entirely from the innovative research conducted within the VANGUARD project with survivors of THB, frontline practitioners, policy makers and perpetrators, provided students with an interactive opportunity to engage with the subject matter. During the session, students tested the game’s usability, played through its scenarios, and provided valuable feedback and recommendations. Their participation represented an important contribution to the ongoing development and refinement of the project’s educational and awareness-raising activities.