trafficking in human beings – Research and Projects

On the 28th November, Karen Latricia Hough, a researcher at the Euro-Arab Foundation met with the Executive Secretary, Petya Nestorova of the Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, to present the EU funded Horizon Europe VANGUARD project focused on fighting Trafficking in Human beings.

In particular, Hough discussed the societal impact of the project, touching on themes related to the inclusion of survivors of human trafficking in both preventative measures against human trafficking and policymaking. This is a critical aspect of combating this crime, as survivors possess unique insights and experiences that can significantly inform the design and implementation of prevention programs. Additionally, survivors’ firsthand accounts can help raise public awareness and generate empathy for victims, fostering a more supportive and understanding society.

GRETA is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings by the Parties, and the Vanguard project is an ambitious Horizon Europe project that focuses both on providing a state-of-the-art intelligence picture on current trends in human trafficking as well as the creation of advanced technological tools to fight the heinous crime in all phases of the trafficking chain.

With this recognition, the Murcia Police, host of the UNCHAINED training, highlights the good synergies that have occurred in the trainings that the Euro-Arab Foundation and Agenfor have developed this past Tuesday in Murcia, on July 11th, as well as in the training of trainers that took place last February in Venice, which they also attended.

This week’s training in Murcia covered topics such as European judicial cooperation in the fight against Trafficking in Human Beings (THB), as well as practical sessions on the use of the technological platforms OSINT (Open Source Intelligence), HUMINT (Human Intelligence) and FAST for data analysis and monitoring of THB. A specific section on Virtual Reality immersion has also been included.

A moment of the training given this week in Murcia to the Local Police.

Combating Trafficking in Human Beings with a money-tracing approach

The dynamic THB nature and the plurality and complexity of its forms make it particularly difficult to investigate. However, these highly lucrative crimes are very difficult to operate without leaving an economic footprint.

In this sense, the European UNCHAINED project aims to improve the capacity of experts and investigators operating within anti-trafficking, organised and financial crime investigation units to use financial enquiries and macro-data analysis in suspected cases of THB.

Training is also an important part of this project, and work has been done on the creation of a European network of experts and trainers who can maintain the training that has been carried out beyond the end of the project itself.

The UNCHAINED project, led by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Padua, is financed by the Internal Security Fund of the European Commission and its consortium is made up of members from Spain, Italy, Greece and Germany.

The researcher Jose María González Riera and Miguel Pérez, inspector of the Local Police of Murcia, holding the plaque awarded to the Euro-Arab Foundation.

Photos: Communication – Local Police Murcia City Council.