Home > Trafficking in human beings in Ireland: third evaluation of the implementation of the EU Anti-Trafficking Directive.

Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. (2024) Trafficking in human beings in Ireland: third evaluation of the implementation of the EU Anti-Trafficking Directive. Dublin: Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission.

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The Commission’s task as Rapporteur is to provide effective, independent and meaningful oversight of the State’s actions to combat human trafficking and protect victims. We continue to do this by highlighting the strengths and gaps, as well as identifying trends in the overall anti-trafficking response. The Commission’s values are underpinned by a holistic, equality, human rights, victim-oriented, gender-specific and child-centred approach to human trafficking.

P.15 Trafficking for Criminal Exploitation: What do we know? - In Chapter 2, we provide a better understanding of Trafficking for Forced Criminality (or trafficking for criminal activities (TCA)), which is a somewhat overlooked subsection of human trafficking, by exploring several pertinent aspects. We analyse the existing legal and academic definitions, demonstrating their broadness and conceptually incomplete development. The phenomenon of criminal exploitation existing without the trafficking concept was highlighted by the Greentown intervention project. We then review the limited academic, grey and media literature on the prevalence and structure of criminal exploitation within Irish drug markets, focussing on its prevalence and mechanisms. We highlight how ‘there is a dearth of official information’ in Ireland, and that specialist CSO and media reports focus predominantly on cannabis cultivation,18 and how little has changed, although there has been greater focus on exploitation within local drug markets. Key findings include the continued need for non- prosecution principles to be put into statute, which is of particular importance for victims of TCA; and the need for further efforts to ensure early identification of suspected TCA to avoid victims being incarcerated and prosecuted. We call for: a national taskforce to help define the issue and for its findings to feed up to European level; an awareness campaign; the development of systematic data collection across all State agencies who may encounter victims; a training programme to assist practitioners with identification of victims, including advanced interview techniques for vulnerable people/suspects; independent Department of Justice funded research; and the convening of local and national operational taskforces to share formal data, informal knowledge, and intelligence.  

P.292 Chapter 2 Human trafficking for forced criminality in Ireland: a rapid literature review 
Trafficking for Forced Criminality or Trafficking for Criminal Activities (‘TCA’) is a key safeguarding and human rights issue, which presents numerous challenges. It is also a somewhat overlooked subsection of human trafficking, with much policy, media and research focus directed at trafficking for sexual exploitation and, to a lesser extent, labour exploitation.678 That said, there has been a recent research and policy upswing in the UK around ‘county lines’ drug dealing, and in Ireland around drug-related intimidation. These two drug market activities involve the exploitation of vulnerable people and can include elements of human trafficking. This is not new, however, and vulnerable people have long been exploited to do risky and disagreeable tasks connected to a variety of illicit activities, from fraud and money laundering to theft and manufacturing counterfeit goods....

P.300 Diagram 3: Drug Cultivation and Manufacture Trends: Ireland (2008–2020). Comparison of Recorded Garda and Media Data  

Item Type
Report
Publication Type
Irish-related, Report
Drug Type
Substances (not alcohol/tobacco)
Intervention Type
Harm reduction, Crime prevention
Date
September 2024
Pages
420 p.
Publisher
Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission
Corporate Creators
Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission
Place of Publication
Dublin
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