Reply from Norway to the Questionnaire for the Evaluation Of
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Strasbourg, 16 February 2016 GRETA(2016)4 Reply from Norway to the Questionnaire for the evaluation of the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings by the Parties Second evaluation round (Reply submitted on 1 February 2016) 2 GRETA(2016)4 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Introduction In accordance with Article 38, paragraph 1, of the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, GRETA evaluates the implementation of the Convention following a procedure divided into rounds. At the beginning of each round, GRETA selects the specific provisions on which the evaluation procedure is based. GRETA has decided that the second evaluation round of the Convention will start on 15 May 2014. For the second evaluation round, GRETA has adopted a questionnaire to be sent to all states parties which have undergone the first round of evaluation, following a timetable approved by GRETA. States parties are requested to transmit to GRETA a reply to this questionnaire within five months from the date it was sent. Following a first round of monitoring, which provided an overview of the implementation of the Convention by each state party, GRETA has decided to examine during the second evaluation round the impact of legislative, policy and practical measures on the prevention of trafficking, the protection of the rights of victims of trafficking, and the prosecution of traffickers. The adoption of a human rights-based approach to action against trafficking in human beings remains at the centre of this new evaluation round. In addition, particular attention is paid to measures taken to address new trends in human trafficking and the vulnerability of children to trafficking. GRETA has selected provisions of the Convention which are mainly related to these issues. The reply to the questionnaire should be submitted in one of the official languages of the Council of Europe (English and French), and preferably also in the original language. The reply to the questionnaire should contain all the relevant information on the implementation of the Convention since GRETA’s first evaluation report. Particular emphasis should be put on the practice and impact of legislative and other measures taken. Where appropriate, in order to avoid unnecessary repetition, the reply may refer to information contained in the report submitted by the national authorities on measures taken to comply with the Committee of the Parties’ recommendation concerning the implementation of the proposals made in GRETA’s first evaluation report. States parties should provide copies or extracts of relevant legislation, regulations and case law mentioned in the reply to the questionnaire (as an appendix to the reply). These copies/extracts should be supplied in the original language and, wherever possible, also in one of the official languages of the Council of Europe. A variety of stakeholders and civil society representatives should be effectively consulted in the preparation of the reply to the questionnaire, to ensure that the information provided is as comprehensive as possible. GRETA(2016)4 3 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Attachment 1 is the latest annual report from KOM – the Coordinating Unit for Victims of Trafficking. The report, published in July 2015, provides an overview of the national human trafficking situation. This entails an attempt to survey the number of people identified as potential victims of human trafficking in Norway, and to document the challenges that the authorities and support services encounter in the work on uncovering cases and assisting victims. Throughout the questionnaire, we will refer to specific chapters of the report, mentioned as “the KOM report”. The KOM report is currently being translated to English, and this version will be forwarded to GRETA when available. A. Follow-up questions 1. Please provide information on developments since GRETA’s first evaluation report on your country in the following areas: - the main forms of trafficking in human beings (THB) and emerging trends observed in your country (for example, any new types or sectors of exploitation, recruitment methods, countries of origin or destination of the victims); Reference is made to chapter 4.2 in the KOM report (attachment 1). - any changes in your country’s laws and regulations relevant to action against THB; As mentioned in GRETAs first report (para 11), a revised Criminal Code was adopted in 2005. The Code entered into force on October 1st 2015. Trafficking offenses are now found in section 257 and 258. We attach the Norwegian text (attachment 6). An unauthorized English text is the following: Section 257: Human trafficking Any person who by violence, threats, misuse of another person’s vulnerability, or other improper conduct forces, exploits or induces another person to a) prostitution or other sexual purposes, b) labour or services, including begging, c) war service in a foreign country, or d) agree to the removal of the said person’s organ, shall be guilty of human trafficking and shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six years. Any person who a) makes arrangements for such force, exploitation or inducement as mentioned in the first paragraph by procuring, transporting or receiving the person concerned, b) in other ways aids and abets such force, exploitation or inducement, c) provides payment or any other advantage in order to obtain consent to such acts from any person who has authority over the aggrieved person, or receives such payment or other advantage, shall be liable to the same punishment. Any person who commits an act referred to in the first or second paragraph against a person who is under 18 years of age shall be liable to a penalty independently of any use of force or threats, misuse of a person’s vulnerability, or other improper conduct. A person, who was ignorant of the fact that the aggrieved person was under 18 years of age, shall be liable to a penalty if he in any way can be blamed for his ignorance. 4 GRETA(2016)4 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Section 258: Gross Human trafficking Gross human trafficking is punishable by imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years. In deciding whether the offense is gross, particular importance shall be attached to whether the person exposed to the act was under 18 years of age, whether gross violence or coercion was used or whether the act led to considerable gain. A person, who was ignorant of the fact that the aggrieved person was under 18 years of age, shall be liable to a penalty if he in any way can be blamed for his ignorance. - the institutional framework for action against THB, in particular: any changes in respect of the composition and functions of the bodies responsible for co- ordinating national action against THB, the involvement of NGOs in co-ordinating bodies, the entities specialised in the fight against THB, and the establishment of a national rapporteur or other mechanism for monitoring the implementation of anti-trafficking strategies, policies and activities; Parliament earmarked NOK 15 000 000 from 2015 onwards for the establishment of specialised anti- trafficking units in the five largest police districts. The Directorate of Police supervised the establishment of the groups and will constantly review the way the groups function. From January 1st 2016, the number of police districts in Norway was reduced from 27 to 12. Parliament has stated that the change has been made in order to improve investigations into serious crime, especially human trafficking, and in December 2015 requested the establishment of specialised units in every district. - an overview of the current national strategy and/or action plan to combat trafficking in human beings (duration, objectives and main activities, bodies responsible for its implementation, budget, monitoring and evaluation of results). As mentioned in our letter of June 7th 2015, work on developing a new Plan of Action against human trafficking began in 2015. The Plan is not yet finalized, but will be forwarded to GRETA when completed. Parliament discussed issues concerning strategies against trafficking in a debate in December 2015. Several of the recommendations from GRETAs last report were discussed. Parliament requested the government to take several measures, which will be included in the Plan of Action. The most important requests were the following: The government must review the reflection period and simplify the regulations connected to it. The government must consider how NGOs can be given a larger degree of continuity and predictability in their effort to assist victims. The government must ensure that minors who disappear from asylum centres are searched for and that measures are put in place to avoid them becoming victims of trafficking and exploited in prostitution. The government must strengthen ROSA and consider making it a permanent measure with long- term funding. The government must strengthen the international cooperation concerning modern day slavery. The government must consider whether KOM has sufficient authority to carry out its tasks. The government must consider if “slavery and practices similar to slavery” should be included in the legal definition of trafficking in the penal code. The government must consider the