EUROPEAN Ngos OBSERVATORY on TRAFFICKING, EXPLOITATION and SLAVERY

With the support of the Prevention of and Fight against Crime Programme European Commission – Directorate-General Justice, Freedom and Security E-NOTES EUROPEAN NGOs OBSERVATORY ON TRAFFICKING, EXPLOITATION AND SLAVERY

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Background and Justification

Given the complex nature of trafficking in human beings, defining the related phenomena and mapping the responses are still major problems that underline the significant differences existing among states. Also assistance provided to trafficked persons differs from country to country and often within a national territory. NGOs are important service providers that are more in touch with victims’ needs and are able to access a wide range of data not available to other institutions; therefore, their input is cru- cial in responding to these needs and reporting as well as in strategizing and helping to shape policies to address them. Anti-trafficking NGOs’ work is thus relevant but still fragmented and has not yet defined a common framework of monitoring, analysis, and reporting. Studies and recommendations from various sources underscore how this fragmentation detracts from the NGOs’ ability to protect the human rights of trafficked persons and to effectively employ the kind of holistic and integrated approach that should be applied in successfully implementing anti-trafficking policies, strategies, and programming. The great differences in anti-trafficking approaches and policies deeply affect cooperation and synergy amongst the various NGOs working in this sector at the national and international lev- els. The lack of a common comparable methodology to monitor and report on trafficking and slaveries in Europe and the fragmentation in definitions, perspectives, and strategies among national and international NGOs are among the critical factors identified, inter alia, by the Re- port of the Experts Group on Trafficking in Human Beings (2004) and the Measuring Responses to Trafficking in Human Beings in the European Union: An Assessment Manual (2007), both commissioned by the European Commission. Essential to the improvement of both NGOs’ and institutions capacities and effectiveness in defining measures to fight trafficking, exploitation and slavery is the establishment of an NGOs' Observatory at the European level. International monitoring and reporting on anti-trafficking policies and interventions at the EU Member States level carried out by NGOs would not only complement the institutional perspective but it would also equip the NGO community with shared tools that would facilitate domestic and cross-country comparability of anti-trafficking responses, thus enhancing their effort to promote and protect the human rights of trafficked persons.

1 Project partners

Associazione On the Road, Lead partner (Italy) ACCEM (Spain) La Strada International (Netherlands) ALC/SPRS (France)

Project scope

The project will involve NGOs and/or experts of the 27 Member States of the European Union.

Project objectives

General objective

The project aims at establishing a Europe wide permanent monitoring mechanism (Observatory) and a comparable reporting mechanism implemented by the NGOs community and networks on policies, strategies and interventions against trafficking, exploitation and slavery in Europe in order to enhance and support public institutions’ policy in the field of protection and assistance of trafficked persons.

Specific objectives

1 To define a shared and comparable methodology (“Research Protocol”) and a set of indicators for the NGOs reporting activity on policies, strategies, and interventions to fight trafficking, exploitation and slavery in Europe; 2 To implement analyses and issue reports on the quality and effectiveness of policies, strategies and interventions in response to trafficking in human beings at the Member States and European level; 3 To develop a web-based information centre for the functional exchange and dissemination of quan- titative and qualitative data organized along the identified reporting protocol and indicators.

Project activities

The project will be implemented by adopting a systemic approach aimed at maintaining the intercon- nection between three specific objectives.

Objective 1 – Activities: o Organization of 4 Steering Group’s meetings; o Elaboration of a research protocol for reporting on measures and policies against trafficking.

Objective 2 – Activities: o Testing of the research protocol in the 4 Partners’ countries (I, F, SP, NL); o Validation of the final version of the research protocol; o Identification of 23 researchers and NGOS in the other EU countries; o Organization of a training session for the 27 identified researchers representing all EU countries; o Filling in the research protocol by the researchers in all EU countries (“reporting process”); o Collection of the country reports and elaboration of the transnational report; o Production of the final report.

Objective 3 – Activities: o Connection with existing networks and activities; o Public information on the ongoing E-NOTES project; o Creation of an interactive website for the dissemination of information and collection of suggestions; o Organization of the report launching; o Dissemination. Expected results

2 Through the project’s implementation, the partners will deliver:  A research protocol for reporting on anti-trafficking policies, strategies, and interventions endorsed by the NGOs network in 27 countries;  The first comparative report on anti-trafficking policies, strategies, and interventions at the Member States and European level;  The wide dissemination of the report, the reporting criteria, and the methodology for a comparative analysis of the anti-trafficking responses in the EU;  The implementation of a web-based accessible and interactive information centre.

Project duration

The project will last 12 months: 30 October 2009 – 30 October 2010. The partners are in the process of finding other financial resources to establish a permanent European NGOs Observatory on Trafficking, Exploitation and Slavery.

Contact persons

Isabella Orfano Programme Coordinator Mobile: +39 348 85.16.944 E-mail: [email protected] Skype: isabellaotr

3 Calendar

ACTIVITIES NOV 09 DEC 09 JAN 10 FEBR 10 MAR 09 APR 09 MAY 10 JUNE 10 JULY 10 AUG 10 SEPT 10 OCT 10 1. Spec. Objective SG meetings Amsterdam Rome Madrid Brussels Research Protocol drafting

2. Spec. Objective Research protocol testing and validation Identification NGOs/researchers Training session 7-9 Research report filling in Country reports collection Final Report

3. Spec. Objective Networking Information Website Launching Dissemination