Albania enters into force CoE Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings

STRASBOURG, Jan. 23 – The Council of Europe reported Wednesday that Albania will be one of the first ten countries to enact on February 1 the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.
The Convention aims to prevent trafficking, protect the human rights of victims and prosecute traffickers. It applies to all victims of trafficking: women, men and children alike; to all forms of exploitation (sexual exploitation, forced labour, servitude, removal of organs etc.) and it covers all forms of trafficking: national and transnational, related or not to organized crime. The other nine countries prepared to enforce the Convention include Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Georgia, Moldova, Romania and Slovakia.
The Convention will enter into force with regard to Bosnia and Herzegovina, France and Norway on 1 May 2008.
The Convention provides for the setting up of an independent monitoring body capable of controlling the obligations contained in it. To this end, within one year of the entry into force, the Council of Europe will set up the Group of Experts on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA), formed by ten to fifteen experts.
Trafficking in human beings is a worldwide phenomenon often linked to organized crime. According to the International Labour Organisation, up to 2.45 million people throughout the world are victims of human trafficking every year. The illicit profits of this trade amount to 33 billion dollars annually, making it the third most profitable criminal activity after illegal drugs and arms traffic.(Tirana Times Staff)