Ministers of Justice and Public Order and Labour and Social Insurance Stephie Drakos and Kyriacos Koushos respectively spoke for zero tolerance for human trafficking, while Deputy Minister of Social Welfare Anastasia Anthousi spoke of the need for a comprehensive approach to protect victims. The three officials signed on Wednesday a framework of Memoranda of Cooperation aimed at preventing and combating the phenomenon as well as protecting and supporting the victims.
The signing ceremony took place at the Ministry of Justice and Public Order in the presence of Chief of Police, Stelios Papatheodorou.
According to a joint press release by all three institutions, two memoranda are included in the framework. First, a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Cyprus Police and the Department of Labour Inspection Service to prevent and combat human trafficking in the field of labor exploitation, signed today between the Ministers of Justice and Labour. Second, a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Cyprus Police and Social Welfare Services for the handling, protection and information of victims of human trafficking, signed in January 2022, between the Minister of Justice and the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare.
After the signing of the Memoranda, statements were made by the three Ministers and the Chief of Police. The three Ministers underlined the necessity for interdepartmental coordination and cooperation with the aim of more effectively managing incidents of exploitation and trafficking in persons.
Drakos said that the goal of signing the memoranda is to send a resounding message that the state has zero tolerance for this type of crime. She assured that “our goal for the elimination of trafficking is lasting and remains unchanged” and spoke of “an extreme form of exploitation and instrumentalization of victims that offends fundamental human rights, our values and our culture.”
She further noted that in the last year there have been nine convictions, of which four have to do with labour exploitation.
On his part, Koushos said that the cooperation of the three ministries takes a new form through the memoranda. “The departments of our Ministries will be able to cooperate with specific procedures with the sole aim of combating the offence of human trafficking,” said the Minister.
Anthousi said that it is the government’s belief that to effectively deal with and protect victims, a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary and coordinated approach is required. “For the record, for the year 2022, the Social Welfare Services were called and assisted in 123 reports and handled potential victims of trafficking, offering personalised support as needed,” Anthousi concluded.
The Chief of Police welcomed the signing of the Memoranda and said that it falls to the Police to implement them to the maximum extent possible. In the operational field, he continued, cases of this nature are very difficult to prove in court and require a lot of coordination.
Source: Cyprus News Agency