Madam, - I welcome the comments by Sigma Huda, UN special rapporteur on human trafficking, as reported your edition of January 25th. I commend her visit to Ireland at a particularly timely moment - not only because this year the abolition of the slave trade is being remembered in many countries across the world - but also because we are currently putting in place Ireland's first anti-trafficking Bill.
Ms Huda calls on the Irish Government to introduce legislation to penalise traffickers and protect victims. I have been calling for such legislation for some time now. It is simply unacceptable that Ireland is the only EU member-state in which the trafficking of human beings is not a crime. This legislation was promised eight months ago but we still continue to wait for its arrival.
The rapporteur is correct when she says that people who are trafficked are slaves, controlled by others. Many of those trafficked into Ireland and other EU countries are forced to work in the sex industry. These women are conscious that they may be punished for working as prostitutes, even though they are the real victims.
We must recognise that many of those trafficked are vulnerable children and young women who have been through a horrendous ordeal, and deal with them compassionately. I believe our priority should be to help those - mainly women and children - who escape from their traffickers or who have the courage to come forward to the Garda.
Unfortunately, the present draft anti-trafficking Bill is weak on prevention and victim protection measures. It is not good enough for the Government to say that it will deal with victim protection through the Immigration and Residency bill. We should be trying to move away from dealing with trafficking as an illegal immigration issue. - Yours, etc,
SIMON COVENEY TD MEP, Anglesea Street, Cork.