Alternative Report for GRETA 2023
The Group of Experts on the Actions against trafficking, or GRETA, evaluates the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings in Switzerland every four years and identifies the need for action.
Currently, the third round of evaluation is underway. The Swiss government has received a questionnaire from GRETA and has answered it. In addition, a delegation from GRETA will visit Switzerland in the summer and hold talks with authorities and NGOs. Afterwards, the delegation will write a report with recommendations to Switzerland, which is expected to be adopted by the Council of Europe in early 2024.
Plateforme Traite has written an NGO shadow report for GRETA that reflects the experiences of victim protection organizations and outlines the biggest problems in victim protection for trafficked persons.
GRETA’s focus in this round is on access to justice. Among other things, the shadow report identifies the following problems:
- The report highlights how difficult and complicated it is for victms to receive adequate compensation for the enormous suffering they have experienced or damages for unpaid wages during exploitation.
- Many examples are used to describe various stumbling blocks in criminal proceedings as to why there are few convictions.
- The topic of non-punishment of victims is also looked at in depth in one chapter and practical examples are used to show that punishment of victims for acts they have done during the exploitation situation is a recurring occurrence and that it is enormously difficult for them to defend themselves against it.
Furthermore, the alternative report provides a follow-up on GRETA’s key recommendations from the first two evaluation rounds in 2015/2019 and what has happened in this regard since then.
The alternative report is available in French and English.
A shorter version of the shadow report with the main recommendations has been translated into German, French and Italian
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