Council of Europe group urges Finland to better fight human trafficking | Yle News

Lina Portman4 weeks ago

0 2 minutes read

The number of victims of human trafficking in Finland increased from 229 in 2019 to 367 in 2022, according to a new report.

Nearly half of the victims were taken to Finland for economic exploitation, while a quarter were taken for sexual exploitation and a fifth for forced marriage, the report said. Image: Nika Akin

Finland should strengthen its legislation on human trafficking and provide victims with compensation and assistance, according to a new report by the Council of Europe's Group of Experts on Combating Human Trafficking (Greta).

Published on Monday, the report notes a significant increase in the number of victims of human trafficking in Finland, from 229 in 2019 to 367 in 2022.

In 2019, Greta reported that the number of trafficking victims had tripled since 2016.

Nearly half of the victims were brought to the country to be exploited for labor, according to the new report. A quarter of victims were trafficked for sexual exploitation and 21 percent were victims of forced marriage.

“Half of the identified victims were exploited in other countries before seeking asylum in Finland,” a Council statement said.

Finland has made progress in combating human trafficking since Greta's previous report on the subject in 2019, including adjusting laws to make it easier to identify victims of trafficking and establishing a permanent government coordinator of fight against trafficking.

“Human trafficking has also been added to the list of offenses for which the Occupational Safety and Health Authority must notify the police,” the statement said.

Calls for improvement

However, the group's new report notes several areas where “improvement is needed.”

The independent body said it was concerned that proceeds of crime in such cases were rarely frozen or seized, and that “victims' access to compensation is not guaranteed in practice”.

As a solution, the group said it “urges” Finnish authorities to conduct financial investigations with a view to freezing criminal assets “and to review eligibility criteria for state compensation.”

Greta also expressed concern about the “low number” of prosecutions and convictions in Finland in human trafficking cases, as well as the “excessive length of criminal proceedings”.

The group of experts urged the Finnish authorities to “ensure that human trafficking offenses are proactively and promptly investigated and lead to effective sanctions against those found guilty.” The authorities should also allocate sufficient human and financial resources and training to the police and prosecutors.”

Greta also urged the Finnish authorities to ensure that all victims of human trafficking – including men – are provided with safe and suitable accommodation.

“Greta is an independent body that monitors how countries implement the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. All 46 member states of the Council of Europe are bound by the Convention , as well as the non-member states of Belarus and Israel,” the statement said.

Users with a Yle ID can leave comments on our news. You can create your Yle ID via this link. Our commenting and moderation guidelines are explained here.