In its third report on Cyprus, the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) analyses trafficking victims’ access to justice and effective remedies and examines progress in the implementation of previous GRETA recommendations. The report acknowledges that in recent years Cyprus has taken some positive steps to improve its legislation and policies to combat trafficking in human beings. In 2019, amendments were made to the anti-trafficking legislation, increasing significantly the penalties for human trafficking and criminalising the use of sexual services of victims of trafficking. The Multidisciplinary Co-ordinating Group adopted a new National Action Plan against human trafficking for 2019-2021. Further, a National Referral Mechanism for the identification and referral to assistance of victims of trafficking was established in 2016. However, GRETA is concerned that during the period under review (2015-2019), no legal aid has been provided to trafficking victims, and only two applications for legal aid for the purpose of claiming compensation have been approved by the Attorney General’s Office. There are no examples of compensation granted by decision of a criminal court judge in human trafficking cases. Furthermore, the setting up of the victim support fund, which can be used to compensate victims of trafficking, has been delayed, and no victim of trafficking has so far received state compensation in Cyprus. GRETA therefore calls on the Cypriot authorities to ensure that victims receive specialised legal assistance and free legal aid at an early stage of criminal proceedings, and to set up a victim support fund as a priority. GRETA further urges the authorities to facilitate and guarantee access to compensation from perpetrators, including by collecting evidence about the harm the victim has suffered and the financial gain from the exploitation, as part of criminal investigations.

post

page

attachment

revision

nav_menu_item

custom_css

customize_changeset

oembed_cache

user_request

wp_block

wp_template

wp_template_part

wp_global_styles

wp_navigation

wp_font_family

wp_font_face

acf-taxonomy

acf-post-type

acf-field-group

acf-field

ai1ec_event

exactmetrics_note

Finance & human rights: regulatory overview
GuidancePublications

This short paper is intended as a general overview of the development of different legislations and frameworks that apply in the area of finance and human rights, underlining key aspects. It comprises EU regulation (in force and upcoming), national ...Read More

Information Brochure for Au Pairs in Austria
Guidance

...Read More

Commercial Contracts and Sourcing
Guidance

This work is part of a series of Forced Labour Evidence Briefs that seek to bring academic research to bear on calls to address the root causes of the phenomenon in global supply chains and catalyse systemic change. To do so, the briefs consolidate ...Read More

Tainted Stones: Bonded Labor and Child Labor in the India-U.S. Sandstone Supply Chain
Guidance

Three million workers are employed in India’s sandstone mining industry on a seasonal basis, with nearly 90% of India’s sandstone produced in the state of Rajasthan. Although the Government of Rajasthan has issued thousands of mining licenses an...Read More