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On 15th May 2013 an international discussion „European Communities Against Trafficking“ (the agenda) will take place in Constitutional Hall of Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania (Gediminas avenue 53, Vilnius, 1st building). The press conference is scheduled at 12 p.m. in Constitutional Hall of Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania.

Officials of London Police investigating the human trafficking crimes, non-governmental organisations from UK and Italy carrying out the preventive activities, providing support and reintegrating the trafficking victims will participate in the discussion and present the trafficking cases related to Lithuania.

The discussion aims to present the project “European Communities Against Trafficking“, share the experience combating human trafficking in the areas of prosecution, prevention (especially children-oriented) and assistance for victims, also to start and strengthen international and national inter-institutional cooperation.

In Lithuania the project will be carried out through preventive measures, focusing on education of young people about the potential threats.

The information about the start of the Project was published on BBC1 on 6^th March 2013. The project was initiated by the UK institutions combating the human trafficking (main institution - Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea). Italy and Lithuania are partners of the project; Lithuania is represented by Caritas Lithuania and Institution of the Ombudsman for Children’s Rights. The project is partially funded by the European Commission, Director General of Home Affairs, the Programme Prevention of and Fight against Crime.

The mission of the project is to establish a multi-agency, best practice approach to whole community engagement in the prevention of human trafficking alongside victim-centred intervention and aftercare, also engaging the whole community, public, private and civil society in a grassroots awareness of trafficking that leads to prevention, victim identification, and creating communities that are hostile to traffickers

The law enforcement authorities of the United Kingdom state that Lithuania is the origin country of the human trafficking victims’, meanwhile Italy is a transit country from which the human trafficking from Eastern Europe and Africa is coordinated and a destination country as well.

According to the data of law enforcement authorities of the Republic of Lithuania, in 2012 there were 44 pre-trial investigations on human trafficking. The majority of the cases were related to the export of young women for prostitution or sexual exploitation. Majority of the victims had minor children and were unable to support them therefore they agreed going to wealthier countries for any kind of job. In 2012 17 persons were charged under the Article 147 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania (Human trafficking), 7 persons were sentenced to imprisonment. 9 persons were charged under the Article 157 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania (Purchase or sale of a child), none of them were convicted.

            In 2012 over 100 human trafficking victims appealed for help, however the official data does not reflect real situation and there are not even approximate data on the real extent of this problem in Lithuania.

            Trafficking in human beings takes many different forms, and evolves with changing socio-economic circumstances. It targets women and men, girls and boys in vulnerable positions. The latest estimates from the International Labour Organization of June 2012 covering the period 2002-2011 put the number of victims of forced labour, including forced sexual exploitation, to 20.9 million at a global level, with an estimated 5.5 million children being trafficked. However, this estimate is also believed to be conservative. According to the data of Europol, children are forced to engage in criminal activities, such as organised begging or stealing from stores, and are sold for 20 000 euro.

            A lucrative form of crime, trafficking in human beings generates profits of dozens of billions of euro for the perpetrators each year.

(http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2012:0286:FIN:EN:HTML). According to the data of European Commission covering the period of 2008 – 2010, the victims of human trafficking by sex and age were as follows: women 68%, men 17%, girls 12%, boys 3%.

Activities of the project European Communities Against Trafficking are carried out by:

United Kingdom (London):

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

Metropolitan Police Anti-Traffiking Unit

RAHAB

STOP the TRAFFIK

Westminister City Council

London Mayor‘s Office for Policing and Crime

Italy (Perugia)

Borgorete Societa Cooperativa Sociale

Lithuania

Caritas Lithuania

Institution of the Ombudsman for Children‘s Rights of the Republic of Lithuania