MPs have strongly criticised the fact that human trafficking has fallen under the responsibility of the deputy ministry of migration, stressing that trafficking does not only concern foreign nationals, and is part of organised crime – so should be tackled by the justice ministry.
The matter was discussed during Monday’s House human rights committee, where Disy MP Rita Superman charged that out of the countries assessed by the Council of Europe, only Cyprus and Turkey have the migration branch of the government dealing with human trafficking.
“If this is the standard we want to have, then this is gravely concerning,” she said in a statement after the session.
Human trafficking historically fell under the wing of the interior ministry. In an attempt to change this, a bill was drafted in 2019 to transfer it to the justice ministry.
Superman said it was only on Monday when it was confirmed that coordination of human trafficking was transferred to the deputy ministry of migration which became a separate entity from the interior ministry earlier this year.
Members of the group dealing with the human trafficking were not even informed of the change, according to Superman.
“This is a setback for Cyprus, which reveals a lack of political will and ignorance on how victims should be handled.”
Superman’s statements were particularly jarring considering she used to head the police anti-trafficking department.
Deputy Migration Minister Nicholas Ioannides said they could handle the matter as there were specially trained individuals from the migration department and asylum service.
Justice ministry rep Aristos Tsiartas said the profile of human trafficking victims in Cyprus is linked to migration hence why the interior ministry was initially tasked with dealing with the matter.
But Superman said this was an entirely wrong approach. Human trafficking is a result of organised crime – not migration, even if a lot of the victims are migrants.
Piling on the pressure, NGOs cited examples of Cypriots who were trafficking their partners – seeking to drive the point home that it is not a migration problem but a crime problem – that nonetheless requires coordination.
A representative from the ombudswoman’s office agreed that human trafficking should fall under the justice ministry because the migration aspect detracts from the complicated and severity of the issue.
It also detracts from the attention the victims should receive and their rights, the rep added.
Head of the police anti-trafficking department Eleni Michail pointed out the prosecution for trafficking cases has gone down from seven years to three, while she said police’s efforts are unaffected by whether it falls under the remit of the justice ministry or deputy migration ministry.
Chairwoman of the House human rights committee and Akel MP Irene Charalambidou stressed that human trafficking is not simply a violation of human rights – it is a crime.
“There is a huge delay in prosecuting human trafficking cases. A case cannot need three years to be brought to justice when the victims return to their countries, and it is in their discretion to return and give witness testimony.
“This also makes the work of the legal service more difficult.”
Every single NGO (Cyprus Stop Human Trafficking, Caritas, Cyprus Refugee Council and Spavo) expressed its disagreement on having human trafficking fall under the deputy ministry of migration rather than justice ministry, Charalambidou specified.
