“Rights of unaccompanied children victims of human trafficking”
TRAIN PRO RIGHTS: CILD’s transnational training on the rights of unaccompanied children victims of human trafficking
As part of the project Training lawyers, prosecutors, judges to ensure better rights protection for migrants and refugees victims of human trafficking (TRAIN PRO RIGHTS), CILD organised an online training on the Rights of unaccompanied children victims of human trafficking, which took place on the 15, 16 and 17 of October 2020. The project aims at providing transnational legal training sessions for legal professionals from each of its partner countries, i.e. Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Romania and Spain.
The training’s first day was opened by Ms Flaminia Delle Cese, Legal and Policy Officer of CILD, and Ms Gabriela Ionescu, Project Assistant of the Pro Refugiu Association, who introduced the project, its consortium of partner organisations, and the upcoming course sessions and speakers. First up was Lawyer Ilaria Boiano of the NGO Differenza Donna. After having outlined the international and European standards on protecting the rights of children victims of trafficking, Lawyer Boaino analysed the transposition of Directive 2011/36/EU into Italian legislation and flagged systemic issues in the Italian judicial system that prevent victims from obtaining justice. The following speaker was Lawyer Eirini Vlachou, Special Consultant for the protection of victims of trafficking of the Greek National Referral Mechanism, who illustrated some of the main challenges in the identification of children victims of trafficking. Among these, she mentioned the unavailability of precise data and figures, as well as the unlikelihood of children to identify themselves as victims. Finally, Practitioner Attorney and Legal Coordinator of Diaconia, Cristina Puigdengolas Carrera, provided her perspective on the assistance to minors victims of trafficking before Spanish regional and national courts, addressing in this context the concept of legal ethics.
During the second day of training, Ms. Daniela Alexandrova, Judge and Vice-President of the Sofia Court, introduced the principle of the best interest of the child in judicial procedures in light of Bulgarian case studies. She was followed by Mr. Gennaro Santoro, Lawyer and Legal Advisor of CILD, who focused on the importance of indicators in the identification of trafficking victims in judicial cases involving minors. He stressed that the failure to adequately identify such indicators might lead to the expulsion and subsequent re-victimization of the minors concerned in their countries of origin. Mr David Mancini, Deputy Prosecutor at the Public Prosecutor’s Office of L’Aquila (Italy), concluded the session discussing the financial compensation for children victims of human trafficking. As per Directive 2004/80/EC, he highlighted that there is no legal difference between child and adult victims with respect to the right to financial compensation.
The third and final day started off with Ms Laura Ecedi Stoisavlevici, Prosecutor at Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (Central Structure) and trainer at the Romanian National Institute for Magistracy, who presented the procedural rights of unaccompanied minors victims of trafficking in the Romanian legal context. The second speaker, Fabi Fugazza, Lawyer and Legal Advisor of CILD, examined cases concerning child victims of human trafficking in the EU, namely Siliadin v. France and S.M. c. Croatia, on the basis of which she identified ongoing concerns in terms of international human rights. The training was concluded by Viviana Coppola, Head of Trafficking and Exploitation at Save the Children Italy. Her contribution focused on the identification of children victims of exploitation and trafficking, as well as support and integration paths in the country of destination.
For more information about the project please visit the website of Training lawyers, prosecutors, judges to ensure better rights protection for migrants and refugees victims of human trafficking (TRAIN PRO RIGHTS).
Watch recorded training sessions:
15 October 2020
Welcome – Flaminia Delle Cese, Legal and Policy Officer, CILD, Italy
The international and European legislative framework and the standards on protecting the rights of children victims of trafficking – Ilaria Boiano, Lawyer, Differenza Donna, Italy
16 October 2020
17 October 2020
