Joining calls for better protection of victims, discouragement of demand for trafficked human beings and the establishment of an Anti-Trafficking Coordinator, GUE/NGL MEP Cornelia Ernst said Parliament's trafficking report had "great significance for the hundreds of thousands of victims of trafficking" and urged member states to support its proposals.

"The GUENGL welcomes the broad scope of the draft, for instance, the fact that it will punish forced prostitution, stalking, forced labour and organ removal. We have a different opinion in the case of begging activities and illegal migration" she said, stressing the Left's call for legislation not to be focused on criminalising victims.

"The gender leitmotif running through this report is to be welcomed as should its explicit references to the specific situation of the disabled, sick and pregnant women, and children - member states should take this seriously."

Ilda Figueiredo (Portugal) said "this form of modern-day slavery is highly profitable for organized crime mafia who engage in sexual exploitation, forced labour, illegal trading of human organs and even in the domestic and black labour markets. It is therefore necessary to effectively combat these practices, which particularly affect women and children, by prosecuting more perpetrators for such crimes and by helping victims to escape dependence on mafia organisations."

Figueiredo stressed the importance of addressing the underlying causes of trafficking saying it was necessary to "create the conditions to lift people out of poverty, promote the equitable redistribution of wealth, ensure access to essential public services and promote the creation of more jobs with wages and rights so that people can live with dignity."

GUE/NGL PRESS CONTACTS:
David Lundy + 32 485 50 58 12
Gay Kavanagh +32 473 84 23 20
Gianfranco Battistini + 32 475 64 66 28
www.guengl.eu
Gauche Unitaire Européenne/Nordic Green Left
European Parliamentary Group