MARCO TEÓRICO
L) Características individuales de su pareja
2.2.2.7 Teoría y doctrina comparada sobre violencia familiar
The Bureau of the National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings was established in the Netherlands in April 2000.26 Its mandate is to gather and disseminate information in order to
highlight problems and offer solutions to the problem of human trafficking and modern slavery. The Rapporteur reports annually to the Government, with information on legislation, criminal investigations, prosecutions, victim support and prevention efforts. Police and the prosecution office, under the authority of the Minister for Security and Justice, are required to give information to the Rapporteur. The National Rapporteur has three data experts who analyse and refine data.27
During its visit to the Bureau of the Dutch National Rapporteur in The Hague, the CSJ discussed the crucial need for independence. Independence from government allows the National Rapporteur to take a position without concern for the political implications, publishing research that may not be politically palatable and highlighting the responsibility of different government departments in countering human trafficking and modern slavery. The National Rapporteur also functions as an intermediary between the Government and other political parties. It encourages engagement from MPs, and does not voice the ideas or opinions of any one political party. Since the National Rapporteur was established in 2000, it has made 200 recommendations as a result of its research and monitoring. 160 of these have been adopted.28
26 Website of the Bureau of the National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings, [accessed via: http://english.bnrm.nl/about/ (26/11/12)]
27 M Abelman, Head of Bureau, in evidence to the CSJ, November 2012 28 Ibid
‘People see that we have an independent position. We don’t have to
hold back, we don’t have to follow orders and we are not politically
influenced or biased by what we do. It gives you a very strong
position.’
Maarten Abelman, Head of the Bureau of the Dutch National Rapporteur, in evidence to the CSJ
‘You’re not gone once the Government has gone, like in the
UK where they are all Ministers who change when the
Government changes. We stay, and we maintain continuity
and build trust.’
The importance of continuity also became apparent during the CSJ’s visit; the current National Rapporteur – Corinne Dettmeijer-Vermeulen – has brought consistent oversight to the problem for six years.
A further significant benefit to the role of the Dutch National Rapporteur is its ability to coordinate and communicate with other equivalent mechanisms in countries such as Finland and Belgium, where individuals have also been appointed. This allows coordination at an international level; a key element in countering human trafficking and modern slavery.
29 Maarten Abelman, Head of the Bureau of the Dutch National Rapporteur, in evidence to the CSJ, November 2012
The National Rapporteur recently completed a report addressing the awareness and response of judges in cases of human trafficking. It found that many judges weren’t aware of the specifics of the different elements of the Dutch legal definition of human trafficking. In several cases, judges were involved in just one case of human trafficking per year, and expertise was distinctly lacking. The National Rapporteur’s investigation into this issue gave the Minister for Security and Justice an independent level of insight into an issue which, politically, would have been difficult for him to look into himself.
‘If you had asked the Minister for Security and Justice if we should do this research or not … I don’t know that he would have done it.’
Maarten Abelman, Head of the Bureau of the Dutch National Rapporteur, in evidence to the CSJ
The National Rapporteur recommended specialist training for judges. This recommendation was taken up, and there will now be specialised judges on human trafficking in the Netherlands. The Head of Bureau for the Dutch National Rapporteur said: ‘this report was about presenting judges with a mirror…‘We didn’t want to attack the judges, we wanted to show them what is happening and what the difficulties are when dealing with human trafficking cases’.29
The National Rapporteur has also been able to identify discrepancies in sentencing, demonstrating that, though recent policy developments have increased sentences for human trafficking, in reality the sentences being handed down are decreasing in length.
The Dutch National Rapporteur: example of impact
The CSJ visits the Bureau of the Dutch National Rapporteur
It Happens Here | Effective strategic leadership 63
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‘They can see what you do, and we can see what they do…
It’s important that you have that network and that you provide
each other with information.’
Maarten Abelman, Head of the Bureau of the Dutch National Rapporteur, in evidence to the CSJ
All funding for the Dutch National Rapporteur comes from the Finance, Interior, Security and Justice, Healthcare and Social Security Departments, it receives no funding from the EU. The Bureau of the National Rapporteur employs a total staff of 15. This is to cover the remit of human trafficking and sexual violence against children. The National Rapporteur is part of the Dutch Taskforce on human trafficking, along with the head of the prosecutions office, and a number of judges. Representatives of the biggest cities in the Netherlands are also part of this group. It is a forum for information sharing and discussions about obstacles to an effective response.
The United States
In May 2009, Ambassador Luis C.deBaca was appointed by President Obama to coordinate US government activities in the global fight against contemporary forms of slavery. He serves as Senior Advisor to the Secretary and directs the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, which assesses global trends and provides training and technical assistance. This office is statutorily mandated to coordinate US government activities in the global fight against contemporary forms of slavery.30
Section 105 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act 2000 provided for the appointment of an Ambassador through the creation of the Anti-Trafficking Task Force.31 The Task Force is
focused on measuring and evaluating the progress of the United States and other countries on the topics of prevention, protection, assistance and prosecution. It was also designed to collect data. It addresses issues of demand, and aims to develop cooperation among countries of origin, transit and destination. Reintegration is also a focus of the Task Force.
The Ambassador publishes an annual report into the efforts made by countries across the globe to tackle modern slavery. This Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report ranks countries according to the measures that they have in place to prosecute perpetrators, protect victims and prevent situations of modern slavery from occurring. For countries which fail to improve their ranking, sanctions to foreign assistance from the US may be applied.32
Rapporteurs, or variations, also exist in countries such as Sweden (within the National Criminal Police), the Czech Republic (within the Ministry of the Interior), Austria (as head of the Task Force on human trafficking) and Belgium (as part of the Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism).33
30 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Office website [accessed via: http://www.state.gov/j/tip/about/index.htm (27/12/12)] 31 Section 105, Trafficking Victims Protection Act 2000 [accessed via: http://www.state.gov/j/tip/laws/61124.htm (10/12/12)] 32 TIP Office website, Penalties for Tier Three countries [accessed via: http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2012/192352.htm (17/02/13)] 33 The Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group, All Change: Preventing trafficking in the UK, Anti-Slavery International: London, April 2012, p93