On the occasion of World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, Caritas Cyprus joined a diverse group of experts from various organizations to discuss human trafficking and related issues and trends on the island and in the world on July 30 at the Home for Cooperation in the UN Buffer Zone in Nicosia.
Using the recently published United States Department of State 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report as a point of departure, the group noted ongoing efforts to combat human trafficking through additional awareness raising, but also discussed the shortcomings in victim identification and survivor support. Additionally, the group discussed new challenges such as those posed by cross-boundary surrogacy and egg/sperm donation. Moving beyond the Report, the group exchanged views on how the particular vulnerabilities of refugees and asylum seekers put them at higher risk of exploitation, including for sexual purposes. Beyond that, experts from both sides of the dividing Green Line expressed concern over labour exploitation—many forms of which go undetected or unaddressed due in part to institutional realities.
Inspired by the initiative of dozens of French NGOs, including Secours Catholique-Caritas France, to band together to use the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games to spotlight the issue of human trafficking, the group emphasized the importance of collective action and of active networking to ensure the protection of European social and international human rights. Ways must be found to address these critical issues despite the practical and systemic problems posed by the ongoing division of the island. Poignantly put by an expert from the Mediterranean Institute for Gender Studies, “division only helps the traffickers”. The group agreed to stay in touch, to broaden the network and to meet again and regularly.