International experts of the Council of Europe from the Counter Trafficking Network shared their experience of investigating and prosecuting cases of trafficking in human beings - including with the use of Joint Investigation Teams (JITs) - during a training organised in Siġġiewi, Malta, on 1 March 2023, in cooperation with the Directorate of Human Rights of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, of Security, Reforms and Equality (MHSR).
Participants included representatives from the MHSR, the Malta Police Force, the Victim Support Agency and its Victim Support Unit, the Ministry for Finance and Employment (MFE) and its financial analysts, statisticians in the field of crime and labour inspectors, the Office of the Attorney General, the Social Welfare Foundation and its agency Appogg, lawyers and civil society organisations. The presentation included input on screening interview techniques, behavioral detection (Ukraine case study) and the use of financial investigation and criminal analysis in combatting human trafficking.
The training gave the opportunity and concrete tools to foster a common understanding of trafficking in human beings in all of its forms in the light of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings and the recommendations made by its Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) to Malta, in particular concerning the need to increase the identification of victims, and improve the way cases are investigated and prosecuted. This mutual understanding based on the Council of Europe Convention is instrumental to the preparation of the future Anti-trafficking Strategy of Malta.
This activity was carried out in the framework of the Project “Supporting Malta in the design and implementation of a new anti-trafficking strategy”, which aims to contribute to the ongoing policy reform for combating trafficking in human beings in Malta. The project is co-funded by the European Union via the Technical Support Instrument, and implemented by the Council of Europe, in cooperation with the European Commission.
