A new report by the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) calls on Switzerland to take more measures against trafficking, particularly by improving victim identification and access to compensation, combating trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation and providing specialised assistance to children and asylum seekers who fall victim to trafficking. GRETA welcomes the progress made since the publication of its second evaluation report on Switzerland in 2019, as regards the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.
While welcoming the fact that there are lawyers who specialise in assisting victims of trafficking, GRETA is concerned that requests for free legal aid are approved at a later stage in proceedings. Switzerland should guarantee access to legal assistance as soon as there are reasonable grounds for believing that a person is a victim of human trafficking and ensure that victims have access to free legal aid from a specialised lawyer in all relevant legal proceedings, including civil proceedings.
While welcoming the more efficient detection of victims of trafficking among asylum seekers, GRETA asks the Swiss authorities to ensure that a harmonised victim identification procedure is put in place in all cantons and that specialised organisations are involved in the procedure for the identification of victims of trafficking during the asylum process.
All victims, including asylum seekers and persons exploited abroad but identified in Switzerland, must benefit from specialised assistance measures and sufficient funding must be provided for NGOs providing assistance to victims of trafficking.
According to the report, Switzerland is still predominantly a country of destination for victims of trafficking. Between 2019 and 2023, the police identified 295 victims, most of whom were women and around 8% of whom were children. Sexual exploitation is still the main form of exploitation, affecting mainly women and girls, although trafficking for the purpose of forced criminality (including forced begging) and labour exploitation are also on the rise.
