Cooperation on international human trafficking for labour exploitation shapes up in Berlin with a visit of Swedish experts

In a bid to strengthen collaboration on international human trafficking for labour exploitation, Swedish practitioners dealing with the issue went on a three-day study to Berlin, Germany on 12-14 September 2022.

“Human trafficking for labour exploitation is not only a cross-sectoral matter – think police, migration, tax – but it’s also an international one, often spanning across several countries,” said Edi Mujaj, the official at the CBSS in charge of human trafficking, further stressing the importance of visits like these to better coordinate anti-trafficking efforts at the Baltic-wide level.

In Berlin, the Swedish delegation, which consisted of practitioners who encounter human trafficking cases in their line of work, got to learn more about the German responses to labour exploitation. Germany has recently adopted legislative measures forcing enterprises to ensure that human rights are respected in their supply chains.

“Germany has taken several steps in countering labour exploitation which other countries in the Baltic Sea Region could take a leaf from,” said Mujaj. “The new German Supply Chain act, which addresses human rights violations and environmental deterioration in supply chains, is a good example.”

The visit also highlighted the role of NGOs and civil society organizations in assisting victims of trafficking and exploitation. In Germany, the organization Arbeit und Leben and the specialised counselling centres of the German NGO Network against Trafficking in Human Beings (KOK), both which the Swedish delegation interacted with, are an integral part of the assistance efforts. 

“We need the flexibility of the NGOs when it comes to assisting victims because they can often go where state authorities can’t,” said Mujaj, adding that the “NGOs should be an integral part of the response strategy” and that “funding of NGOs is therefore a must.”

The visit, which took place at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the premises of the Arbeit und Leben, both located in Berlin, Germany, was part of the CBSS-coordinated project “Competence building Assistance provision and Prosecution of labour Exploitation cases in the Baltic Sea Region” (CAPE), an international project dealing with trafficking in human beings for labour exploitation.

The Swedish delegation consisted of members from the Swedish Gender Equality Agency, the Swedish Police, Migration Agency, Tax Agency, Work Environment Authority, social services, and the Delegation against work-related crime.