Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Cyprus (Ratification: 1960)
Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Cyprus (Ratification: 2017)

The Committee notes that the first report of the Government on the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, has not been received.  The Committee requests the Government to provide the first detailed report on the Protocol of 2014 along with its next report on the Convention, which are due in 2024.

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. 1. Legal and institutional framework. The Committee notes with interest the adoption of Act No. 60(I) of 2014 on Prevention and Combating of Trafficking and Exploitation of Persons and the Protection of Victims, as well as the National Action Plan against Trafficking in Persons (NAP) for 2019-2021, which provide the country with an institutional framework for the prevention and repression of trafficking and for the protection and assistance of victims. According to section 64 of the Act, the Multidisciplinary Coordination Group on Combating Human Trafficking coordinates and monitors measures and activities in the field of prevention and combatting trafficking in persons and protection of victims. The Multidisciplinary Coordination Group is responsible, among others, for monitoring and implementing the National Action Plans against Trafficking in Persons, carrying out awareness-raising activities on trafficking in persons, and the collection of data on trafficking.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the activities of the Multidisciplinary Coordination Group on Combating Human Trafficking as well as on the measures adopted to implement the NAP for 2019-2021, and the results achieved.

2. Law enforcement. The Committee notes that sections 8 and 9 of Act No. 60(I) of 2014 provide for penalties of imprisonment of up to 15 years for trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation and up to 25 years for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The Committee observes from the 2020 report of the Group of Experts on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) on the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings by Cyprus that, in the period 2015–2018, a total of 58 cases of trafficking in persons were submitted by the police for prosecution, including 28 cases for the purpose of sexual exploitation and 16 cases for the purpose of labour exploitation, which resulted in nine cases of convictions in total. In this respect, the GRETA noted the low number of convictions for trafficking in persons, particularly for the purpose of labour exploitation (paragraphs 76-77, 87). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure that all the cases of trafficking in persons, for both labour and sexual exploitation, are subject to investigations and prosecutions, and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are imposed on perpetrators. It further requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of sections 6, 8 and 9 of Act No. 60(I) of 2014, including the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions, and the penalties imposed.

3. Protection of victims. The Committee notes that, by virtue of section 44 of Act No. 60(I) of 2014, presumed victims of trafficking are referred to the Social Welfare Services, which shall inform them of their rights, available services, and the identification procedure. Victims of trafficking are provided with various assistance services, such as accommodation, psychological support and medical care, financial support, as well as interpretation and translation services (section 47(1)); they can claim compensation from the perpetrators of the offenses committed against them through criminal or civil proceedings (section 3); and they can benefit from legal advice and legal representation for the claim for compensation (section 36). The Committee further notes that section 62(2)(a) of the Act envisages the establishment of a victim support fund, which shall provide compensation to victims who for any reason cannot be compensated by the perpetrators.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on: i) the number and characteristics of victims of trafficking, both for labour and sexual exploitation, and on the nature of the assistance services provided to them; ii) the cases in which courts have ordered compensation to victims of trafficking through criminal or civil proceedings; and iii) whether the victim support fund has been established.