With the title “2013, the year of actions against Trafficking in Human Beings in Hungary” an article was presented by Dr Szandra Windt, researcher of the National Institute of Criminology in the scientific journal of the Ministry of Interior.
In the article the main national and international legislations concerning trafficking in human beings are presented. In 2013 one convention (Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings) and one directive (Directive 2011/36/EU) became an integral part of the domestic law. With the entry into force of the new criminal code (Act C of 2012) the full legislative harmonisation is completed.
The author analyses the National Strategy against Trafficking in Human Beings for the period 2013-2016, the Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA, the Warsaw Convention, the EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings, and the Act C of 2012 in the field of human trafficking.
In the conclusions Dr Szandra Windt underlines that 2013 counts as a milestone in the field of the fight against trafficking in human beings in Hungary, because the legislators could comply with important delays.
The importance of the implementation and monitoring of the wide range of measures is emphasised much in the article. The author finds it indispensable for the relevant victims and the population to be informed through campaigns and informative publications. She highlighted the operation of the national coordination mechanism and the NGO roundtable as a perfect field to strengthen the cooperation between the national bodies.
According to the author human trafficking leads back to deeper causes that cannot be solved only by the law. To end crimes, it is necessary to have a social and economic policy with long-term plans that embodies the heart of the issue and gives adequate responses.