Effective fight against human trafficking requires a comprehensive approach. On 16-18 April 2013 Putting Rantsev into Practice working conference was organized in Amsterdam by Poland, Cyprus and the Netherlands.
The conference aimed at developing and strengthening cross-border multidisciplinary cooperation between organizations involved in the fight against human trafficking. In the process of human trafficking several authorities and organizations might be affected therefore effective information exchange and cooperation are indispensable. The conference brought together experts from police, public prosecution services, border agencies, immigration services, labour inspectorates, criminal investigation services, local governments, responsible ministries and national coordinating bodies of all European Union member states and candidate countries, as well as representatives of Europol, Eurojust, Frontex, CEPOL, EASO, European Commission and the Council Secretariat. The conference provided opportunity for the participants to actively discuss relevant topics and good practices in the framework of multidisciplinary workshops.
The overall objective of the conference was to stimulate member states and international organizations to take the essential measures and to act effectively together. The decision of the European Court of Human Rights in the case Rantsev versus Cyprus is an important human rights case which obliges member states to take the necessary steps in the field of investigation, law enforcement, protection of human rights, international cooperation and victim assistance.
The successfully applied Dutch barrier model sketched the opportunity of the comprehensive multidisciplinary cooperation. According to the model traffickers have to overcome different barriers in the process of human trafficking in order to make money: recruitment, entry and identity, residence status, administration, housing, work and financial situation. Continuous cooperation and information exchange between local governments, police, labour inspectorates, immigration, investigation and prosecution services, border agencies, non-governmental organizations and any other affected institutions are of key importance in the fight against human trafficking.