Opinion (Rogério COPETO / Official GNR): CHILD TRAFFICKING.
Last week, on 27 of September, the Daily News did cover to the article "Portugal's new route in the trafficking of African children", where he realized that "Lisbon is being used as a hub for a transnational network of trafficking of children in sub-Saharan Africa".
Rogério COPETO
Lieutenant Colonel of the GNR
Master in Law and Security and Homeland Security Auditor
Head of the Education Division / Command Doctrine and Training
This matter has already been discussed in the article "Human trafficking", dated July 2015, taking the time that the Trafficking (TSH), in its various aspects, It is not a recent phenomenon, nor confined today to the borders of some countries and / or regions of the world said poorer, constituting a serious violation of human rights, in that affects especially vulnerable groups such as women and children anywhere in the world, not being immune our parent networks to TSH, This phenomenon may take various forms, in particular forced to obtain, transplant and illegal sale of organs, illegal adoption of children and sexual exploitation of women and children.
In Portugal, the crime of trafficking in human beings is punishable by imprisonment of up to 12 year old, aggravated when victims are minors, and the crime committed by bidder, deliver, recruit, entice, accept, transport, harbors or receives a person for the purpose of exploitation, including sexual exploitation, the exploitation of labor, a mendicidade, slavery, organ harvesting or exploitation of other criminal activities, exercising violence, rapture, abuse of authority or taking advantage of a mental incapacity of the victim, whose research is up to the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF).
Said DN article discusses the topic of TSH in the shed of child trafficking, that comes from "African countries south of the Sahara, of Francophone and Anglophone expression"And its destiny"European countries such as France or central Germany", It is Portugal to be used as "as a gateway to the Schengen area", still giving the article to know the five occurrences detected by the SEF since March, this year, often involving adults accompanied by children, that taking into account their origin, are under close attention of the Anti-Trafficking Unit of the SEF, what about this situation clarified that the scope of the investigations "The cooperation we have with these countries is non-existent".
This lack of cooperation with African countries of origin of children can not raise eyebrows, taking into account their level of development, yet the lack of cooperation between countries, with regard to the phenomenon of TSH, especially the trafficking of children, there is also in developed countries, anywhere in the world, including in Europe, as we had occasion to point out in our article entitled "’Criança disappeared ': One child, various settings", May 2015, where we have made known the study of the phenomenon of missing children in the European Union 27, prepared by the European Commission, entitled "Missing children in the European Union: Mapping, data collection and statistics" date from 2013.
Although this study present the results of the work developed by 27 EU Member States in the framework of the mechanisms, measurements, protocols and procedures associated with the disappearance of a child, can serve the same, to better understand what happens in child trafficking, when they are almost always involved missing children in their home countries, whose information is not known by the authorities that eventually may find, increasing problem in countries that have not ratified the Hague Convention, hindering cooperation.
If in cases of unaccompanied migrant children, the authorities have an obligation to initiate inquiries in order to know everything that you can relate, the harder it is to research where these migrant children are accompanied by adults, as were the five situations detected by the SEF, where collaboration with the authorities of countries of origin is fundamental, still an obstacle to investigations, how each country deals with the issue of migrant children, are accompanied or not.
Although research on TSH fit the SEF, GNR also has obligations, in the performance of its tasks, and for ensuring the defense of the rights and freedoms of citizens, ensuring the legality and the highest standards of security and public tranquility, arranging to meet this desideratum of different units and agencies, who are dedicated to the fight TSH, where the highlight of Territorial Units, located in every continent of the Districts and Islands who perform all police functions, legally assigned, in the areas of their responsibility, that through its Territorial Offices, Sections of Special Programs and the Criminal Investigation Centers, They have the burden to carry the signaling, identification and monitoring of criminal cases, including under the TSH, promoting when necessary, specialized and personalized attention and appropriate and possible protective actions for victims.
In the fight to TSH, GNR use is made of the problem-oriented patrol, allowing certain situations is the subject of a specific police approach, by conscious and military alerted to problems as, able to identify situations, signaling them with the competent bodies, for a preventative monitoring and early possible, translating into a direction of police actions and operations, often combined with the SEF and other entities, to places where they are likely to be cases of trafficking for sexual exploitation (bares, switch houses and other nightlife establishments) and labor exploitation (construction activities and public works, seasonal activities and domestic services).
This particular will be referring to the Centers for Research and Support of Victims Specific, whose military receive specific training and specialized criminal investigation and victim support. This valence, aimed particularly at prevention, monitoring and research (when the investigation of the crime is the responsibility of GNR) of exercised violence situations for victims with specific needs, which includes victims of trafficking, GNR has allowed to improve their operational response under the violence committed against them tend to be more vulnerable groups and constitutes an emerging social phenomenon of high complexity, and shall also make the routing victims to the bodies of the victim support network most suitable for each specific situation, under existing partnerships.
To combat child trafficking all warning signs should be reported to the authorities, so it is necessary to raise awareness of this phenomenon, as did the High Commissioner for Migration (ACM), last year at this time, to launch a campaign against the TSH labeled "Exploited and Treated as Trash", with the aim of "Alert for trafficking in children and to appeal to the Portuguese to warn the authorities, if you suspect any situation".
