Signing of Trafficking Convention important first step, but more still to be done - Wallis

3.00.00pm GMT Thu 22nd Mar 2007

Responding to the announcement that Home Secretary, John Reid, will tomorrow sign the Council of Europe Convention on trafficking, Diana Wallis MEP, a long time campaigner against human trafficking today commented:

"I am pleased that the Government is signing up to the European Convention Against Trafficking in Human Beings. This is something for which I and my fellow Liberal Democrats have been pressing for some time. This convention now needs to be speedily ratified.

"However the Government must do more. Slavery still exists in the UK and we must oppose and tackle all forms of modern day slavery wherever we find it.

"For example currently in the UK:

• At least 5,000 children are being forced to work as sex slaves

• Over 4,000 trafficked women are working as prostitutes

• About 10,000 gangmasters are working across various industrial sectors

"A commitment needs to be made to introduce further measures to help eradicate this modern day slavery and in particular to ensure that those freed are treated as victims, not criminals."

Liberal Democrat Euro MP was speaking after today's human trafficking event held at the Yorkshire & the Humber office in Brussels. Entitled 'EU Regions, Tackling Human Trafficking Together' the seminar addressed all aspects of human trafficking.

Diana Wallis MEP went on to say:

"The Government must also opt in to the EU directive 2004/81 on residence permits, which provides a mandatory 6 month reflection period for victims of trafficking, a practice common in many other EU member states."

(The photo shows participants at the Human Trafficking seminar (l-r) Benito Giordano -Yorkshireurope, Rachel Briggs - Yorkshireurope, Alison Robertshaw - Yorkshire Forward, Riikka Puttonen - Crime Prevention Officer, United Nations, Glynn Rankin - Head of Legal Services, UKHTC, Helen Thomson - Yorkshire Forward, Nick Kinsella - Head of UKHTC, Diana Wallis MEP, Graham Maxwell - UK Police Lead for Human Trafficking, South Yorkshire Police, Chief Inspector Dave Fortune - Police Officer Seconded to Yorkshire Forward.)