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Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons and penalties. In its previous observation, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the measures taken to prevent and combat trafficking in persons, including the court judgements handed down pursuant to sections 367 and 370 of the Penal Code, under the terms of which trafficking in persons for any purpose and the organization or membership of international organizations involved in the trafficking of slaves or the sale of persons are punishable by a prison sentence of between four and eight years, respectively. The Committee noted the Government’s indication that, in connection with sections 367 and 370 of the Penal Code, a number of court cases were under way on which no rulings had yet been handed down and that it would bring them to the attention of the Committee when they were issued. The Committee noted with concern that no penalty had been imposed under the provisions of the Penal Code to punish trafficking in persons and recalled the requirements set out in the Convention that the exaction of forced labour shall be punished as a penal offence by penalties that are really adequate and are strictly enforced (Article 25).

The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its last report received in August 2006 that awareness-raising campaigns are being carried out for the population at large with the participation, inter alia, of the Office of the Public Prosecutor of the Republic and its crime prevention unit. It adds that a National Committee on Trafficking in Persons has been established in which various institutions participate, such as the General Directorate of Migration and Foreign Nationals, the national police, the Office of the Public Prosecutor, the Ministry of Labour and non-governmental organizations. The purpose of the National Committee is to coordinate action to ensure that effective measures are taken to combat and prevent trafficking in persons. Training programmes have also been carried out for persons working in this area on proving the existence of the crime and the accusation of the perpetrator in a manner that guarantees the presumption of innocence.

The Committee once again observes that the Government’s report does not contain any information on the application of sections 367 and 370 of the Penal Code. The Government does not refer to court cases that are under way, nor to any penalty imposed on the persons responsible. The Committee hopes that compliance with procedural guarantees of the presumption of innocence, which clearly have to be safeguarded in every country abiding the rule of law and to which the Government refers in its last report, will not affect or impede compliance with the requirement of the Convention, namely the imposition of penal sanctions following due process on those found guilty of the crime of trafficking in persons.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the court cases that are under way and, where appropriate, copies of the rulings handed down under the national legislation that has been adopted (sections 367 and 370 of the Penal Code) with a view to combating this serious crime. The Committee hopes that the Government will continue to provide information on any other measure adopted to combat trafficking in persons.