The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs adopted the report by Helga STEVENS (ECR, BE) on the draft Council decision authorising Member States to ratify, in the interests of the European Union, the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, of the International Labour Organisation as regards Articles 1 to 4 of the Protocol with regard to matters relating to judicial cooperation in criminal matters.
The committee recommended that the Parliament gave its approval to the draft Council Decision.
To recall, the aim of the 2014 Protocol to the Forced Labour Convention was to remedy the gaps in implementation of the 1930 Protocol and to make progress on preventing trafficking for labour exploitation and protecting and compensating victims of forced labour.
The draft Council Decision authorises Member States to ratify, in the interest of the EU, those parts of the Protocol that fall into areas of EU competence, and recommends them to make efforts to do so by the end of 2016.
The report stated that the 2014 Protocol concerned fundamental rights, and that the ratification of this protocol was an important step in the fight against trafficking and of ensuring the rights of victims of crime all over Europe.
The ratification of the Protocol by Member States would make it easier to fight against traffickers. Therefore Members encouraged Member States to ratify the Protocol swiftly.