Harris demands action from Tony Blair on Sex Traffic

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 19th Jul 2006

Today, Dr Evan Harris MP, Liberal Democrat member of the Joint Select Committee on Human Rights (JCHR), urged Tony Blair at Prime Minister's Questions on the floor of the house to sign the Council of Europe Convention against Human Trafficking.

Dr Harris pressed the Prime Minister on why the Government is not signing the convention when thirty other Council of Europe countries have. The Prime minister admitted that concern about a "pull factor" attracting illegal immigrants was the reason the UK had not signed up.

"The protections offered for women trafficked in the sex trade by the Convention are already available in other countries such as Italy and there is no evidence of any abuse of the minimum reflection period for rescued victims or the temporary residence permits for humanitarian reasons or to aid prosecution," said Dr Harris who met Italian police, NGOs and trafficking victims with the Select Committee last month.

"In fact there is considerable evidence that the protections offered by the convention aid conviction of traffickers and the rehabilitation of the poor women and children that are effectively victims of torture and multiple rape.

"I am pleased that the Prime Minister said he will reflect again on the matter, but in the absence of any evidence of abuse elsewhere and when the benefits are so clear, it is vital that we fall into line and do more to stamp out this evil practise and help the thousands of victims."

A transcript of Dr Harris' question can be read below:

Dr Harris: Question 5 [For what reasons the Government has not ratified the Council of Europe Convention against human trafficking]."

Prime Minister: The UK Government is currently considering the Council of Europe Convention against Human Trafficking agreed last year. At present, only one country, Maldova, has ratified this convention, but let me be clear, we are concerned to tackle human trafficking, the Police have set up the UK Human Trafficking centre to continue the fight against this crime and Operation Pentameter resulted in over 150 arrests and the rescue of 75 trafficked victims.

Dr Harris: 30 Council of Europe countries out of 45 have signed it and we haven't. Isn't he aware that his minister, the honourable member for Gedling (Mr Coaker), in the Joint Committee of Human Rights said that it was the fear of a pull factor that was preventing the UK Government at the moment from signing this? Is he aware that in Italy, there isn't any evidence of a pull factor and 100 times more women have been saved and there have been 100 times more prosecutions. So would he reflect again and can I urge him, for the sake of the victims of trafficking, for the UK to sign the Convention now.

Prime Minister: I will reflect again but, he's right in putting his finger on what is the reason for our refusal to sign and ratify so far. That is because the Convention requires an absolute 30 day reflection period for victims who are here without leave to enable them to recover from the experience they have been through and our worry about that is, unless we are very careful about how it is implemented, it will give us a major problem with people who come here under the auspices of effectively organised crime who aren't proper asylum seekers and then we are obliged to keep them for a fixed period. We have to examine, I'm afraid, what that means in practice for our system before we can agree the Convention.

• More information about the Council of Europe Convention against Human Trafficking is available here: http://www.coe.int/t/e/human_rights/trafficking/