ABOUT ERADICATING
The project is a follow-up effort to the ERADICATING initiative. As part of ERADICATING’s end-user requirements analysis, stakeholders, including Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) and prosecutors, have acknowledged the difficulty in detecting, investigating and prosecuting particularly cases of labour trafficking and have expressed their need for training in this area. At the same time, a new and serious risk of trafficking has emerged linked to the war in Ukraine, especially to vulnerable groups such as women and children.
As of 1 June 2022, some 4.7 million individual refugees from Ukraine were recorded across Europe, with 2.9 million registered under Temporary Protection or similar national protection schemes in Europe; since the start of the war on 24 February, there were 7 million border crossings from Ukraine. In such a context, “reports and stories have emerged of potential abusive and exploitative situations in Ukraine and among those fleeing to neighbouring countries.” This has amplified the need for more resources and training of law authorities to address THB and this is what the ERADICATING II project seeks to redress.
The ERADICATING II project
The EU-funded ERADICATING II project (project number: 101101925) aims to increase the number of identified victims of labour trafficking, especially among vulnerable groups such as women, children and Ukrainian refugees, as well as to increase the number of investigation and prosecutions at EU level. The project is designed to improve the capacity of (i) law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, (ii) labour inspectors and (iii) first-line practitioners to detect, identify, protect and refer victims of labour trafficking for support and care.
ERADICATING II is composed of 5 Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) and 5 Registered Training Organisations (RTOs)/ Civil Society Organisations from 6 countries (Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Poland, Romania and Slovenia) adopting a human rights-based and gender-sensitive approach. The building of the Consortium has taken into consideration the Ukrainian crisis as well as key trafficking trends.
ERADICATING II aims to:
Improve the capacity of law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, labour inspectors and first-line practitioners to detect, identify, protect and refer victims of labour trafficking for support and care
Enhance cooperation among the various actors in combating Trafficking of Human Beings (THB) for labour exploitation at national and regional level and across borders at EU level
Enhance coordination among and improve capacity of Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) for setting up joint cross-border investigations (JITs) and for using cross-border referral practices between EU Member States
Improve capabilities of LEAs and prosecutors of conducting digital and parallel/financial investigations with the aim of lesser involvement of victims in the process and reduced risks of re-victimisation
Address more adequately the risks of involvement in THB of Ukrainian refugees
The project is funded with support from the European Commission under the Internal Security Fund (ISF) and has a duration of 24 months (01/12/2023-30/11/2025).