In April, LSI members FairWork and CoMensha submitted responses to the Dutch government’s consultation on a draft bill to expand and modernise the human trafficking law. Both organisations welcome the draft revision.
FairWork made five recommendations:
1) introduce a separate article on labour and lower the threshold of proof;
2) ensure protection for everyone who shows indications of human trafficking and exploitation;
3) increase attention to “hidden” forms of exploitation, such as domestic and care work, that take place in the household;
4) ensure that the law is linked to international bodies and mechanisms, such as the ILO or the ECHR, which would lead to better oversight and a more effective approach; 5) ensure clear definitions and indicators of key concepts to prevent arbitrariness and confusion among first responders.
CoMensha recommends that the government 1) revise the legal qualification “serious disadvantage” to a more familiar one, such as “labour exploitation”; 2) add explicitly the non-punishment principle; and 3) ensure better victim protection provisions.
Read the contributions (both in Dutch) of FairWork here and of CoMensha here.