LONDON: Victims of human trafficking could find themselves excluded from the “best legal protections” after Britain leaves the European Union, the chairwoman of a parliamentary anti-trafficking watchdog said on Tuesday.
British lawmaker Fiona MacTaggart told a UK anti-slavery conference that Britain’s membership of the EU had enabled lawyers to argue on behalf of enslaved people at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
But proposed changes to British law in the wake of the Brexit vote on June 23 would mean “ECHR rulings will not prevail,” the opposition Labour member of parliament said.
“Better protection for victims of slavery must be part of the Brexit agenda,” MacTaggart told a gathering of around 200 campaigners, lawyers and other delegates in London.
Prime Minister Theresa May said earlier this month that Britain, where an estimated 11,700 people are enslaved, would “lead the world” with its efforts to stamp out modern day slavery and human trafficking.
In July, the prime minister pledged to use 33.5 million pounds ($42 million) from the foreign aid budget to focus on combating slavery in countries where victims are known to be trafficked to Britain.
But MacTaggart said she had not heard any government ministers working on Brexit mention what new protections there will be for trafficked people after Britain leaves the EU.
“I call on those planning our exit from Europe to prepare and publish a plan to protect future victims of slavery and compensate them for their exploitation,” MacTaggart said.
The Home Office (interior ministry) and the Department for Exiting the European Union did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Delegates at the annual conference voiced concerns trafficking victims would suffer as a result of tougher immigration controls and Britain’s withdrawal from the EU’s international crime-fighting agency, Europol.
“If you want to slam your borders shut — in a Brexit model — how does that tally with what our prime minister wants to do which is lead the world on combatting trafficking?” said lawyer Parosha Chandran, who has represented victims of human trafficking.
Activists have welcomed Britain’s Modern Slavery Act, which came into force last year, as a milestone in the struggle against a crime affecting nearly 46 million people worldwide, according to the 2016 Global Slavery Index by Walk Free Foundation.
But MacTaggart said the UK law was too focused on prosecuting offenders, an approach which often fails.
“The witnesses, who are also victims don’t get the support they need to give evidence,” MacTaggart said.
Slavery victims in UK ‘worse off’ after Brexit, says lawmaker
Slavery victims in UK ‘worse off’ after Brexit, says lawmaker
IAEA board meets over Ukraine nuclear safety concerns
- The war in Ukraine “continues to pose the world’s biggest threat to nuclear safety,” Grossi said
- The mission will assess 10 substations “crucial to nuclear safety,” according to Grossi
VIENNA: The UN nuclear watchdog’s board of governors on Friday discussed nuclear safety in Ukraine, with several countries expressing “growing concern” following Russian attacks on the power grid.
Energy supplies to Ukraine’s nuclear plants have been affected as Russia has pounded its neighbor’s power sector since the start of its 2022 invasion, prompting fears of a nuclear disaster.
The war in Ukraine “continues to pose the world’s biggest threat to nuclear safety,” Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said when opening the board meeting.
The extraordinary meeting that lasted four hours was called after 13 countries led by the Netherlands expressed in a letter seen by AFP a “growing concern about the severity and urgency of nuclear safety risks” following a series of attacks.
Ukrainian ambassador Yurii Vitrenko told reporters before the meeting that it was “high time” for the IAEA board to discuss the situation.
A weeks-long IAEA expert mission to Ukrainian substations and power plants is under way and expected to wrap up next month, Vitrenko said.
The mission will assess 10 substations “crucial to nuclear safety,” according to Grossi.
Russian Ambassador Mikhail Ulyanov dismissed the board’s gathering as “absolutely politically motivated,” adding there was “no real need to hold such a meeting today.”
Last week, Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant temporarily lost all off-site power.
Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia, occupied by Russian forces since March 2022, has also been repeatedly affected by fighting.
Earlier this month, Russia and Ukraine agreed to a localized ceasefire to allow repairs on the last remaining backup power line supplying Zaporizhzhia.
The line was damaged and disconnected as a result of military activity in early January.
The Zaporizhzhia plant’s six reactors have been shut down since the occupation. But the site still needs electricity to maintain its cooling and security systems.
Moscow and Kyiv have repeatedly accused each other of risking a nuclear catastrophe by attacking the site.
