3071-The political economy of new slavery

Arne Dormaels, Bruno Moens and Nele Praet 85
Trafficked persons can request permanent residency at the end of the
criminal proceedings against the trafficker. The granting of a permanent
residency will depend on the discretionary powers of the Minister of
Interior and is based on advice by the Immigration Office and reports
by the specialized centre for victim support and the local communities.
The Immigration Office will therefore take into account the importance
of the information reported, and also consider the degree to which the
trafficked persons have integrated themselves into Belgian society. When
the prosecution, based on the information of the victim, leads to a
conviction, permanent residency is generally always granted. If a case is
dismissed but the victim has resided for a minimum period of two years
under the residence procedure, the victim can apply for a permanent
stay. The deciding factor will be the level of integration into Belgian
society. This is the so called ‘Stop’ procedure.
Second, there is the ‘Joint Directive for the Immigration Office,
police services, social inspection concerning assistance to victims of
trafficking’ issued by the ministries of Justice, the Interior, Employment,
Social Affairs and Public Health in 1997. This directive was issued
following new legislation on the fight against trafficking in human
beings and child pornography in 1995. In this directive, three nongovernmental
organizations were acknowledged to be specialized
institutions for providing assistance to victims of trafficking: Payoke in
Antwerp; Pag-Asa in Brussels; and Surya in Liège. All three of them
receive government funding and provide services to victims of trafficking,
that is, sexual and economic exploitation and smuggling.
Victims of trafficking who want to make use of the possibilities offered
by the 1994 circular must prove that they have contacted and are
assisted by one of these three organizations (or social services that have
an acknowledged agreement with them) in order to receive help and
assistance. The directive stresses the importance of consultation and
co-operation between these three organizations and the prosecution
service, the police and the social inspection.
Third, there is the already mentioned ‘Directive on the investigation
and prosecution policy concerning trafficking in human beings and
child pornography’ issued by the Ministry of Justice in 1999, which
formalizes the relationship between the justice authorities and the
organizations for assisting victims of trafficking. This directive provides
for a set of deontological rules to be respected by the police officers
active in the field of combating trafficking in human beings. Moreover,
it states explicitly that the methods applied by the police forces may not
neglect or interfere with the rights and the interests of the victims.