3071-The political economy of new slavery

Arne Dormaels, Bruno Moens and Nele Praet 77
aim of extending the Belgian counter policy towards sexual exploitation
of trafficked victims. In July 2000 this sub-commission reported on
its activities and presented a number of stringent recommendations
(Thijs and De T’Serclaes, 2000). This resulted in the continuation of the
mandate of this sub-commission with the aim of broadening the scope
to include all forms of exploitation, such as economical exploitation,
which is in line with the anti-trafficking law of 13 April 1995.
Last but not least, the phenomenon of trafficking in human beings
was one of the key elements in the aforementioned governmental
action plan for security policy of 31 May 2000. This action plan marked
a turning point since it was recognized that the most appropriate way to
combat trafficking in human beings cannot be limited to the extension
of a one-sided repressive legislative arsenal. A successful policy towards
the combating of trafficking in human beings requires a multidisciplinary
approach, the so-called ‘four-pillar approach’, comprising measures
in the field of administrative law, labour law, as a last resort the criminal
code and finally victim support.
In order to create the essential conditions for a comprehensive and
integrated policy within the four-pillar perspective, the Belgian prime
minister took the initiative to set up a task force on trafficking in
human beings in December 2000. This was also in line with one of the
recommendations made by the sub-commission of the Senate (Thijs
and De T’Serclaes, 2000). This task force meets bimonthly and brings
together representatives of concerned agencies active in combating
trafficking in human beings. It also drew up concrete guidelines for
the co-operation between the various departments and services that are
(in)directly involved. In particular, the task force called for the establishment
of an Information and Analysis Centre concerning Human
Trafficking (IAM) within the federal police service. The task force justified
its recommendation by reference to the fact that it is essential that all
parties and services concerned exchange depersonalized information
about human trafficking as part of an ongoing structure. The information
gathered within the framework of IAM’s activities may vary in form
and content: embassy reports, reports from immigration officials, information
deriving from NGOs active in the field, statistical data, and so on.
First pillar: administrative level
The Belgian four-pillar approach is based on both empirical research
findings and on joint policy conclusions of all actors involved in combating
trafficking in human beings (De Ruyver et al., 1999; Van Impe,