3071-The political economy of new slavery

Arne Dormaels, Bruno Moens and Nele Praet 81
recently adopted bilateral agreements with countries such as Albania,
Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria where illegal immigration and
human trafficking are some of the key problems faced by government
(Belgian Statute Book, 2002).
On the other hand, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for
the diplomatic and consular missions which have a crucial role to play.
In the past, this ministry has not fully made use of the existing possibilities
to deal with the problem in the countries of origin or transit.
Recently, the Minister for Foreign Affairs developed an integrated policy
in order to tackle these shortcomings (De Ruyver, Van Heddeghem and
Silon, 2001). Embassies located in vulnerable regions have now taken
a more proactive approach as they spot new trends and stimulate
prevention and reintegration initiatives in the countries of origin.
An important factor can be the incorporation of these actions within
broader all-embracing social-economic support to the vulnerable regions.
In this regard, the Ministry of Home Affairs established a specially
designed programme under which immigration liaison officers are sent
out to countries whose citizens represent a growing part in the number
of asylum claims. The immigration liaison officers collect data on the
spot, provide assistance to the Belgian diplomatic posts abroad, collaborate
with other foreign liaison officers and co-operate with the local
authorities to set up information campaigns.
Second pillar: labour law
Parliamentary commissions and research projects (Siron and Van
Baeveghem, 1999) identified a clear need to involve the departments
of social inspection in an active and integrated way in the fight against
trafficking in human beings. The Belgian experience, for example,
pointed out that those women who had been officially granted work
permits as cabaret artists were actually forced into prostitution by
traffickers. In this respect it is important to mention that since the
Royal Decree of 9 June 1999 concerning the employment of foreigners
(Belgian Statute Book, 1999) the obligation exists to draw up a specific
labour contract in order to provide permission to work for cabaret
artists, trainees and au pair youth.
Aware that the phenomenon of trafficking in persons also forms a
risk in terms of economic exploitation, the ministers for Labour,
Employment and Social Affairs signed a protocol in May 2001 on the
collaboration between the Department of Inspection of Social Policy
and the Department of Social Inspection (Brammertz et al., 2002).