The Department of Justice and Equality announced on October 22 the designation of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) as Ireland’s independent National Rapporteur on human trafficking.
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission takes on this role, which will include carrying out of assessments of trends in trafficking in human beings, the measuring of results of anti-trafficking actions, including the gathering of statistics, in close cooperation with relevant civil society organisations active in this field, and reporting independently to the Commission on developments in tackling this crime in Ireland for the purposes of EU Anti-Human Trafficking legislation.
Efforts being made to combat human trafficking in Ireland include the work of the Human Trafficking Investigation and Coordination Garda Unit, the work of High Level Group involving the Department of Justice and Equality, the Office of the DPP and An Garda Síochána which keeps the legislative and operational framework for investigation and prosecution of trafficking under review as well as training of Gardaí and immigration officers and awareness raising initiatives which are crucial to early detection.
Further information to raise public awareness in Ireland and help members of the public identify the signs of human trafficking is available on the “Blue Blindfold” website.
For more information on the Department’s joint campaign against human-trafficking with the International Organization for Migration Ireland, click here.
