A recent US State Department report includes Malta among three EU states where the absolute number of victims of severe forms of trafficking is “very significant or is significantly increasing”. The report also accuses the governments of the three countries of failing “to provide evidence of increasing efforts” to combat the problem.

Reacting to the report, the government said that although it did not believe there was widespread human trafficking activity on the island, “its approach to the problem has by no means been complacent”.

In many respects, human trafficking is a shadow industry. It consists of the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation or forced labour. It has been described as a modern-day form of slavery and is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. Together with the illegal arms industry, it is the second largest after the drug trade.

For the traffickers, the motivating factor is money. For the trafficked, the aim is a better life. However, it rarely, if ever, is the case. Victims are subjected to fraud or coercion, many are forced to work in prostitution and others face labour exploitation in various areas.

Survivors of human trafficking are commonly linked by poverty and lack of opportunity. It is estimated that as many as 700,000 people are trafficked globally each year. Worldwide trafficking networks involve systems where individuals are recruited and promised a decent wage for an honest day’s work as they pursue financial independence and freedom. However, once in place, usually outside their home country, victims end up under the control of one individual, with their freedom restricted and their safety usually threatened.

Following the publication of the US report, Justice and Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici was quick to put on record that, although according to the study the Maltese authorities can do more in order to combat human trafficking in the country, it acknowledged that actions were already being undertaken by the Maltese authorities.

The minister recalled that, earlier this year, Malta appointed its first anti-human trafficking coordinator and a high-level monitoring committee, which includes the major stakeholders in the sector. Moreover, the government is in the process of publishing a comprehensive Human Trafficking Action Plan. This will provide for the further allocation of resources to counter the crime and will also provide for action in all spheres of the fight against human trafficking, such as prevention, prosecution of offenders and protection of victims.

One prominent feature of the upcoming plan will be awareness-raising initiatives for groups potentially vulnerable to human trafficking. This is essential because some social groups may be more exposed to exploitation than others. These include certain irregular migrants who may not be aware of the problem or the various ways in which the system operates and manipulates the vulnerable.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici said that although, as noted earlier, the government did not consider that there was widespread human trafficking activity in Malta, nonetheless, it strongly believed that even a few of such cases could not be tolerated and was acting to identify them and prosecute as necessary.

This must be the way forward. No stone should be left unturned to respond properly and adequately to the tragic reality of human trafficking, which constitutes an offence against human dignity and fundamental human rights. Everything possible must be done to combat the scourge and to provide vital services to the victims of this horrific crime the moment they are identified.