A delegation of the Council of Europe's Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) carried out an evaluation visit to the Romania from 2 to 6 March 2020 as part of the third evaluation round of the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. The focus of this evaluation round of the Convention is on trafficking victims’ access to justice and effective remedies. Prior to the visit, the Romanian authorities provided a reply to GRETA’s questionnaire for the third evaluation round. In addition to the new thematic focus, GRETA verified how the main recommendations made in its second evaluation report have been implemented.
During the visit, the GRETA delegation met representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection (including the Labour Inspectorate, the Social Policies Services Directorate and the National Agency for Employment), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education and Research, as well as agencies subordinated to the Ministry of the Interior, namely the National Agency against Trafficking in Persons (ANITP), the Police Department for Combating Trafficking in Persons, the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police (GIRP), the Border Police and the Gendarmerie. Meetings were also held with representatives of the Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) of the Prosecutor’s Office, the State Compensation Board for Victims of Crime, and judges of the Superior Council of Magistracy. Further, GRETA met representatives of the National Agency for Roma, the General Ombudsman and the Ombudsman for Children. A meeting was also held with representatives of the Romanian Parliament’s Group for Combating Trafficking in Persons.
In addition, the GRETA delegation held meetings with representatives of non-governmental organisations, lawyers, victims of human trafficking, researchers and journalists. Meetings were also held with officials from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
In the course of the visit, the GRETA delegation visited a state shelter for victims of human trafficking in Craiova, a shelter for child victims of trafficking, run by the NGO Reaching Out, in Pitesti, and a shelter for victims of trafficking, run by the NGO Open Door Foundation, in Bucharest.
The visit was carried out by Ms Ia Dadunashvili and Mr Frédéric Kurz, members of GRETA, who were accompanied by Mr Mats Lindberg of the Secretariat of the Convention.
Following the visit, GRETA will prepare a draft report which will be sent to the Romanian authorities for comments. GRETA will subsequently adopt a final report, to be published in early 2021.
