On 16 May 2005, the Council of Europe opens for signature the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (CETS No. 197) — the first regional treaty putting victims at the centre of the fight against trafficking.

Aims: prevent and combat all forms of trafficking (sexual exploitation, forced labour), protect victims and witnesses, ensure effective investigation and prosecution, and promote international cooperation. It applies whether trafficking is national or transnational, linked or not to organised crime.

The Convention requires victim-identification measures, support and a recovery and reflection period during which trafficked persons are not expelled. It establishes GRETA (Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings) as the monitoring mechanism.

Entry into force: 1 February 2008. By 2023: ratified by all Council of Europe member states, plus Belarus (2013) and Israel (2021) — the first non-European party.

The text is also recalled by the Istanbul Convention on violence against women. Official: CETS 197 on the Council of Europe site.

For Romania, ratification strengthened the national anti-trafficking framework aligned with European standards.

The Council of Europe Convention of 16 May 2005 remains Europe’s reference instrument against human trafficking.

Image: Strasbourg; Wikimedia Commons. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. Treaty text: Convention CETS 197 (Council of Europe).