The European Legal and Policy Framework

Over the last decades, the phenomenon of trafficking in human beings (THB) has deeply marked our society. It is now considered as a modern form of slavery, representing a serious threat to human dignity. This book aimed at exploring the current European framework related to THB, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses as well as focusing on a country of origin of THB, Albania. Overall, the works of the Council of Europe, the European Union and the Organisation for Security and the Cooperation in Europe in the fight against THB are considered as complementary, despite numerous risks of repetitive work. This book suggests developing a new approach to eradicate THB : a human security approach. The result of the study showed that adopting a human security approach can drastically reduce THB. Since 2001, Albania has been very active in the fight against THB. However, several obstacles persist, notably in terms of implementation. Albania is currently facing new trends of THB, like labour exploitation and internal trafficking, and must adapt itself accordingly. This book should be especially useful to professionals in human rights field, or anyone else interested in this topic.

Damien Ruggeri is a young postgraduate student with a strong background in human rights and democratization issues. He worked for various NGOs abroad, including in Albania. Now, he is working at the Council of Europe's Venice Commission. In March 2014, he will work at the European Commission within the Directorate General for Enlargement.