Belgium catches human traffickers, Italy prosecutes them

Belgium will soon be joining forces with Italy in the fight against human trafficking taking place on the Mediterranean Sea. Minister for Defence Steven Vandeput has already reached agreements in the matter with his Italian colleague, Roberta Pinotti. “Specifically, Italian authorities will come on board with us on our frigate to arrest human traffickers, after which they can then be immediately tried in Italy,” the Minister explains.

Due to its geographic position, Italy plays an important role in the fight against human trafficking on the Mediterranean Sea. As part of the European EUNAVFOR MED (European Union Naval Force Mediterranean) fleet, also known as Operation Sophia, Belgium is deploying a number of ships.

No legal framework

“To stop human trafficking, it is important that the traffickers are prosecuted. However, Belgium has no legal framework to prosecute crimes like human trafficking on the high seas. And the mandate of Operation Sophia is today still limited to the area of the high seas,” the Minister explains. “We have been detecting transgressors and taking photographic evidence, but until now we couldn’t really arrest suspects. We had to treat the human traffickers as refugees, and only upon arrival at port could we indicate that the persons in question were suspects. But in the meantime, they had already disguised themselves as ordinary refugees.”

“Thanks to the agreement, we can carry out investigations on board right away, together with the Italian legal authorities. If necessary, human traffickers will be separated from the group and detained immediately,” concludes Minister Vandeput, who, just like his Italian colleague, would also like to tackle human trafficking within the territorial waters of Libya and in Libya itself. “But unfortunately, the stability in the country necessary to do so just isn’t there.”