Sweden
- Generally
- Excerpt from the questionnaire
- Contacts
In December 1997, in order to implement the Hague Declaration, the Swedish Government appointed the National Police Board (NPB) of Sweden to be the National Rapporteur on Trafficking. The NPB in turn delegated the task to the National Criminal Police (NCP). The Swedish Government has announced that them mandate of the National Rapporteur will be renewed during spring 2009; the government also partly finances the NR.
Firstly, it is necessary that a National Rapporteur (NR) on trafficking in human beings should operate as an independent and autonomous entity, with a general mandate to investigate, monitor and analyze the character, state and scale of trafficking in human beings to and within MS. It could be argued that the placement at the National Criminal Police, may compromise the independence of the Swedish Rapporteur. In hindsight it may even have been better to create a separate public authority. However, the benefits of the placement or the office of the NR at the National Police Board surpass the disadvantages: it allows the NR to monitor the status of trafficking in human beings in and to Sweden through regular information updates from the national and regional police and prosecution authorities, as well as from other actors working against trafficking in human beings.
Through its wide mandate, the Swedish NR has been given a unique opportunity to influence the policy and legislative development and the implementation of measures to prevent and combat trafficking in human beings in Sweden. Since the appointment of the NR in 1998, the sitting governments have been very receptive to the recommendations put forward by the NR in her annual reports.
For the police and prosecuting authorities, investigations of cases of trafficking in human beings are very resource-intensive and costly. ln the past, a few smaller police districts have not been able to initiate proper investigations because of lack of resources. In 2003, after discussions with the NR, the Minister of Justice Thomas Bodstrom (as he was then) allocated SEK 30 million (approx. Euro 3.3 million) over three years to the National Board or Police, specifically earmarked for operative assistance to police districts to combat trafficking in human beings, and for training or law enforcement personnel. In September of 2006, national elections were held and a new government came into power. This new government has established a policy on trafficking in human beings, and after discussions with the NR and others, set aside funding (SEK 40 million for 2009-2010) for different measures to prevent and combat trafficking human beings.
An inter-agency working group has been appointed that determines how these funds should be distributed, based on applications from the different police districts. Over the years, the funds have been used for preliminary investigations, as well as for training of law enforcement personnel and projects focusing on the sale of women and children for prostitution purposes on the Internet.
The NR concluded in her reports from 2003 and 2004, after having studied case law on the trafficking legislation and interviewed police, prosecutors and other key informants that the legislation was too complex, leading to misinterpretations by the courts. The government, as a response, appointed in 2006 an Expert Commission with the task to analyze procuring and trafficking cases, and based on this analysis, develop and strengthen the existing legislation. The report was approved in April 2008.
The responsibility for providing protection and assistance of victims of trafficking in human beings is, according to Swedish law, the responsibility of local municipalities. After a recommendation by the NR in one of her reports, the government decided, in connection with an amendment of the Alien Act allowing for time-limited residence permits for victims of trafficking in human beings, to reimburse the local authorities for all costs.
Thanks to media, the annual reports of the NR have been widely disseminated – both in Sweden, but also around the world. Every week, the NR receives request for information from journalists, parliamentarians, police officers and prosecutors, and of course the general public about the situation of prostitution and trafficking in human beings for all purposes to and within Sweden. ln particular, the NR reports that focus on new successful methods to combat trafficking in human beings have attracted a lot of attention, such as the positive result of the active implementation of the provision in the Swedish Criminal Code that prohibits the purchase of a sexual service by law enforcement and the prosecution services1. It is evident that the existence of a NR on Trafficking in Human Beings in Sweden, and the publication of nine annual monitoring reports have been central to the development and implementation of government policy and legislation, and important contributing factors for the increase in understanding and knowledge about prostitution and trafficking in human beings in Sweden.
The NR issues recommendations and is a monitoring mechanism, not an enforcement mechanism.
(1) Criminal Code., ch. 6: On Sexual Crimes, section 11: ...person who obtains casual sexual relations in exchange for payment shall be sentenced-unless the act is punishable under the Swedish Penal Code-for the purchase of a sexual service to a fine or imprisonment for at most six months Attempt to purchase a sexual service Is punishable under Chapter 23 of the Swedish Penal Code.