Identification of trafficked international protection beneficiaries’ special needs

TRIPS – identification of TRafficked beneficiaries of International Protection Special
needs is a two-year project co-funded by the European Union under AMIF-2018-AG-INTE and implemented by Forum réfugiés-Cosi, the project coordinator, and its European partners Churches Commission for Migrants in Europe, Immigrant Council of Ireland, Italian Council for Refugees, and Organization for Aid to Refugees.
The French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons, the French Office of Immigration and Integration, the Council of Europe (Secretariat of the Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings – GRETA) Amicale du Nid have supported the project as European expert organizations. They participated in the European meetings of the project and provided advice and feedback on the elaboration of the European deliverables of the project, including the European report, the European summary report and the European toolbox for practitioners.
This transnational project aims at identifying and better addressing the specific needs of trafficked international protection beneficiaries in relation to the integration process, both at European Union (EU) and national levels. This project follows up a previously implementd transnational project coordinated by Forum réfugiés-Cosi, TRACKS – identification of TRafficked Asylum seeKers’ Special needs (2016-2017), and co-financed by the European Commission.
After getting an international protection status related or not to the trafficking situation, the victims enter into an integration process. The European Qualification Directive of December 2011 that came into force on 22 December 2013 grants specific rights to beneficiaries of international protection. It also specifies that when implementing the Directive, the Member States shall take into account the specific needs of vulnerable people including the victims of human trafficking after an individual evaluation of their situation. However, the integration
of beneficiaries of international protection leads to interconnected challenges which call for a comprehensive approach including access to rights, to housing, to training, to the labour market, and psycho-social support. Despite the fact that the identification, the protection and the integration of victims of trafficking are at the core of the European agenda, the link with international protection has been less addressed.
The project examined how to ensure tailored support to trafficked international protection beneficiaries in their integration process taking into account their specific needs and their vulnerable situation, which do not stop after getting international protection. TRIPS aimed at giving visibility and raising awareness among relevant actors involved in the integration mechanisms and procedures at both European and national levels, as well as giving a voice to victims of trafficking in identifying their specific needs in relation to the integration procedures in the participating EU Member States. The objective was also to improve the capacities of practitioners to identify and respond to specific needs of victims related to integration through the exchange of practices and the development of innovative tools. Finally, the
project contributed to more consistency and coherence throughout EU Member States in the way trafficked beneficiaries of international protection are accompanied and supported.