European Commission has launched a call for proposals for the Joint Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings.

Trafficking in human beings (THB) is prohibited by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, and defined by the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) as a particularly serious form of organised crime, with links to immigration policy. The crime is driven by high profits and by the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation.

The present call for proposals aims at funding projects in the area of anti-trafficking action, in particular aimed at countering the culture of impunity for all perpetrators.

Project applications submitted under the present call for proposals must address at least one of the following priorities:

• Disrupt the financial business model of criminals.
• Intensify investigations, including intelligence-lead investigations, and prosecutions in the area of trafficking in human beings to dismantle the trafficking chain.
• Prevention initiatives, including reducing the demand for trafficking, including by criminalising the use of services exacted from victims of trafficking in human beings.

Proposals should aim at fostering multidisciplinary approach to addressing trafficking in human beings. Proposed actions should take into account the main identified patterns of trafficking and aim at developing skills and knowledge on specific forms of exploitation and changing modus operandi of traffickers as well as on the specific profile of victims with a focus on vulnerable groups, notably women and children.

Outcomes

Projects shall aim to achieve one or more of the following outcomes:

• More effective and intensified law enforcement operations, including cross-border cooperation and investigations.
• Improved capacity for setting up joint investigations.
• More systematic use of financial investigations in cases of trafficking in human beings through a multi-disciplinary approach.
• Improved detection of cyber-enabled trafficking in human beings and its victims.
• More wide-spread and effective use of technology for preventing and combatting trafficking in human beings.
• Strengthened operating procedures and protocols tested through simulations and exercises.
• New and strengthened public-private partnerships and further involvement of civil society in the prevention of trafficking in human beings.

Funding Information

The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects under this call for proposals is estimated at EUR 4 500 000.

Eligibility Criteria

• The following entities can apply as lead applicants and co-applicants:
  • public bodies;
  • non-profit-making private entities;
• The following are not eligible, neither as applicants nor as co-applicants:
  • Union Agencies
  • natural persons
  • international organisations
  • profit making entities
• Affiliated entities, i.e. legal entities having a legal or capital link with applicants, shall take part in the action as individual co-applicants in order to declare eligible costs unless they are affiliated to a public body.
• Applicants and co-applicants must be established in the following countries to be eligible: the Member States of the European Union with the exception of Denmark (“Member States participating in the ISF Police instrument)

For more information, visit European Union.