Brexit & the UKs fight against modern slavery 1

Brexit & the UKs fight against modern slaveryA briefing by the Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group

July 2017

CONTENTS

Executive Summary 2

Introduction 5

Background To Brexit 5

1. Prosecuting Human Trafficking 6

A. Europol 7

B. Eurojust 8

C. European Arrest Warrant 10

D. Data-Sharing Measures 11

E. Prosecuting Human Traffickers: Mitigating the Risks of Brexit 12

2. Preventing Modern Slavery 13

A. Protecting Workers Rights 13

B. Controlling Immigration 15

C. Preventing Modern Slavery: Mitigating the Risks of Brexit 17

3. Protection Of Victims 17

A. EU Legislation 17

B. UK Case Law 18

C. Victim Protection in Domestic Legislation 19

D. Protecting Victims: Mitigating The Risks of Brexit 20

4. Partnerships 20

A. EU Civil Society Platform Against Trafficking in Human Beings 21

B. EU Projects & Funding 21

C. Partnerships: Mitigating the Risks of Brexit 23

Conclusion 24

Annex 1: EU Criminal Justice Institutions & Bodies 26

2 Brexit & the UKs fight against modern slavery

Executive Summary

The following paper considers the potential impact of the UKs withdrawal (Brexit) from the European Union (EU) on efforts to tackle modern slavery. The purpose of this briefing is to review the extent to which the UKs membership in the EU has influenced national anti-trafficking efforts, and consider if and how Brexit may impact the UKs ability to combat modern slavery and protect its victims. Where possible, recommendations have been made on the steps to take to mitigate any potential risks posed by Brexit to UK anti-trafficking efforts.

Prosecuting modern slavery

- Trafficking networks can span several countries and even continents. Given the transnational nature of modern slavery, international cooperation in law enforcement is crucial.

- To this end, the UK has played a leading role in EU criminal justice measures and bodies, such as Europol, and has benefited considerably from EU support to carry out anti-trafficking operations, such as that provided by Eurojust to establish Joint Investigation Teams (JITs).

- The UK Government stated that it intends to maintain close cooperative links and partnerships with the EU in the area of criminal justice; however, access to the direct co-operation measures is either closed to non-EU Member States, or significantly limited.

- The UK Governments stated intention to leave the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) seems to pose an existential threat to continued participation by the UK in European security and criminal justice mechanisms, including those that enable us to combat modern slavery.

Preventing modern slavery

- Protecting workers rights is key to preventing modern slavery: the enforcement of protective labour laws safeguards workers against abusive employment practices.

- A significant proportion of workers rights in the UK stem from EU law. In order to protect key rights, such as those in the Working Time Regulations, consideration should be given as to the merit of introducing primary legislation that transposes and enshrines relevant EU labour law.

- The UK Governments stated intention is to end the free movement of labour and introduce new immigration legislation to control and curb immigration to the UK. The risk post-Brexit is the introduction of overly restrictive immigration policies which increase the vulnerability of migrant workers to exploitation, as exemplified in the case of Overseas Domestic Workers. These risks are exacerbated when coupled with a labour market that favours deregulation and flexibility; in practice, this has resulted in an erosion of workers rights.

- To prevent modern slavery, adequate safe and legal migration channels need to be established for workers that meet the realistic needs of the labour market, across all sectors and skill levels.

- Any future changes to immigration law and policy must be subject to an impact assessment which considers the likely effect of these changes on efforts to tackle modern slavery,

Brexit & the UKs fight against modern slavery 3

including whether migrants will be made more vulnerable to exploitation or less likely to seek protection from abuse.

- There should be a firewall between labour inspection and immigration enforcement. The Gangmasters Licensing Authority, National Minimum Wage enforcement teams, Employment Agencies Standards Inspectorate and Health and Safety Executive must have their resources greatly increased in order to enable labour market-wide monitoring of labour abuses and enforcement of labour law.

Protecting victims

- The rights of victims to support and assistance have been enshrined in the 2011 EU Trafficking Directive. The Directive has direct effect in national law and its provisions can be relied on in UK Courts, as observed in the case of L, HVN, THN & T v R [2013] EWCA Crim 991.

- Currently there is significant disparity across the UK in terms of victims rights to support and assistance: unlike legislation in Scotland and Northern Ireland, the Modern Slavery Act (England & Wales) does not explicitly place obligations on Ministers to provide support and assistance to victims.

- The EU Trafficking Directive may be transposed into UK law through the Repeal Bill, however there is a risk that it may be unilaterally repealed post-Brexit by Ministers, without reference to Parliament. If this occurs, then victims of modern slavery in England and Wales will be unable to look to domestic legislation to claim their rights to support.

- To end this disparity across the UK and potential post-Brexit uncertainty, a legal duty to assist, support and protect victims of modern slavery should be introduced through primary legislation in England and Wales prior to the UKs withdrawal from the EU.

Partnerships

- The EU has taken a leading role in coordinating and funding anti-trafficking efforts across Europe, for instance through instituting an Anti-Trafficking Coordinator and the creation of an EU Civil Society Platform against Trafficking in Human Beings. As part of Brexit negotiations, the UK must make whatever compromises are necessary to maintain membership of these mechanisms.

- EU funding streams, in particular the European Social Fund, have provided an important resource for UK charities. The risk post-Brexit is that UK organisations and public bodies will lose access to these various funds.

- UK NGOs will continue to individually collaborate with their counterparts in other EU Member States, however continued access to formal EU platforms and networks will have to be negotiated.

The UKs forthcoming exit from the EU risks jeopardising the progress made domestically in tackling modern slavery, preventing it and protecting its victims. To minimise these risks, the Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group recommends the following minimum safeguards, to be introduced as a part of the Brexit process:

- The UK Government must pursue access to European criminal justice and security measures to the greatest extent possible, and continue to prioritise law enforcement cooperation as part of the Brexit negotiations.

- To the extent that it allows such continued cooperation, the UK must accept some measure of the jurisdiction of the CJEU.

4 Brexit & the UKs fight against modern slavery

- Prior to the UK exiting the EU, primary legislation must be introduced which transposes the rights of victims to support and assistance, as detailed in the EU Trafficking Directive, into domestic law in England and Wales.

- The UK Government should introduce primary legislation which transposes EU labour law that protects workers rights.

- The UK Government must undertake an impact assessment for any new proposed law and policy related to immigration to assess its likely impact on efforts to tackle modern slavery, including whether migrants will be made more vulnerable to exploitation because of these changes, and/or less willing/able to seek protection and justice should they suffer abuse.

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Introduction

On 23rd June 2016, the UK voted narrowly to leave the European Union (EU). This briefing considers the potential impact of the UKs exit from the EU (Brexit) on efforts to tackle modern slavery1. The briefing discusses in turn the impact of Brexit on each strand of the internationally-recognised four Ps framework for tackling human trafficking; prosecution of traffickers, prevention of human trafficking, protection of victims, and partnerships.

This briefing assesses if and how membership in the EU has been beneficial or otherwise to UK efforts to tackle modern slavery, and any potential consequences of the UKs withdrawal on these efforts. Where possible, recommendations have been made on the steps to be taken to mitigate any potential risks to UK anti-trafficking efforts posed by Brexit. The intended audience of this research briefing is parliamentarians and government officials, civil society organisations, and any other individual or group who is concerned that, amid the radical upheaval that Brexit represents, the UK maintain its global leadership in the struggle against slavery.

This briefing has benefited significantly from legal opinion provided by Her bert Smith Fre ehills. The ATMG would like to publicly thank Herbert Smith Freehills for their pro bono support. The information and opinions set out in this briefing are those of the