Professor Zbigniew Lasocik

Professor Zbigniew Lasocik
(University of Warsaw)

Human Trafficking: A Challenge for the European Union and its Member States

Abstract:

Human trafficking is much closer to us in Europe than we thought, not only in the form of forced prostitution. It appears in many different ways: our colleague might be forced to work overtime with no salary; the nanny serving our friends’ children might not have control over her passport; kids from our neighborhood might pose nude for nice clothes or lollies; our students might work as slaves picking tomatoes in Italy.
It is relatively easy to deal with human trafficking at the level of the state and the European Union when it comes to forced prostitution, slavery or child prostitution. It is more complicated when the true nature of slavery is hidden behind sophisticated forms of dependence, such as those mentioned above.

We know that human trafficking is modern day slavery and a crime, but above all it is a violation of human rights. If we look at the problem from this perspective, we see not only the problem itself, but the obligations of the state. Is the state aware of this? Not necessarily. Is it ready to address the issue? Not necessarily. What should we do? There should be external pressure on the state by the international community and organisations such as the European Union and the Council of Europe, and from inside by civil society.

Human trafficking and human smuggling are both closely related to immigration policy. The European Union and its Member States should be aware of this; unfortunately, they often appear not to be.

Biographical note:

Zbigniew Lasocik is a graduate of Warsaw University Law School, with and LL.M., doctoral and post doctoral degrees in law and criminology, and has an MA in Sociology from Warsaw University’s Institute of Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation. He is an assistant professor at Warsaw University’s Department of Criminology and Criminal Policy and head of the Human Trafficking Studies Center at Warsaw University. He is also professor of criminology and corrections. He conducts numerous research projects and studies in criminology (violent crimes, policing, prison systems) and human rights (HR education, human trafficking). He has published several books and numerous articles on all of these topics. He was a visiting fellow at the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School, John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, the Center for the Study of Human Rights at Columbia University, the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention, and the Criminology Department of the London School of Economics. Prof. Lasocik is President of the Polish Section of the International Commission of Jurists; a Member of the Board of Directors of the International Seniors Lawyers Project; and a former regional director of the European Human Rights Foundation in Warsaw.

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