mr president human trafficking is a very serious issue
since two thousand and eight thirty-five people have been rescued from exploitation in my own constituency of northern ireland twenty-five of these were rescued in two thousand and nine
however no one has yet been convicted of an offence of human trafficking
it is a form of modern-day slavery a serious crime and a violation of a person's fundamental human rights
indeed many of the women taken or rescued in northern ireland are from the far east and are there through organised crime gangs who are making huge profits and exploiting these people both for labour and sexual exploitation
while there are many valuable aspects to this report and i believe that this is an area where there can be considerable cooperation between national police forces indeed the police force of northern ireland has been leading the way in this i abstained in the eventual vote because i firmly believe that the setting of minimum tariffs is a matter for the member state alone
