Malta will have to set a specialised unit to step up the fight against human trafficking, under a new EU strategy launched yesterday in Brussels.

The five-year plan aims at better equipping EU member states to combat the global human trafficking phenomenon with a series of practical measures that have to be in place by 2016.

The proposals include a better set-up for law enforcement agencies, more networking initiatives, joint investigations at EU level and better protection to victims.

One of the main targets is to put more traffickers behind bars as the current level is considered low next to the volume of human trafficking going on.

Addressing the issue, European Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom did not mince her words: “It is appalling to see that, in our times, human beings are still being put up for sale and being trafficked into forced labour or prostitution.

“Ensuring that victims can get support and bringing traffickers to justice is at the heart of our actions.

“We are far from there yet but we can have only one aim: to eradicate trafficking in human beings.”

The idea of sharing cross-border information among law enforcement agencies is one of the main thrusts of the new ­strategy.

The Commission is hoping that all law enforcement agencies in the 27 member states will set up specialised anti-human trafficking units with specially-trained personnel capable of taking part and even coordinate international investigations.

The EU will also be creating joint investigation teams, involving the European Police (Europol) and Eurojust in all cross-border trafficking cases.

EU support for research projects examining the internet and social networks – as these are increasingly being used by traffickers as recruitment tools – will also be boosted.

Within the new strategy, victims will be given enhanced rights, such as the right to assistance and to health care, a right to a residence permit and labour rights.

Though human trafficking is a worldwide trade and quite widespread in the EU, it is not known precisely how many victims are being exploited in the bloc.

According to International Labour Organisation figures, there are over 20 million victims of human trafficking worldwide with the trade generating about €25 billion in profits every year.

Malta has been placed on the watch list for human trafficking and in the past received critical assessments by United States agencies.

No evidence of widespread human trafficking was ever uncovered. However, there have been sporadic cases reaching the courts. The most recent case was decided in March of this year when a man was jailed for 11 years for running a prostitution ring with Russian women literally used as sex slaves.

The court case, which dealt with crimes committed in 2004, painted a sordid picture of modern-day slavery where the women were brought over to Malta, kept under lock and key in a farmhouse, forced into prostitution and eventually even sold to third parties.

The overwhelming majority of victims are women and young girls involved in prostitution activities. To a lesser degree, victims are also used for labour exploitation, organised begging and domestic servitude.

According to Europol, children forced into criminal activities, such as organised begging and shoplifting, are being traded as commodities carrying €20,000 price tags.