Five children trafficked to Ireland with one person brought to Ireland for 'organ removal'

A first suspected case of a victim being trafficked for organ removal was recorded in Ireland last year, according to a new report.

Five children were identified as trafficking victims, most of them for sexual exploitation, the second National Anti-Trafficking Report of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) reveals.

The reports of trafficked minors are of particular concern as no child victims were identified in the previous two years.

Despite increased operations and investigations, there were no successful trafficking convictions in 2022, the report notes.

Suspected cases of trafficking of Ukrainian war refugees were also detected in Ireland.

A key Commission recommendation is that a statutory protection from prosecution for victims of human trafficking be included in the new Bill where a person has committed a crime as a direct consequence of them being trafficked.

The IHREC continues to call for considerably more action to accommodate victims of trafficking in safe, appropriate and gender-specific accommodation, separate from Direct Provision. The Commission calls for a clear human trafficking assistance system, with equality of services regardless of a victim’s nationality or existing international protection claim.

Human Trafficking Immigration assistance should be treated as an essential service to victims who are third-country nationals and who require it in order to access support in the State, the Commission says.

IHREC Chief Commissioner Sinéad Gibney said: "Trafficking in human beings is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. It profits from the exploitation of vulnerable people and deprives them of their most basic human rights. Trafficking often targets people living in poverty, or those fleeing situations of armed conflict or persecution, particularly migrant women and girls.

"People trafficking can come in many guises, so we must work to expand our understanding and legal definition of trafficking to include novel forms of exploitation.

"Specific to Ireland, the increased use of technology has facilitated the expansion of the indoor commercial sex trade, including via sex trafficking. The State must raise public awareness of these crimes, with the development of national campaigns targeted at demand," Ms Gibney said. 

The report says the situation in Ireland mirrors the wider European Union where lesser-known forms of exploitation including forced marriages, illegal adoption and surrogacy are on the rise.

The Commission recommends that the State develops extensive public awareness and educational programmes targeting young people, in particular to prevent the risk of grooming of girls on social platforms and to discourage young men from becoming potential buyers.

It also recommends that pornography and escort websites should be monitored and regulated in a way that eliminates risk of trafficking and human rights abuses.