LUXEMBOURG (Tier 1)

Luxembourg is a destination country for women primarily from France, Belgium, Russia, and Ukraine subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution. An increasing number of women from Africa, primarily Nigeria, are engaged in prostitution in the country, and are particularly vulnerable to forced prostitution due to debts they incur in the process of migrating to Luxembourg. Victims of sex trafficking in Luxembourg are primarily recruited abroad through agents for work in Luxembourg’s cabarets and are subsequently forced into prostitution. According to a 2009 EU Report on child trafficking within the EU, Luxembourg authorities characterize child trafficking in Luxembourg as a “marginal” and “isolated” problem. The government and NGOs did not identify any cases of forced labor during the reporting period.

The Government of Luxembourg fully complies with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. During the year, the government adopted a law to improve protections for victims of trafficking and identified an increased number of sex trafficking victims. The government has yet to develop and enact formalized, victim-centered procedures for the proactive identification of all potential trafficking victims in Luxembourg.

Recommendations for Luxembourg: Establish formal procedures to identify victims among vulnerable groups, such as women in the commercial sex trade and undocumented migrants, and to ensure these victims have access to available services; consider including NGOs in the identification process to foster and encourage more trust from victims; ensure specialized and comprehensive protections for all trafficking victims, including victims of forced labor, as well as child and male victims; and launch an awareness campaign to educate authorities and the general public about forms of labor trafficking.

Prosecution
The Luxembourg government sustained its anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts in 2009. Luxembourg prohibits all forms of trafficking through its Law on Trafficking in Human Beings, Memorial A, number 51, 2009, which prescribes penalties for convicted offenders ranging from five to 10 years’ imprisonment. These penalties are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with penalties prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape. The government prosecuted and convicted six sex trafficking offenders during the reporting period, compared with seven from the previous year. Sentences imposed on those convicted ranged from two to three years’ imprisonment with fines, an improvement from the previous year, but still below the legally prescribed minimum punishment for trafficking. The government continued its ongoing training of police, immigration, and other government officials and NGOs on victim identification. There was no evidence of trafficking complicity by Luxembourg public officials during the year.

Protection
The Government of Luxembourg made some improvements in the protection of trafficking victims during the reporting period. In March 2009, it adopted the Law on Assistance, Protection and Safety of Trafficking Victims, Memorial A, number 129, 2009. The law codified comprehensive assistance for trafficking victims, including shelter, social, financial, medical, therapeutic, and legal assistance. The law also allows trafficking victims who are EU citizens the right to work while in Luxembourg. Luxembourg law provides temporary residency status for trafficking victims and a 90-day reflection period for victims to decide whether to cooperate with authorities. During the reporting period, police identified 21 victims of forced prostitution recruited for work in Luxembourg cabarets, compared with 10 the previous year. Law enforcement authorities reportedly referred identified trafficking victims to NGOs and provided them with short-term shelter and basic assistance. It did not, however, offer identified victims access to specialized services, long-term shelter or housing benefits often required for victims’ recovery. The government encouraged victims to participate in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking offenders during the reflection period, however no victims assisted in the prosecution of their traffickers in 2009. The government continued to fund two NGOs providing services for women in distress that also serve female human trafficking victims. There were no specialized services or shelter available specifically for child victims, however authorities reported placing child victims in a general shelter for juveniles. The government has a stated policy of ensuring that victims are not punished for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of their being trafficked; it is unclear whether all women in prostitution who are in the country illegally are checked for trafficking indicators before being deported or imprisoned. It is also unclear whether authorities proactively identified victims among women in prostitution in Luxembourg’s legalized sex trade and cabarets. The new protection law for trafficking victims codified law enforcement’s responsibility to refer victims for services, however the government did not adopt formalized, stand-alone procedures for all front-line responders to use when referring potential victims for care.

Prevention
The government made minimal progress in implementing new programs to prevent trafficking during the reporting period. It sustained partnerships with ECPAT and a local NGO on a campaign targeting potential women and child victims of trafficking. It failed, however, to launch any new campaigns aimed at reducing the demand for commercial sex acts and forced labor. The government did not report any child sex tourism prosecutions or prevention efforts during the reporting period.