Explorative research on the risk of victimization

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The airport, a safe haven for minors travelling
alone?
The airport, a safe haven for minors travelling
alone?

• Explorative research on the risk of victimization
  
• at Brussels Airport - Belgium
• Tony Verachtert Head of Federal judicial
  police, airport division
• Valesca Lippens researcher Free University of
  Brussels
• Dr Ilse Derluyn Ghent University

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PART I INTRODUCTION
The airport, a safe haven for minors travelling
alone?

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The airport, a safe haven for minors travelling
alone?
Child Trafficking (4)

• Over 20.000 children
• 1500 unaccompanied minors
• 300 Brussels Airport
• They didnt fall out of the sky
• What happens to those who dont get intercepted
  .
• How can we better protect their safety
• The true story

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Saved from child traffickers .
The airport, a safe haven for minors travelling
alone?

• But not for long...

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The airport, a safe haven for minors travelling
alone?
2. Towards a research project

• Shared my concern with Child Focus
• Focus of the research How can organised crime
  use or abuse the existing legal aviation
  procedures to traffic children by air???
• Potential risk for minors to fall victim of
  traffickers
• Find loopholes in the current legislation and
  practice
• Complex divers partners

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4. Target group
The airport, a safe haven for minors travelling
alone?

• Unaccompanied Minors
• Escort airline company obliged
• 5 to 12 yrs.
• Extra, charged service
• Visibility

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The airport, a safe haven for minors travelling
alone?

• Young Passengers
• Travel completely autonomously
• gt 12 yrs.
• No registration of the age in reservation- or
  travel documents (adults from 12 yr)
• Relatively invisible

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De luchthaven, een veilige plek voor
alleenreizende minderjarigen?
The airport, a safe haven for minors travelling
alone?

• Minors Third Party
• Accompanied by a third party (not the parent or
  legal guardian)
• 0 18 yrs.
• Seemingly not travelling alone ? relation with
  sponsor?
• Relatively invisible

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PART II RESEARCH FINDINGS
The airport, a safe haven for minors travelling
alone?

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The airport, a safe haven for minors travelling
alone?
1.2.1 Partition 3 categories (N922)
Minors

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1.2.2. Partition age (N922)
The airport, a safe haven for minors travelling
alone?

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2. Procedures _at_ Brussels Airport
The airport, a safe haven for minors travelling
alone?

• Only for UM, no procedures for other categories
• Lack of uniform international, European and
  national regulations and legislation
• Exception IATA
• recommended practices
• NGO limited obligation

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The airport, a safe haven for minors travelling
alone?
2.1. Procedures for UM loopholes

• Control identity sponsor responsibility handling
  company?
• Use of diverse UM documents diversity
  complicates the administrative procedures and
  regulations
• Parental authorisation confusion on the field
• No sponsor present

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2.4. Modus operandi false or falsified travel
documents
The airport, a safe haven for minors travelling
alone?

• Authentic passport fraudulently obtained
• Most frequent MO sensitization of the
  communities
• Imposter
• Physical appearance not alike
• Photo change
• Less frequent
• Inscription in passport photo (un)necessary

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PART III CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The airport, a safe haven for minors travelling
alone?

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The airport, a safe haven for minors travelling
alone?

• Conclusion Number
• Yearly more than 20.000 Unaccompanied Minors
  (airline assistance)
• An important part of our population is unknown
  due to a lack of registration

• Recommendation
• Augmentation of the age for obliged assistance to
  14 yrs.
• Introducing a uniform and obliged registration

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The airport, a safe haven for minors travelling
alone?

• Conclusion Procedures
• Ad hoc problem solving
• Lack of regulations and legislation

• Recommendation
• Need of a more professional approach
• Need of uniform, written and obliged procedures

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The airport, a safe haven for minors travelling
alone?

• Conclusions care
• Potential risk situations
• Interrogation minor
• Care and risk disappearance
• Role guardian

• Recommendation
• Need of a risk assessment
• Specialised training, confidant, interpreter,
  psychologist
• Use risk assessment secured care
• Initial and permanent training

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The airport, a safe haven for minors travelling
alone?

• Conclusions policing
• Control identity sponsor
• Parental authorisation
• Modus operandi irregular entry on the territory
• Lack of intensive cooperation between different
  partners
• Preliminary detection impossible
• Problem Schengenzone

• Recommendation
• Official Border Control desk
• Document (inter)nationally obliged
• Personal travel documents obliged and
  sensitization about the use of fraudulently
  obtained documents
• A circular letter and cooperation protocols
• Passenger information required (age!)
• Intelligence led policing in Schengenzone

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The airport, a safe haven for minors travelling
alone?

• General conclusion
• Need of
• More coherent regulations and legislation
• Harmonized procedures and practices
• Risk of victimization unacceptable
• Need of further research
• Geographical
• Focus
• Federal judicial police UM Unit
• Implementation recommendations ? task force

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The airport, a safe haven for minors travelling
alone?
Summary of the report http//www.childfocus.be/en
/activities_5_2.php?id114 French version of the
report http//www.childfocus.be/uploads/documents
/101-476-aeroport_zaventem-fr-print.pdf Dutch
version of the report http//www.childfocus.be/up
loads/documents/102-478-aeroport_zaventem-nl-print
.pdf
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De luchthaven, een veilige plek voor
alleenreizende minderjarigen?

• Thank you for your attention
• tonyverachtert.airport_at_skynet.be