France Young Romanians in the streets of Paris

April 25, 2010

Comment: This Canadian article describes the situation of young Romanians on the streets of Paris, exploited by adults either forcing them into prostitution or begging and stealing. If they are caught by authorities, they are repatriated, without any consideration given to their situation as victims of trafficking. The article quotes two victims, one of them mentioning that he was repatriated twice already, each time the trafficker brought him back from Romania- each time to a different country, to continue his exploitation. It also quotes Hors la Rue that has been working with 1600 young Romanians since 2002 and noticed that the average age of minors, forced into prostitution in France was 14.

The article unfortunately left the question open whether authorities consider the question of trafficking when they meet unaccompanied minors at border points: while the representative of the Immigration Department claims this issue is being checked – he refers to the ad hoc administrator procedure that is only valid in the “international waiting zones” or during asylum procedures, two options irrelevant for Romanian minors who are EU citizens. The article does not mention this subtle but important difference.

Author of the comments: Judit Almasi, Senior Human Rights Project Manager, Tdh Regional Office, Hungary.