The Council of Europe’s group of experts on action against trafficking in human beings (Greta) on Monday released its latest report on Cyprus, urging the island’s authorities to take steps to “prevent vulnerabilities” regarding human trafficking, particularly among children.

The report said the Cypriot authorities must “raise awareness among children, parents, and other caregivers regarding children’s rights and the risks of human trafficking”, including issues such as recruitment and abuse through the internet and social network.

Additionally, it said, particular attention must be paid to “children in vulnerable situations, including children living in and leaving residential care, children from disadvantaged minorities, refugee children and unaccompanied children”.

It also called on Cyprus to “mainstream the prevention of child trafficking through the school curriculum”.

Later, the report called on the Cypriot authorities to “provide training on trafficking … to teachers and other professionals working with children”, and also to remove the fee charged by the government to register births.

At present, Cyprus charges €5 for birth certificates issued within 15 days of a child’s birth, rising to €30 thereafter.

The report also called on Cyprus to “take steps to address the vulnerability of LGBTI persons to trafficking in human beings”, before turning its attention to migrant workers.

It said migrant workers must “enjoy the same rights and protections, including the same minimum wage, as Cypriot and EU workers”, and called on Cyprus’ authorities to “increase oversight of the employment of foreign and domestic workers and allow them to change employers without their immigration status being affected”.

It also said Cyprus’ authorities must provide “further training on trafficking to labour inspectors and other relevant officials”, and that this training should “focus on vulnerabilities which lead to [human trafficking]” and on “early detection” of such cases.

On the matter of asylum seekers and refugees, the report said it must be ensured that they have “access to adequate support and healthcare”, and that they have “timely access to the labour market”.

In addition, it said the Cypriot authorities must “reduce the amount of time unaccompanied children spend in asylum reception centres and ensure that they are placed in safe and appropriate accommodation and have access to education as early as possible”.

The report also included statistics regarding the victims of human trafficking in Cyprus, writing that 2023 saw the highest number of human trafficking victims identified by the police since the turn of the decade.

In total, 33 people were identified by the police as victims of human trafficking in 2023, up from 16 in 2022, 21 in 2021, and 25 in 2020. Additionally, at the report’s cutoff date on August 5 last year, 15 people had been identified by the police as victims of human trafficking last year.

Despite this, the number of prosecutions decreased year on year from a high of 12 in 2021, with nine prosecutions being made in 2022, six in 2023, and four until the cutoff point last year.