V.F. v France: Court didn't review victim's statements in-depth

The Nigerian applicant lodged an application for asylum with the French Office for Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA).

She took the view that a return to Nigeria would have made her at risk of being forced into prostitution again. She relied on Article 4 of the Convention.

The application was rejected by the National Court of Asylum on the grounds that the Court expressly referred to the issue of a prostitution network in its decision on 20 June 2008 with respect to the applicant. Moreover, after a careful case review, it judged that she could not be under additional protection. The applicant stated that the Court failed to review her personal situation in-depth.

The Court reiterated that Article 13 of the Convention only applies in the event of alleged violations of the Convention that constitute defensible claims in accordance with its jurisprudence (notably Rotaru v. Romania [GC], no 28341/95, § 67, ECHR 2000-V). This was not the case for the claims brought forward under Articles 3 and 4 of the Convention, since the elements contained in the applicant's statements do not allow to judge that the State has failed to fulfill its obligations under the above provisions .

Her claim was rejected as manifestly ill-founded, pursuant to Article 35 § § 3 a) and 4 of the Convention.

Full case law : V.F. c. La France, Requête no 7196/10, Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights, 29 November 2011

Trafficking ring cracked in Italy

The EU Directive n. 36/2011 has been applied for the first time in Italy to a case concerning 17 Nigerian women forced into prostitution in Italy. Each of them has been compensated with a sum of 50,000 €.

An exemplary Judgment has been rendered by the Court of Assizes in L'Aquila (Italy) in favour of 17 Nigerian women being forced into prostitution and in a severe state of exploitation. Each of them received 50,000 € compensation.
The story begun four years ago, when the Public Prosecutor at the Law Court of Teramo requested the Crime Suppression Division in L’Aquila investigate if theyoung Nigerian women were forced to slavery. Two Italian NGOs – On The Road and BeFree – supported these women and led them to overcome their terror and provide useful information on human trafficking networks in Italy.
The Court of L'Aquila ruled that the 19 defendants had to be sentenced to 100 years, thereby founding them guilty of serious crimes such as criminal association with the purpose of trafficking, slavery and illegal immigration.
However, the lawyers working with the associations active in combating trafficking in human beings wanted more: they wanted the victims to be immediately compensated with money and assets seized from the rich and ruthless racket. Their request was based on the provisionsof Article 600 of the Italian Criminal Code (enslavement) concerning prostitution exploitation and the EU Directive 36/2011 which requires compensation to victims of trafficking. Especially article 13 (Translator's note: it is actually recital 13 and not article 13) of the said directive requires that "The use of seized and confiscated instrumentalities and the proceeds from the offences referred to in this Directive to support victims’ assistance and protection, including compensation of victims and Union trans-border law enforcement counter-trafficking activities, should be encouraged.”
This victory has a highly symbolic value since it makes civil society aware of how serious and devastating the offence for the victims is. This ruling reaffirms that they are victims of a serious transnational crime that violates fundamental rights.
The two NGOs, BeFree and On The Road sued for damages in the civil proceedings and got 10,000 € compensation.

More info : Sahel case