Committee of the Parties to the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings

Recommendation CP/Rec(2026)04

on the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention

on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings

by Latvia

adopted at the 38th meeting of the Committee of the Parties

on 3 July 2026

The Committee of the Parties to the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (hereinafter referred to as “the Convention”), acting under the terms of Article 38(7) of the Convention;

Having regard to the purposes of the Convention to prevent and combat trafficking in human beings, while guaranteeing gender equality, protect the human rights of victims of trafficking, design a comprehensive framework for the protection and assistance of victims and witnesses, ensure the effective investigation and prosecution of the offences related to trafficking in human beings, and promote international co-operation;

Bearing in mind the provisions of Article 36(1) of the Convention concerning the monitoring role of the Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) in the implementation of the Convention;

Having regard to the Rules of Procedure of the Committee of the Parties;

Having regard to the instrument of ratification deposited by Latvia on 6 March 2008;

Having examined the fourth report concerning the implementation of the Convention by Latvia, adopted by GRETA at its 55th meeting (17-21 November 2025), as well as the comments of the Latvian Government received on 16 January 2026;

Bearing in mind the focus of the fourth evaluation round of the Convention on vulnerabilities to human trafficking and measures taken to prevent them, detect and support vulnerable victims, and punish the offenders, as well as the additional focus on the use of information and communication technology (ICT);

Considering the conclusions and proposals for action contained in Appendix 2 of GRETA’s fourth report on Latvia related to the thematic focus of the fourth evaluation round and follow-up topics specific to Latvia;

Welcoming the measures taken and the progress achieved by Latvia in implementing the Convention, and in particular:

-       the adoption of a new National Action Plan against Trafficking in Human Beings (2025-2027), in co-operation with specialised NGOs;

-       the measures put in place to protect migrant workers and to prevent and detect human trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation;

-       the steps taken to prevent vulnerabilities to human trafficking among displaced persons from Ukraine;

-       the provision of training and guidance to professionals involved in the fight against trafficking;

-       the efforts made to strengthen online safety and prevent trafficking in human beings facilitated by information and communication technology (ICT), including the development of educational tools and awareness-raising campaigns and the adoption the National Cybersecurity Law.

A.           Recommends that the Government of Latvia take measures to address the following issues for urgent action[1] identified in GRETA’s report:

1.    take further measures to prevent asylum seekers and refugees from becoming victims of trafficking in human beings, in particular by:

-       taking immediate and targeted action to remedy the deficiencies in the care and protection of unaccompanied and separated children by ensuring the allocation of adequate resources to municipalities to provide individualised support and child-friendly services, in full compliance with the best interests of the child;

-       sensitising professionals involved in the registration process of asylum seekers to the vulnerabilities that lead to trafficking in human beings;

-       ensuring that an individual vulnerability assessment is systematically carried out in respect of all asylum seekers accommodated in reception centres by staff of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, as well as persons detected at the Latvian-Belarusian border by State Border Guard officials, with a view to identifying individual vulnerabilities and needs, and respecting the non-refoulement principle (paragraph 76);

2.    take further steps to improve the identification of victims of trafficking for all forms of exploitation, including by:

-       providing further training and guidance to law enforcement officials, social workers, health-care staff and other frontline professionals to ensure the timely identification of victims of trafficking and their referral to support services, regardless of whether criminal proceedings are initiated;

-       ensuring that law enforcement officials and social workers adopt a more proactive approach and increase their outreach work to identify victims of human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation;

-       ensuring that a proper vulnerability assessment is systematically carried out in respect of all asylum seekers by staff of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, and that it includes the detection of possible indicators of trafficking in human beings ;

-       adopting binding protocols for the identification of trafficking victims amongst unaccompanied and separated children;

-       putting an end to the detention for immigration purposes of unaccompanied and separated children older than 14 and seeking alternatives to detention, in line with the best interests of the child (paragraph 112);

3.    take further steps to:

-       ensure that state funding for the social rehabilitation programme for victims of human trafficking is sufficient to cover the needs of all victims, including their access to appropriate and safe accommodation, for the duration necessary to achieve their recovery, and regardless of the victim’s willingness to co-operate in criminal proceedings;

-       ensure the provision of adequate support and services tailored to the specific needs of child victims of trafficking, with particular attention to unaccompanied and separated children, especially in the context of asylum procedures. This includes the provision of suitable and child-friendly accommodation and access to specialised assistance and psychosocial support in line with the best interests of the child (paragraph 123);

4.    take measures to strengthen the criminal justice response to human trafficking including by:

-       ensuring that the Anti-Trafficking Unit of the State Police has sufficient human and financial resources to investigate proactively cases of trafficking in human beings;

-       improving co-operation between law enforcement bodies and specialised NGOs with a view to ensuring that cases referred by NGOs to the police are properly investigated and that the police ensure a prompt and efficient investigation of THB cases (paragraph 153);

5.    take further steps to facilitate and guarantee access to compensation for victims of human trafficking from the perpetrators, in particular by:

-       enabling all victims of trafficking to effectively exercise their right to compensation from the perpetrators in criminal proceedings;                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

-       making full use of the legislation on the freezing and forfeiture of assets to secure compensation to victims of trafficking and ensuring that recoverable property which is seized in criminal proceedings is returned as soon as possible to the victim or used to compensate the victim (paragraph 183);

6.    review the legal provisions on the recovery and reflection period in order to comply with Article 13 of the Convention, ensuring that all possible foreign victims of trafficking, including EU and EEA citizens, are effectively offered a recovery and reflection period and all the measures of protection and assistance envisaged in Article 12, paragraphs 1 and 2, of the Convention during this period (paragraph 189).

B.           Bearing in mind GRETA’s conclusions that some recommendations made repeatedly in preceding evaluation rounds have not been implemented or have been only partially implemented, requests the Latvian authorities to take steps to implement the recommendations in points 3, 5 and 6 as a matter of priority;

C.       Recommends that the Latvian authorities take measures to implement the other proposals for action listed in Appendix 2 of GRETA’s fourth evaluation report;

D.      Requests the Latvian Government to report to the Committee of the Parties on the measures taken to comply with this recommendation by 3 July 2028;

E.       Invites the Latvian Government to continue the dialogue in progress with GRETA and to keep GRETA regularly informed of the measures taken in response to GRETA’s conclusions.