UNICEF France calls for protecting underage victims of criminal exploitation rather than punishment
"These were minors living on the street," said Noémie Ninnin, advocacy officer for protection and justice at UNICEF France. "Exploiters took them in, fed them, and then initially gave them drugs for free." That is where the cycle began. Addiction led them to commit offenses. "This is chemical control, which is a form of human trafficking," she said.
Yet "the justice system often favors expedited procedures and punitive measures over socio-educational solutions," the report points out. Perpetrators have been tried and convicted when they were victims of exploitation for criminal purposes themselves. UNICEF France addressed this issue by interviewing judges, lawyers, doctors and advocacy groups; examining international law regarding children; and drawing on practices in neighboring countries. They then formulated 75 recommendations to public authorities.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
LeMonde
13 hours ago
- LeMonde
Trial ordered for deadly 1982 attack on Paris Jewish restaurant
There will be six defendants, four of whom will be tried in absentia. On Thursday, July 31, the investigating judge ordered a trial for the six individuals before a specially constituted criminal court. They are each accused of participating in the antisemitic attack on Rue des Rosiers in Paris, on August 9, 1982, leaving six dead in and in front of a Jewish restaurant. The trial has not yet been scheduled and will be held in the presence of only two of the defendants: Walid Abou Zayed, a 66-year-old Norwegian of Palestinian origin who is thought to be one of the gunmen and has been held in France since 2020, and Hazza Taha, who is suspected of having hiden weapons and is currently under conditional release. Hicham Harb (real name Mahmoud Khader Abed Adra), Nizar Tawfiq Hamada, Amjad Atta (real name Souhair Al-Abassi), and Nabil Othmane are the four other defendants. The first two are living in the West Bank, the others in Jordan and Kuwait, respectively. The authorities in these countries and territories have either refused to extradite them or have not responded to the French international arrest warrants. All four remain wanted.
LeMonde
14 hours ago
- LeMonde
French prosecutors seek trial for PSG's Achraf Hakimi over rape charge
French prosecutors on Friday, August 1, called for Paris Saint-Germain star Achraf Hakimi to face trial for the alleged rape of a woman in 2023, which the Moroccan international denies. The Nanterre prosecutor's office told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that they had requested that the investigating judge refer the rape charge to a criminal court. "It is now up to the investigating magistrate to make a decision within the framework of his order," the prosecutor's office told AFP in a statement. Hakimi, 26, played a major role in PSG's run to their first Champions League title, the full-back scoring the opener in the 5-0 rout of Inter Milan in the final in May. Hakimi, who helped Morocco to their historic run to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup, was charged in March 2023 with raping a 24-year-old woman. Hakimi allegedly paid for his accuser to travel to his home on February 25, 2023, in the Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt while his wife and children were away on holiday. On the night in question she said she had traveled to his house in d by police. Although the woman refused to make a formal accusation, prosecutors decided to press charges against the player. She told police at the time that she had met Hakimi in January 2023 on Instagram. Contacted by AFP after Friday's development, Hakimi's lawyer Fanny Colin described the night in question she said she had travelled to his house in a taxi paid for by Hakimi. She told police Hakimi had started kissing her and making non consensual sexual advances, before raping her, a police source told AFP at the time. She said she managed to break free to text a friend who came to pick her up. Contacted by AFP after Friday's development Hakimi's lawyer Fanny Colin described the call by prosecutors for a trial as "incomprehensible and senseless in light of the case's elements". "If these requisitions were to be followed, we would obviously pursue all avenues of appeal," she added. "My client welcomes this news with immense relief," Rachel-Flore Pardo, the lawyer representing the woman, told AFP.
LeMonde
a day ago
- LeMonde
France halts Gaza arrivals pending probe into student's antisemitic posts
France will suspend its programme to receive Palestinians from conflict-torn Gaza pending the outcome of an investigation into how a student accused of sharing antisemitic posts was allowed into the country, the French foreign minister said Friday, August 1. The move comes after officials said the female student from Gaza will have to leave France after the Sciences Po Lille university revoked her accreditation over the online posts. "No evacuation of any kind will take place until we have drawn conclusions from this investigation," Jean-Noël Barrot told Franceinfo radio. All Gazans who have entered France will undergo a second screening, he added. France has helped more than 500 people leave Gaza since the latest war between Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel started, including wounded children, journalists, students and artists. The conflict, triggered by Hamas's murderous October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, has seen Israel retaliate with a deadly military campaign and an aid blockade in Gaza that some rights groups have qualified as "genocide." Lille's chief prosecutor told Agence France-Presse on Thursday a probe had been opened against the student for allegedly trying to "justify terrorism" and "justify a crime against humanity." Screenshots of posts the student allegedly shared in September – published by pro-Israel accounts on X – include an image of Adolf Hitler and words appearing to call for the death of Jews. The account attributed to the student has been taken offline, after French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau demanded it be closed down. "She must leave the country," the foreign minister confirmed, adding that discussions were ongoing to determine her destination.
