Prevention of Human Trafficking and Protection of its Victims, especially Women and Children
Report on UN General Assembly Interactive Dialogue
4 April 2012, New York
Speakers:
Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, President of the 66th General Assembly
Ban Ki-moon, Secretary- General
Milos Koterec, President of ECOSOC (Statement read)
YuryFedotov, Under-Secretary-General, Executive Director of UNODC
Mira Sorvino, UN Goodwill Ambassador against Human Trafficking
Libran N Cabactulan, Permanent Representative from the Philippines
Jose Filipe Morales Cabral, Permanent Representative from Portugal
Michelle Bachelet, UN Under-Secretary General, Executive Director of UN Women
M Cherif Bassiouni, Professor of Law Emeritus, DePaul (Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize)
Somaly Mam, Co-founder and President, Somaly Mam Foundation, Cambodia
David Arkless, President of the Board, EHTN and President of Government and Corporate Affairs, Manpower Group
Alyse Nelson, President of Vital Voices Global Partnerships
In March 2007, the United Nations (UN) called for a comprehensive and coordinated response against human trafficking for the first time. The Group of Friends Against Human Trafficking and the UN Development Corporation (UNDC) called today’s meeting because these crimes not only continue but have increased worldwide. The UN Voluntary Trust Fund for the Victims of Human Trafficking has been established to assist with the financial consequences of trafficking, which can be as high as 15% of the GDP of some developing countries. The UN is also working to strengthen the fund’s relationship with business so, as part of a concerted effort, they can put an end to these crimes.
Human trafficking is taking place in all countries, regardless of wealth, and it requires a global response. CEDAW, which helped create laws to protect women from violent crimes, has been ratified by 187 countries, but these countries need to close the gaps between commitment and action. The focus must be on law enforcement, the laws effecting market forces and appropriate penal systems. Governments need to work closely with NGOs that have particular expertise in the areas of human trafficking and modern slavery in order to do this effectively.
A lot of information is available about the victims of trafficking, but not so much about the traffickers themselves. More attention must be paid to the perpetrators of trafficking. Corruption in law enforcement has to be identified at the street level: where the relationships between the police and traffickers exist. We have to find a way to take the profit motive out of prostitution and change the attitudes of male dominated police departments who place these crimes at the lowest level of priority.
The traffickers are working smart; smarter than the UN, governments and NGOs at this point. Those who are driving the demand (those purchasing trafficked labor/prostitution) can do so with impunity and those driving the supply (the traffickers) can do so with minimal risk. The problem is not a lack of legislation but the implementation and focus of that legislation. Without curbing the demand we will continue to provide an easy opening for those who are providing the supply.
In many countries, criminal law prosecutes the victims of trafficking, instead of the perpetrators. Sweden has reversed this trend by making it illegal to purchase sex, and they have decriminalized prostitution. The overwhelming success of this new and appropriate approach should be an example for all countries. In order to prevent trafficking, experts suggest governments: 1) include trafficking in curriculums for police prosecutions and judicial academies 2) ministries of the interior communicate to the police the need to prioritize trafficking 3) make a concerted effort to decriminalize victims, which will reinforce reporting 4)criminalize users.
Immediate attention also needs to be given to those most at risk. Extreme poverty and migration continue to make populations vulnerable, particularly women and children. Globally the link has to be made between migration and trafficking. Better support must be made available to migrants so that they don’t fall prey to traffickers. Migrants lose contact with family, support services and the means of survival. Those living on the edge or in extreme poverty are also vulnerable. A documented and illustrative example is women in Cambodia losing their jobs in a textile factory and immediately falling victim to traffickers; literally trafficker’s minivans waiting outside of the factory gates to take them away.
We need to put human rights and justice for victims at the center of our efforts. Economic and social marginalization creates the situation in which trafficking flourishes because marginalized women do not have human rights. Mothers must be educated about their rights and the realities of trafficking. We also need to protect the rights of the survivors of trafficking through mental and physical support, jobs skills training and legal assistance.
The US government spends more on the war on drugs each year than it ever has against all forms of human slavery. Strong legislation is lacking in the US, and enforcement even more so. Thankfully big business coalitions are stepping in to fill the void, in the US and globally. End Human Trafficking Now is signing up corporations who are willing to check their supply chains and embrace the Athens Ethical Principles.
Statistics presented:
-There are more than 2 million victims in the human trafficking pipeline each year. (ILO 2009)
-There are 129 countries with anti-trafficking laws but there were only 3,600 convictions for human trafficking in the world last year. (Vital Voices Global Partnership 2011)
-80% of those trafficked are abused as sexual slaves. (UNODC 2009)
- In 30% of the countries where the gender of the offender was known, more women were convicted for human trafficking related offences than men. (UNODC, 2009)
-The United Nations estimates the total market value of illicit human trafficking at US$32 billion. (ILO, 2005)
NGOS AND CAMPAIGNS mentioned:
The topic for the upcoming CSW57 in New York will be Violence against Women.
Vital Voices
The UNODC Blue Heart Campaign
End Human Trafficking Now
The Somaly Mam Foundation
End Human Trafficking Now
Written by Erica Higbie, Co-Chair, Ending Violence against Women and Children Team
FAWCO Rep to the United Nations, New York