UN Human Rights Council
Topic: B
Preventing and Dealing with Human Trafficking
Aruba
Human trafficking; the illegal movement of people, typically for the purposes of forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation, has evolved into a modern form of slavery. Although many people do not see human trafficking taking place, it is a crucial part of society today. Women and young girls are at a higher risk for trafficking because they are trafficked for sexual exploitation. “Women account for 55-60 per cent of all trafficking victims detected globally (“Global Report on Trafficking”).” Generally, traffickers tend to be adult males and nationals of the country. In 2013 there were 9,460 prosecutions, 5,776 convictions, 44,758 identified victims of human trafficking and 58 new or amended legislations. Human trafficking is a worldwide issue that has become an even more imperative matter over the course of the past few years.
Aruba is a source country for men and women subjected to human trafficking. The Government of Aruba does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so (“2013 Trafficking in Persons”). The work of the taskforce and national coordinator was undercut by the government's overall decline in anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts in 2012; it did not initiate any new anti-trafficking investigations and has yet to successfully prosecute any sex or labor trafficking offenders (“2013 Trafficking in Persons”). “From 2009 until the end of 2012, there have been a total of 10 official cases of alleged or confirmed human trafficking documented by the Anti-Human Trafficking and Smuggling National Coordinator (“A Situational Analysis of Aruba’s”).”
“The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2003 added to the original law a new requirement that foreign governments provide the Department of State with data on trafficking investigations, prosecutions, convictions, and sentences in order to be considered in full compliance with the TVPA’s minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking (“Trafficking in Persons Report”).” This Act is followed by many countries who are located in specific tiers based on their ability to comply with this Act. The delegation from Aruba believes that the best way to combat the issue of human trafficking, involves a three tier plan of protection, prevention, and prosecution. The delegation of Aruba believes that this involves investigating and prosecuting trafficking offenders, and cooperating with anti-trafficking NGOs to enhance capacity to protect victims of sex trafficking and forced labor. With the creation of new laws and increased effort to stop human trafficking, Aruba feels that human trafficking will eventually reduce and become less of an imperative issue.
Works Cited
"Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2012."Unodc.org. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2012.Web. 12 Oct. 2014. <
"A Situational Analysis of Aruba’s Response to Human Trafficking."Ungift.org. UN.GIFT, 9 Aug. 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2014. <
Trafficking in Persons Report June 2014. : U.S. Department of State, 2014. PDF.
"2013 Trafficking in Persons Report - Aruba."Refworld.org. United Nations High Commissioner of Rights, 19 June 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2014. <
Brazil
Human trafficking is one of the most dire human rights issues that the world is facing today. From powerful first world countries to small, impoverished nations, human trafficking is a seemingly unavoidable tragedy that affects all classes and races of people. Human trafficking is defined as the trade of humans, often for manual labor or sexual exploitation. Because trafficking is a crime that goes often unreported, and victims are often killed by their traffickers, it is impossible to know the true number of victims that human trafficking rings claim annually. This system of modern slavery is a tragedy that no human being should have to endure; however, the International Labor Organization estimates that over twenty million people are trafficked annually, over five million of which are children. Of these twenty million, about four fifths of victims are forced into strenuous slave labor. These victims are robbed of every unalienable human right imaginable, even those determined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, signed by all but eight members of the United Nations as well as Brazil. Specifically, human trafficking violates the ban upon slavery and the slave trade, and the idea that all human beings are endowed to freedom and treatment that is not degrading or dehumanizing (Articles 3-5). Brazil, being a democracy in which all people are considered equal, understands that this tumultuous issue cannot be further ignored, and it is time that the governments of nations accept responsibility in order to remedy their wrongdoings.
Human trafficking is an issue that is very prominent in Brazil, as Brazil is the second largest nation for human trafficking in the world. Many Brazilian women and children are exploited around the world; however, Brazil serves mainly as a massive transit country. Brazil also serves as a destination for human trafficking victims where they are often put to work in factories and sweatshops. Brazil has not been turning a blind eye, and recognizes that human trafficking is an extensive issue. In February 2013, Brazil’s government announced a three-year plan in which they will spend over three million dollars to create posts in border towns, increasing security. The Brazilian government has also revised the penal code to criminalize the illegal adoption of children and forced labor. Brazil recognizes that they are a major player in many human trafficking rings, and the government seeks to remedy that by passing all preventative measures they can.
It is undebatable that steps must be taken to prevent and eliminate human trafficking; however, Brazil feels we must first recognize human trafficking as a duel-faceted issue. Brazil believes that, in order to prevent further human trafficking tragedy, two resolutions must be passed, one for the issue of sexual exploitation and the other on the topic of forced labor. In resolving the issue of human trafficking, border control must be first priority. It should be up to the governments of nations to fund their own border control operations, and the World Bank in collaboration with nongovernment organizations should fund an organization that creates rehabilitation programs for victims of human trafficking. Secondly, Brazil believes that harsher punishments should exist for those who traffic humans, much like the revised penal code in Brazil. Human traffickers must understand that enslaving another human being is intolerable and grotesque. The thought of an incredibly harsh punishment will deter human traffickers due to the risk of being discovered. Finally, Brazil recognizes that a program must be implemented in order to educate both youth and adults in how to avoid human trafficking and risky situations. By taking the preventative measures of border control, rehabilitation, the threat of extreme punishment, and an educational program, Brazil believes that human trafficking will significantly deteriorate, eventually resulting in a complete eradication of this tragic injustice upon the rights of human beings.
Bulgaria
The very first internationally accepted definition of human trafficking was established in 2000. It took until the late 1990’s for dialogue to be opened between countries, and to determine what constituted as human trafficking and what could be done to prevent and treat the issue. Currently, human trafficking is defined by the UNHRC as the forced transfer of persons against their will for the purpose of being placed in slavery. Contrary to popular belief, the slavery that human trafficking victims experience is not only forced labor, but also sexual exploitation and organ harvesting. It is also necessary to note that victims do not have to be transported over country borders to be considered a human trafficking case, it is possible that the crime be committed entirely within the victims own nation. The United Nations has also recognized that men, woman, and children can potentially all be human trafficking victims, and that any measures taken to control the causes and effects of trafficking should applied equally and to all persons. Basic human rights violated by human trafficking include the right to life, right to liberty and security, freedom of movement, right to adequate standard of living, right to not be subject to torture, and the right to fair work. The nation of Bulgaria has been actively working both independently and with the UNHRC to combat the growing issue of human trafficking within and across its borders.
Bulgaria has become somewhat of a destination for human trafficking victims, most specifically for woman and children being forced into prostitution. The Bulgarian government has recognized an increase in the numbers of human trafficking offenses and has, in response, raised their punishment for the crime from one year’s imprisonment to two year’s imprisonment under Section 159 of the nation’s criminal code. Since 2009 Bulgaria has been involved in a joint effort with seven other European countries in attempt to investigate human trafficking circles. The Government of Bulgaria has also made a great effort to protect and care for the Bulgarian trafficking victims. Beginning in 2008, all trafficking victims in Bulgaria have had access to free physiological and medical care. This free care has been made possible through both government funding to public hospitals and by NGO’s. The Bulgarian Government, especially recently, has worked very closely with NGO’s to provide comfort, stability, and protection to trafficking victims of all types. Six anti-trafficking NGO’s have been working to provide nine adult trafficking shelters and six child-crisis centers throughout the country. In order to prosecute leaders of trafficking rings, the Government of Bulgaria offers trafficking victims the opportunity to aid in investigations, and if they comply, then they are rewarded with full residency and employment rights. Through recent actions it has become apparent that Bulgaria has made preventing and dealing with human trafficking a priority within the nation, and is willing to cooperate on making international law regarding the issue.
The delegation of Bulgaria urges other countries to support and work more closely with anti-trafficking NGO’s to provide shelter for victims and to slow the rate at which human trafficking occurs. For instance, Bulgaria is a part of La Strada International, known as LSI, which is a European NGO comprising of eight nations committed to promoting universal rights and empowering trafficking victims to return to their lives. If other countries in their respective areas of the globe were to come together and work in harmony with NGO’s comparable to LSI, then countless numbers of trafficking victims could receive the aid they so desperately need. As another approach to preventing human trafficking, the delegation of Bulgaria would like to suggest an international push for education and awareness both of individual universal rights and of human trafficking itself. By increasing awareness it may be possible to prevent human trafficking in some areas. These goals can only be attained if international cooperation is maintained for the purpose of preventing and dealing with human trafficking.
Works Cited
"Bulgaria's Human Trafficking Concerns."Trafficking of Persons. US Department of State, 14 June 2010. Web. 6 Oct. 2014.
"Human Rights and Human Trafficking."UNited Nations Human Rights.High Commission for Human Rights, 2012.Web. 6 Oct. 2014.
"LSI Against Human Trafficking." European Network Against Trafficking of Human Beings. La Strada International, 2013. Web. 6 Oct. 2014.
"Trafficking of Human Beings in Bulgaria."Anti-Trafficking.National Comission for Combating Trafficking of Human Beings, 2013.Web. 6 Oct. 2014.
Cambodia
Human trafficking is defined by the UNODC as "the acquisition of people by improper means such as force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them". Men, women, and children are forced from their homes and are sold for forced labor, sexual exploitation, and the selling of their organs. Human trafficking ruins victims lives. Even when they are freed from captivity they often have contracted diseases such as aids and are shunned from their communities. Though human trafficking is a problem that affects every country, continent, and social class there are countries where the state of urgency is relatively high. These are countries such as Nepal, Haiti, Uganda, and Thailand where the statistics for trafficking a great deal higher. "An estimated 2.5 million people are in forced labour (including sexual exploitation) at any given time worldwide as a result of trafficking."Cambodia is dedicated to eradicating the trafficking of people on a local and international level.
As a country Cambodia is still trying to recover from the destruction and ruin of the genocide known as the Khmer Rouge rein. Many people are without jobs and have very little money.Due to the recent war there is a multitude of land that is unusable because of the inactivated mines that lie under the ground. This poses a large problem for farmers as it causes for them to barely be able to grow enough food to feed their families let alone make a living. This opens up opportunities for citizens to be tricked by foreigners and even people they know into trafficking. Cambodia is a destination, source, and transit country for trafficking. The Cambodian government has been working to prevent human trafficking and to protect victims. There are two temporary shelters were victims stay and are then referred to long or short term shelters. In addition there a multiple awareness campaigns which use posters, television, and radio to educate citizens. There was also a 2008 trafficking education campaign that reached 20,000 students in Seim Reap and 2,000 students in Phnom Penh. Cambodia also signed the "UN Protocol To Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons" in 2003.
The fastest way to obliterate human trafficking is to eliminate the poverty that causes the desperate need for jobs that lures people into trafficking. This would require clearing minefields needed for agriculture and educating citizens so that there are able to acquire higher level jobs. The removal of the mines would allow for there to be a lot more space to farm. Cambodia also has an education problem, most citizens do not receive schooling above the age of 15. The implementation of more strict education policies would raise the level of jobs available to citizens. Cambodia is eager to move on from the past of people being forced into what is commonly referred to as modern slavery and into a future where no individual is so desperate as to be tricked into something as cruel as human trafficking. Complete eradication of the trafficking of persons is necessary in order to create a world that is a safe for everyone no matter their gender or social class.
Works Cited
Columbia
Human Trafficking is an abdominal problem plaguing today’s society. It violates the basic human rights of being able to make decisions concerning your life and your body. The 2000 Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, or the 2000 UN TIP Protocol on human trafficking seeks to establish discreet responsibilities of state parties for addressing the practice and protecting victims. Articles 9 and 10 especially, require signatories to explore and put into effect preventive measures and to coordinate law enforcement efforts to combat trafficking. The American Convention on Human Rights has also addressed this problem. Article 6 of the American Convention governs slavery, as it politically bans “involuntary servitude,” “traffic in women,” and “forced or compulsory labor.”
Although Colombia is a member of both the American Convention on Human Rights and The UN TIP Protocol, The Columbian Government has had a difficult time putting these theories into an effect at the domestic Level. In 2005, Colombia passed Law 985, which specifically demonstrates the illegality of human trafficking, either for work in the sex tourism industry, or forced labor in mines. Law 985 also sets out fines and sentences for conviction of human trafficking, but results in very few convictions. Columbia has also sought to improve its police force; but these efforts show no substantial reduction of victims. One area Columbia has had much success is a trafficking hotline, for use by victims. Established in June 2001, approximately 8,000 people called the hotline within only the first 7 months.
Though Columbia has tried to solve the problem of Human Trafficking through legislation, and better enforcement, it is still overlooking several domestic issues. Victim silence is a major obstacle to the implementation of effective preventative measures against human trafficking in Colombia. The fear of retaliation from gangs that have gained effective control over some areas makes reporting uncommon, and the high amount of trafficking in places such as Risaralda and Antioquia has created a culture of complacency, which is detrimental to the prevention of this abominable atrocity. Also the issue of “market niches”, or areas that have a low likelihood of prosecution, high ability of clients to pay, and low cost of transporting victims, needs to be realized by the Columbian Government, as they are swarming with traffickers and victims, and lead to sex tourism. Although Columbia has issued legislation, they have struggled to implement these measures at the domestic level.