New Assault on Human Trafficking

By Parameswaran Ponnudurai

2011-04-07

A fresh regional assessment still sees lack of progress in tackling the growing problem.

AFP

Hollywood actress Demi Moore (C-R) at a rehabilitation center for human trafficking victims in Nepal's capital Kathmandu, April 7, 2011.

Asian nations may have agreed to forge a network to curb human trafficking but the problem is still not being given adequate attention by countries placed on a special watch list by the U.S. State Department, officials and experts say.

About 40 countries in the region decided to establish a regional cooperation framework dealing with people smuggling after extensive talks at a ministerial conference in Indonesia's Bali island last week, according to officials.

This is the first time the region is taking a coordinated approach against human trafficking, which according to the United Nations is mostly linked to sexual exploitation of girls and women.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, who jointly chaired the talks with his Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd, said the regional framework marked a "significant step forward" though it is nonbinding on member countries.

It will help resolve issues, such as illegal immigration, in a "systematic and contextual way," he said.

“This is a milestone in the development of a coordinated approach by nations in and around the Asia-Pacific to address the challenge of people smuggling,” Rudd said.

The framework would deal with bilateral arrangements to cripple people smuggling syndicates through coordinated border security arrangements and strengthened information and intelligence sharing, according to a statement at the end the Bali Process Ministerial Conference.

Sex and labor trafficking

The prevalence of forced labor and sexual servitude is highest in Asia, with almost three in every 1,000 inhabitants falling victim, according to the International Labor Organization. 

Also, data from the International Organization for Migration and World Bank show that the majority of the over 200 million transnational migrants in the world are from Asia.

Within the growing pool of Asian migrants—reflecting greater labor mobility in the region and in the world—is a huge population of people who are victims of sex and labor trafficking, they said.

While Asian nations have agreed to use the Bali Process to seek solutions to people smuggling problems, an assessment released by the State Department this week showed that countries are not making adequate efforts to tackle the trafficking problem in the region.

The department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons sent to Congress on Tuesday the "interim assessment" of progress made by countries placed on an annual special watch list.

Progress report

Among East Asian nations, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore made only "limited progress," Laos and Thailand made "some progress," China and Taiwan made "progress," while the Philippines and Fiji made "significant progress," according to the assessment report.

The number of countries in Asia downgraded in the State Department's annual human trafficking report last year was greater than the number upgraded, the department said.

Many Asian governments lack adequate laws, and more have failed to produce significant convictions of trafficking offenders, it said.

In the East Asia region, Burma, North Korea, and Papua New Guinea remained at the bottom level of countries that did not even meet the minimum standards on battling human trafficking.

"While some countries in Asia have passed legislation to prohibit trafficking, governments as a whole have not yet shown the political will to hold the traffickers to the fullest account, in the form of sentencing reflective of the severity of the crimes they commit," said Luis CdeBaca, the State Department's envoy on the human trafficking issue.

"Some countries only focus on sex trafficking—and not from a compassionate place, but by locking up the women as illegal immigrant prostitutes or criminals, rather than recognizing them as victims," he said at a symposium in February.

According to the latest State Department assessment, China did not revise its laws to criminalize trafficking in persons although the government has drafted amendments to its criminal code to raise the sentence for forced labor.

"China made progress in protecting victims of trafficking, but overall problems remain," it said.

In Laos, the government did not report any efforts to combat trafficking-related complicity by government officials and did not create "formal victim identification procedures" or train police and border officials to identify trafficking victims, the report said.

In Malaysia, the government has yet to properly address labor trafficking or to significantly improve its care and treatment of all trafficking victims, it said.

It also has not yet developed formal procedures to identify labor trafficking victims among vulnerable groups, such as migrant workers, in order to refer them to available protection services.

Conviction

The Philippines demonstrated "significant progress" in combating human trafficking, but the government has yet to obtain a labor trafficking conviction since introducing an anti-trafficking law in 2003, the report said.

In Singapore, the government reported investigating 21 potential trafficking cases between January and October 2010, though it did not cite any new sex or labor trafficking prosecutions or convictions, the report said.

"According to the Singapore government, cases investigated for trafficking may be charged under a range of statutes, including fraud, but did not report any such cases since June."

In Vietnam, the report said, the government has not developed formal procedures for the identification of labor trafficking victims.

The government did not publish data about individual cases where it identified or assisted Vietnamese migrant workers subject to forced labor.

Although workers have the right in principle to sue labor export companies, in effect the cost of pursuing legal action in civil cases remains prohibitively expensive, and there has been no indication of workers receiving legal redress in Vietnamese courts, the report said.

In Thailand, it said, the government has not demonstrated progress in providing legal alternatives to the removal of trafficking victims to countries in which they would face retribution or hardship.

'Good practices'

Officials who attended the Bali meeting said countries in the Asian region were studying plans to formulate a blueprint of "good practices" as part of information-sharing and capacity-building collaboration in efforts to stem human trafficking,

Southeast Asia—where countries of origin, transit, and destination co-exist—have already launched a handbook on international cooperation in anti-trafficking efforts to help investigators, law enforcement and criminal justice agencies.

"It acts as an operational manual to strengthen the regional network of collaboration and mutual legal assistance,” said Surin Pitsuwan, secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Still, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR wants more comprehensive international and domestic legal frameworks to protect victims and check trafficking for sexual exploitation.

In addition, government officials "must receive more extensive training with respect to the requirements for the identification and protection of victims of trafficking, specifically those officials most likely to obtain first contact with victims," said Tyler Marie Christensen, from UNHCR's policy development and evaluation service.

Copyright © 1998-2011 Radio Free Asia. All rights reserved.

Open Letter to Thai Prime Minister - Request to Eliminate Human Trafficking and Forced Labour in the Thai Fishing Industry (Response to BBC World News Report) | Prachatai English

Sun, 01/05/2011 - 11:35 | by prachatai

Human Rights and Development Foundation

BBC World News issued a report on the 25th April 2011 that addressed the issue of human trafficking and exploitation of labour carried out by organised networks and syndicates that illegally smuggle and deceive thousands of migrant workers from Myanmar to work in the Thai fishing industry, including in sea fisheries (fishermen) and associated enterprises (workers in seafood packaging and processing factories). This report alleged that on arrival in Thailand, such workers are sold to brokers and detained and then they are also often further sold to fishing boat owners. This behaviour was equated in the report to slavery, which seriously violates the right in body and human dignity of human beings. In relation to working conditions reported by the BBC, workers from Myanmar are forced to work 15 – 20 hours a day. Those who work in the fishing boats are kept at sea for many years without ever coming to shore and are held captive on land awaiting their next trip to the sea. If such workers escape, the report revealed how they are tortured, beaten and their lives severely threatened. One case reported by the BBC was of a Thai captain who caught a migrant escapee, shocked him with electricity, shot him dead in front of other workers and tossed him into the sea. This case information was obtained from a worker who had jumped off a boat to escape his terrible situation and had survived to tell his horrific story.

Details off this BBC report can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12881982, http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9467000/9467216.stm andhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/ news/world-asia-pacific-13189103.

The need for labour in the fishing boats and associated enterprises of the fishing industry in Thailand, which is one of our countries top revenue sources, has constantly resulted in migrant workers being drawn into the country from neighboring countries. However, human trafficking networks have now increasingly impinged on such migratory process to the extent that now the overall image of Thailand’s prosperous fishing industry has been greatly worsened by increased instances of forced labour and human trafficking that takes place in this industry.

The BBC’s recent report does not only reflect on the employment conditions in the Thai fishing industry but also requests the international community to realise that fishery products from Thailand are closely related to situations of grave exploitation, forced labour and gross human rights violations.

The Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF), a non-governmental and not for profit organization established with the aim to promote and protect human rights, considers that the information contained in the BBC report is credible and consistent with the challenges currently faced by Thailand in protecting worker rights, particularly migrant rights and particularly in the fisheries industry. Human trafficking in the fisheries industry is a serious violation of human rights and of domestic and international laws which, if ignored, will have a profound impact on the economic and social development of Thailand. Accordingly, HRDF hereby requests that the Government of Thailand and the business sector, particularly that which is related to fisheries, take the following actions to solve the challenges currently faced:

1. Enact a law protecting all workers in the fishing industry with a standard at least equivalent to those in other industries in regard to wages, the right to public health services, the right to occupational safety and health and social security. Such laws should then be strictly enforced.

2. Genuinely prevent and suppress human trafficking that seeks benefits from forced labour and services in the fishing industry and its associated enterprises, with full cooperation from the association of sea fisheries and for sustainable interest of the fishing industry. Adhering to the respect for human rights and human dignity of every individual person, irrespective of ethnic or country of origin, should be ensured.

3. Assist to ensure workers in the fishing industry are better organised and improved database collection systems are crested that should include the seaman book for the purpose of nationwide monitoring and prevention of counterfeit records. In this regard, the suppression of human trafficking must focus on the process undertaken by brokers and the punishment of the sea fishery enterprises directly benefiting from human trafficking networks.

4. Assist in the set up of a system for monitoring fishing boats whereby the registration by the Marine Department must contain clear details that can accurately identify any boat and serve as the database for nationwide monitoring in order to facilitate the examination of information that will be beneficial to the prevention and suppression of human trafficking of sea fishery labour. Measures to be undertaken should include the examination of documents of the crew, the examination of the fishing license, the permit for use of fishing equipment and the area rental permit and the examination of the working condition and the labour rights protection systems of related individuals and enterprises.

5. Ensure the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand urgently undertakes serious monitoring of the human trafficking situation in the fishery related industry.

6. Cooperate with international organisations, including the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Special Rapporteurs on Anti-Human Trafficking, Migration and Torture and the International Labour Organisation, to ensure effective monitoring of this ever more concerning situation.

Open Letter to Thai Prime Minister - Request to Eliminate Human Trafficking and Forced Labour in the Thai Fishing Industry (Response to BBC World News Report) | Prachatai English

Source: prachatai.com

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BBC News - Anti-human trafficking post criticised

Source: BBC News

Pete Clark of Terence Higgins Trust Cymru
wants help for those already working in the sex industry

The head of a sexual health charity has criticised a Welsh Assembly Government decision to appoint an anti-human trafficking officer.

Pete Clark of Terence Higgins Trust Cymru said the money would be better spent helping existing sex workers.

It comes as a senior police officer rejected suggestions that sex trafficking was on the rise in Wales.

The assembly government defended the decision, and said the post would uncover the true scale of trafficking.

At least 2,600 women are working as prostitutes in Wales and England after having been trafficked from abroad, research for the police suggests.

The new post was announced on 9 September by Social Justice Minister Carl Sargeant in response to a cross-party assembly report which found Wales' 22 local authorities put the number of "proven" or "suspected" cases of human trafficking at 15 in the past year.

However, the group's chair, Joyce Watson, said more women and children were being enslaved in the industry than official figures suggested and the number could surge around the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor, Newport in early October.

"Trafficking is a modern-day slavery which is happening near us now, and not just in our big cities”

Joyce Watson AM

Mid and West Wales AM Ms Watson felt there was a danger of people ignoring the real issue - that of the involvement of minors in the sex trade.

She said: "All those identified in our report as being subject to human trafficking are children.

"Although we approached 22 local authorities, I know these are not the true figures. One of the authorities who did not respond in time told me it had 19 cases alone and another told me they had regular incidents involving children and trafficking, either for sex or forced labour.

'Wild guess-timates'

"I'm delighted Mr Sargeant agreed to appoint the co-ordinator. I'm hoping the post will pull all the different agencies together so that people feel more empowered to report suspected incidents of trafficking.

"Trafficking is a modern-day slavery which is happening near us now, and not just in our big cities."

Disagreeing, Mr Clark told BBC Wales' Eye on Wales programme: "The figures have been thrown about, wild 'guess-timates' of the number of women who are trafficked into sex work, but there's very little evidence to support this either in England or Wales.

Police say at least 2,600 women working as
prostitutes in Wales and England were trafficked

"What we do know is there's a considerable number of economic migrants, young women who have come from other areas of the world to sell sex in Wales because they can earn 10 times what they can from selling sex in their own country.

"There's a massive difference between somebody being trafficked and somebody making an economic choice to move to a different country."

He said he would be watching how the new assembly post evolved with interest, but the money could have been put to better use.

"I think that money would be much better spent addressing the issue of sex workers and ensuring the safety of sex workers regardless of whether they are working on streets, in brothels or from private apartments," he said.

"There is not much evidence of human trafficking, but forced labour is occurring” Jeff Farrar Assistant chief constable, Gwent Police

Forced labour

"We seem to be spending an awful lot of time, money and effort looking for another population on top of these when those people who are already visible do not have the services they need."

Assistant chief constable Jeff Farrar of Gwent Police, who leads on protecting vulnerable people and human trafficking for the Association of Chief Police Officers Cymru, welcomed the new post.

He said the report had enabled an improvement in intelligence gathering on the trafficking situation by the police, the voluntary sector and government agencies.

Citing police figures which are separate from those the assembly gathered from local authorities, he said: "There is not much evidence of human trafficking, but forced labour is occurring.

"In the past 12 months we have had 22 referrals through the national referral mechanism from across the whole of Wales.

"Of those we have sent through, nine have been male and 13 women, 13 adult and nine children."

Knowledge and expertise

Of the children referred, seven were exploited through labour, one was sexual exploitation and one was unknown exploitation.

Mr Farrar said he accepted trying to get somebody who was being sexually exploited to report it to the police was very difficult and the true picture may be greater.

But he said the new assembly post could only assist in achieving a truer picture of the current trafficking situation.

A Welsh Assembly Government spokesperson said the post would help uncover more victims of trafficking.

"The post, which will sit with the Gwent Police force, will bring together the knowledge and expertise of relevant authorities such as the police, social services and the UK Border Agency, the Children's Commissioner for Wales and voluntary organisations," said the spokesperson.

"The post holder will be responsible for developing community specific strategies which reflect an area's landscape - rural, urban, linguistic and cultural, and raise awareness of local people so more traffickers and victims could be uncovered.

"The post holder will also ensure that Wales gathers evidence to show what services are required and where in the country they should be targeted."

Eye on Wales is on BBC Radio Wales at 1300 BST on Sunday, 26 September.

BBC News - Anti-human trafficking post criticised

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Coming to Legal Terms with The Anti Trafficking Law | sexandsensibilities.com (Second of five parts)

Posted on 19. Mar, 2010 by in Government SASsy

 
Human trafficking is the world’s third largest black market industry after weapons and drugs. The United Nations estimates that 12.3 million individuals live in forced labor worldwide, and about 70 percent of them are women or girls trafficked into sex slavery.

In the Philippines, the estimates of individuals trafficked each year are in the hundreds of thousands. [SAS Editor's note: The numbers may vary because there is no official centralized database to track the number of trafficked individuals.]

In 2003, Republic Act 9208 or The Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act was passed.
The passage of this law made the Philippines one of the few countries in Asia to have enacted an anti-trafficking legislation. The law established an Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) composed of government agencies, non-government organizations and other civic organizations to develop and implement comprehensive programs to prevent trafficking.

Jean Enriquez is Executive Director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW-Asia Pacific), an NGO who played active part in lobbying for the passage of RA 9208. Jean dissects RA 9208 and helps us understand the complex issue of human trafficking.

1) In brief, what is the Anti-Trafficking Law?
The Anti-Trafficking Law or RA 9208 criminalizes acts of trafficking. Trafficking in this law is defined thus as the recruitment, transfer, transport, harboring or receipt of persons by means of the use of force, theft or even abuse of authority or inability of persons. This is done for the purpose of sexual exploitation or labor exploitation, involuntary servitude, or removal or sale of organs .

The Anti-Trafficking Law also includes clear provisions for the protection of all victims, regardless of consent. It also covers trafficking within borders or across borders and it also considers that victims, while saying that women and children are especially vulnerable, may also include men.

2) Zeroing in on the aspect of sex trafficking, how is this defined in R.A. 9208?
The very definition of sex trafficking already clearly defines the parameters of the criminalized act. It is about using recruitment or employment, or matching women with foreign men for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The are clear provisions in R.A. 9208 that pertain to sex trafficking.


I think sexual exploitation means not only prostitution, but also pornography. It can also be bride trafficking and other such similar definitions.

3) What was the trafficking situation particular to the Philippines that made this law necessary?
It might be important to know that before and during the lobbying for this law — which we lobbied for for 9 years, we were going around the country and saw there was no name for this kind of violation of women’s human rights; this recruitment of women who are desperate for work, but are brought to situations of sexual exploitation.

The women and the mothers would say that they just met bad luck. They would only attribute it to misfortune because illegal recruitment is commonplace here. They didn’t know that there is an organized force preying on the vulnerability and desperation of women for additional income; these women who think it’s better to leave the country to save their family from starving and dying of hunger.

But it [trafficking] is not only in the Philippines. It is a global problem that has already allowed businesses and establishments to earn a lot from the backs of these women who are sexually exploited for prostitution like those working in brothels, in massage parlors and even those fronting as entertainment establishments, but are actually selling women to buyers for sexual acts and the like.

4) What were the changes brought about by the passage of R.A. 9208?
Of course the law, upon announcement, started facilitating the conviction or prosecution of traffickers who have long been immune to criminal liability. Also, it gave the woman confidence to seek justice. Similar to other forms of sexual paradigms, it is not easy for the women to come out, but RA 9208 enabled more victims to come out and claim that they were actually victims of sex trafficking. The law also somehow increased the reportage of the issue because the law provides for comprehensive support for victims and also it ensures that the sexually trafficked women are not criminalized, thus giving them a sense of protection and security.

Because before, the government would usually blame them. They [sex trafficked women] would be told “You know what the dangers are out there, but you allowed your passports be falsified, therefore you are in connivance.”

5) We tend to think of trafficking as a remote reality that doesnt affect us. Why should the issue of trafficking be relevant to us, even as ordinary women?
I believe that women being sexually trafficked should bother us because it again gives the statement to all of us that there are men who think that there is a woman who can be bought and used sexually – which is similar to rape.

I am affected by every rape that happens because it’s a statement to all of us women that when you go out there in the middle of the night, dis oras ng gabi, or you’re dressed skimpily or you give signals, then there’s a sanction against you.

The same is true for sex trafficking because it’s sexual violence, it’s violence against women. R.A. 9208, I think it reminds society that we, women are not commodities to be bought and sold. And we ought to educate ourselves and the rest of the public that this is a standard already which tells men that tell the men you cannot use money in exchange for women’s bodies.

Coming to Legal Terms with The Anti Trafficking Law | sexandsensibilities.com

Human Trafficking-Canada's horrible secret

Image via Wikipedia

April 3, 2010
By KJ Mullins

In Canada stats for human trafficking are few and far between. Police know that it happens, they see the results of enslaving a person. They see the fear in the eyes of victims to afraid to seek out their aid.

Not every person who is taken into the human traffic market goes unwillingly to begin with. Many women have dreams of entering a nation like Canada. A woman may believe the are about to be smuggled into a country that will offer them a better future only to discover once across the border they have no passport, no papers and have been sold to the highest bidder.

Many do not understand that the police will help them escape their life of slavery and exploitation. When a person has been tricked into slavery the police will help them obtain a Temporary Resident Permit, which includes health care, and they are fed and sheltered for up to 18 months.

In 2004 Bill C-49 was passed to make it a felony for those who recruit, transport or conceal a person for the purpose of exploiting them.

Michael Wai Chi Ng was the first person charged under the bill but was acquitted of the 22 counts human smuggling charges and convicted of five lesser charges. He was sentenced to nine months for two counts of falsifying immigration documents and an additional six months for the charges of keeping a common bawdy house and two counts of procuring a person to have illicit sexual intercourse with another.

It took four years for a conviction, in May 2008 Imani Nakpangi was the first person in Canada to be charged with human trafficking after he forced a girl, 15, into prostitution. He was sentenced in early June 2008 with a 3 year sentence, minus time already served.

Michael Lennox Mark was sentenced for trafficking a 17-year-old girl to two years, only serving a week due to the time he had served awaiting his trial.

Jacques Leonard-St. Vil was sentenced to 3 years for trafficking a 20 year old. His time served prior to the trial though allowed him to skip that sentence.

In April 2008 Joy Smith, a Conservative MP said that human trafficking was "Canada’s best-kept secret and it’s a shameful secret.” While many think only of the women who are thrown into a life of sexual exploitation in human trafficking men are also victims. Migrant workers are part of the traffickers 'crops.'

Workers are lured with the promise of big money for jobs only to find that they are housed in filthy basements with their passports removed. It's thought that at least 800 workers are brought into Canada each year by the "modern-day slave trade."

The Toronto Star wrote about one of those men, Edwin Canilang in 2008. Canilang lived in San Carlos when he came to Canada, believing he would be building icebreakers for $23 an hour. Instead he dealt with alleged trafficker Bob De Rosa doing menial work with threats of deportation. The ordeal ended with welder Eric Martinez escaped in Hamilton, Ontario alerting the Philippine embassy officials.  Days later all of the men that had come with Canilang were rescued by Filipino consular staff.

"We didn't believe such scum existed here," Canilang, 32, said recently from the safety of a new home and job in Saskatoon. "Canada has such a great reputation worldwide."

There are far too few stats about human trafficking in Canada. There is no reliable data on the number of persons trafficked within Canada.

Aboriginal women are disproportionately affected according to the 2007 Report of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, Turning Outrage into Action to Address Trafficking for the Purpose of Sexual Exploitation in Canada.

Until the government takes their heads out of the proverbial sand then human trafficking will continue to be Canada's dirty little secret.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/289949

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Child Slavery In Uzbekistan

Image via Wikipedia

Craig Murray
Writer and broadcaster

Craig Murray is a human rights activist, writer,
former British Ambassador, and an Honorary Research
Fellow at the University of Lancaster School of Law.

February 26, 2010

More invaluable work from the Environmental Justice Foundation, in collaboration with Anti-Slavery International. Their latest thoroughly researched report estimates that one million children were subjected to slave labour during the 2009 cotton harvest in Uzbekistan.

This is essential work because it gives the lie to false UK, US and EU claims that the human rights situation under the Karimov regime is "improving", thus "justifying" their continued alliance with Uzbekistan as a logistics base and route for operations in Afghanistan.

Here is a selection of key facts from the report:

�� Children as young as 10 years old can be dispatched to the cotton fields for two months each year, missing out on their education and jeopardizing their future prospects.

�� Uzbekistan is the world’s 3rd largest cotton exporter and earns around US$1 billion
annually from the sale of its cotton to clothing factories primarily in Asia, which in turn
export garments to the west; and to cotton traders, many of which are based in Europe.

�� Reports in November 2009 estimated one million children working in the last harvest.
Cotton picking is arduous labour, with each child ascribed a daily cotton quota of several
kilos that they must fulfil.

�� Children may be compelled to stay in barrack-like accommodation during the harvest.
Living conditions are often squalid. In those places where food is provided to children, it is
inadequate, often lacking in basic nutrition and children can often only access water
from irrigation pipes, which carries health risks.

�� Children can be left in poor physical condition following the harvest; illnesses including hepatitis, injuries and even deaths are all reported. The harvest begins in the late summer, when temperatures in the fields remain high and can continue until the onset of the Uzbek winter. Children are not provided with any protective clothing whilst they work.

�� Children receive little or no reimbursement for their labour, perhaps a few US cents per kilo of cotton picked. However, payments are deducted to cover their travel to the fields and the food they are provided with during the cotton picking season, which can leave them in debt.

The full report can be downloaded from here:
http://www.ejfoundation.org/page93.html

Every year young children die during forced labour in the Uzbek cotton fields. Millions of adults are also conscripted into slave labour. Islam Karimov and Gulnara Karimova get ever wealthier.

It is a stunning fact that Wal-Mart, Tesco, Asda and C&A have been so sickened by Uzbek child slavery that they have voluntarily banned Uzbek cotton and set up, at their own expense, audit systems to ensure there is not Uzbek cotton in products they sell.

Yet no government has used available anti-slavery provisions in international trade agreements to ban Uzbek cotton. The EU has never even discussed the matter while, thanks to the influence of Western governments, UNICEF has never made any statement or taken any position on child slavery in Uzbekistan.

This is arguably the World's most depraved single act of inter-governmental complicity.

Posted by craig on February 26, 2010 4:20 PM in the category Uzbekistan

Craig Murray - Child Slavery In Uzbekistan

Human Trafficking Domestic and Abroad

By Eryn-Ashlei Bailey | Published: March 9, 2010

http://www.today.ucla.edu/portal/ut/artwork/9/3/7/1/5/93715/human_trafficking_istock-prv.jpg

Somaly Mam is a Women’s Herstory Heroine that we covered earlier in the series. Yesterday, she spoke at the Levin Institute in New York City at an event hosted by the United Nations Association of New York. The UNA has established human trafficking as the main initiative of their advocacy committee. There is a sense of urgency, recognized by the UNA advocacy committee as reports from the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that human trafficking is a business worth 4 billion dollars annually. According to this study, there are 4 million victims of human trafficking each year.

There are numerous misconceptions surrounding this new focus on human trafficking. Some of these misconceptions include that girls are exploited by men for sex. But, brothel owners that are exploiting women are often owned and operated by women. The second misconception is that human trafficking is a foreign problem but it is something that takes place right in New York City. Forced prostitution is not only imposed on women of Eastern Europe but on young girls and boys on every continent, in every country, in every city.

Carol Smolenski, the Executive Director of ECPAT, was the first of five panelists to speak at last night’s engagement. Her discussion focused primarily on American children who are trafficked and forced into sexual slavery. There are very few reliable sources of statistics on human trafficking, but she cited a study by UPENN that said 4,000 children in New York City are exploited by sex trafficking each year. Carol spoke about the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. This law is significant in the fight against human trafficking because it treats children forced into prostitution not as criminals, but as victims. Before this act, there was a widely held belief that young women on the street that were sold for sex were just “bad kids”. But, this new act ensures that these young women are entitled to services and treated as victims.

Carol also mentioned the ECPAT report entitled: Who is there to help us? This report discusses the fact that children are criminalized and punished when they are found prostituting themselves when in fact, they should be treated as victims. The road to prostitution of young girls is usually paved with some form of sexual abuse and neglect by the child’s family. There is also a “silence” around sexual abuse as mentioned by Carol. The abuse is unaddressed. Pimps prey on these young women and often use this line of reasoning: “You’ll give it up for free at home but you won’t accept money to get paid for it?” Pimps are mass manipulators and they pervert young children while preying off of their needs for love and affection. Carol referenced the wonderful organization G.E.M.S. based out of NYC and their film Very Young Girls as a source of information on domestic human trafficking and forced prostitution. Carol continued with mentioning the significance of the New York Safe Harbor for Exploited Children Act which was the first law of its kind to treat children under the age of 16 as victims and make them eligible for services.

The second panelist to speak was Jennifer Dreher from Safe Horizon. Jennifer’s contribution to the panel included an emphasis on victims of forced labor. Jennifer explained that New York City is one of the top three destinations for human trafficking in the U.S. There are 100,000 to 3 million people domestically trafficked each year. Reports show that up to 17,500 people are trafficked into the U.S. yearly. As mentioned by previous panelist Carol Smolenski, there are few accurate statistics on how many people are actually trafficked because of the clandestine nature of these operations.

http://www.intellasia.net/news/uploads/3/Human-trafficking23-300px.jpg

Jennifer’s organization focuses on foreign born survivors trafficked in the U.S., explaining that human trafficking is so hard to identify and address because there are so many conflicting definitions of what human trafficking actually is. There is are various definitions under international law, a federal definition, individual state definitions– if parties can’t agree on what human trafficking actually is, how can they adequately address it? She continued to point out that the media “sensationalizes cases of human trafficking”. Most often, movies and documentaries may focus on one particular group of exploited people such as women from Eastern Europe who are held as sex slaves. Jennifer’s unique work at Safe Horizon exposes her to work with the 60% of women who are trafficked into the U.S. as labor servants. These victims of forced labor are also subjected to sexual violence and physical torture on top of forced labor. Jennifer’s question to the attendees was: “How can you say if victims of sex trafficking have it worse than victims of labor trafficking if both groups are treated inhumanely?” Jennifer pointed out that service providers need to be focused in their outreach because human trafficking covers so many different issues, and organizations should be prepared to deal with each issue in a comprehensive manner. Also, Jennifer discussed the widely unaddressed issue of transgendered individuals in NYC who are forced to perform sex acts for survival.

Celhia de Lavarene, President of STOP, was the third panelist. Celhia is a French-born woman who worked in Bosnia as a political journalist. There she discovered two young girls tied to a bed with tape over their mouths. These two young girls had been missing from their parents for six months. Celhia gave a heart-felt speech about why human trafficking is such an important issue that requires a global response. Celhia explained that many children who are forced to work in brothels have been kidnapped by their parents. But, when men frequent the brothels, they just assume that these young children want to be there.

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Celhia highlighted that human beings are mobile and victims are stationed in countries like Liberia only for a short time to be sent to places like the Philippines, Ukraine, and Egypt, going on to mention that human trafficking yields a 7 billion dollar profit annually in Bosnia. Because women can be sold over and over again, they are more profitable than guns and drugs, which can only be sold once. It is a more lucrative business than selling arms or other illicit substances. Shockingly, Celhia unveiled the reality that UN peacekeepers are sometimes clientele at these brothels that victimize young girls. UN peacekeepers have a certain level of immunity from the law. Hence, they go to brothels for sex with children and go unpunished for their actions. Her talk was ended with a sincere charge for all attendees to get involved in the fight of human trafficking in any way that they could.

Guy Jacobson was the fourth panelist in the evening’s discussion. He works very closely with Somaly Mam and has produced several documentaries, written books, and speaks with Somaly on panels across the world. Guy is currently a film maker but in his previous profession, he was an investment banker and attorney. While in Cambodia filming a documentary on child sex trafficking with Somaly Mam, Guy relieved phone calls from intelligence personnel warning him that there were death threats on his life from the Chinese, Vietnamese, and Cambodian mafia. Making movies in Cambodia exposing their most lucrative business is not a wise move, Guy was warned. In order to continue with his documentary, Guy and Somaly had 4o armed body guards with machine guns.

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Guy, like Somaly, emphasizes that because there is a demand for sex with children, there is a supply for this industry. Guy discussed his action in attacking the clientele of these brothels, who are sometimes prominent Western businessmen. Guy suggested making the industry of sex with children more expensive, making the punishments more severe for offenders who rape children, and he also suggested clarifying the law in regards to child trafficking.

As an attendee, the most moving part of Guys’ delivery was his use of the word “rape”. In most cases that I’ve witnessed in discussing child sexploitation, words such as trafficking and forced prostitution are used. When Guy used the word “rape”, it added a new bone-chilling element to what is happening across the world. Guy mentioned that if a child was a prisoner of war and was raped by military personal, it would be considered a violation of the Geneva Convention. Guy continued to say that our governments would be taking serious action against these crimes. He stressed the need for the same reaction to be had when we learn that children in foreign countries are raped. Some of these children are raped 50 times in a day explained Guy.

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After hearing all the panelists and eventually the words of Somaly Mam, I was evermore inspired to work with initiatives to stop this horrendous crime against humanity and these very young adults. Last to speak was Somaly Mam who has saved 6,000 children from brothels and has established the Somaly Mam Foundation. In the previous article on Somaly Mam, you can find the wise and life changing words of this woman. She encourages people everyone to get involved in the fight against human trafficking and to “empower victims” whenever we can.

Next month, the United Nations Association with be filming Guy Jacobsons’ documentary “Holly”. Tickets are $10.00 and you will need to R.S.V.P. on-line prior to the showing.

Human Trafficking Domestic and Abroad

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8 Human Trafficking Cases Brought to Courts in Past 2 Years - Jamaica Information Service

Image via Wikipedia

KINGSTON (JIS):
Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Justice Minister and Attorney General, Senator Dorothy Lightbourne Q.C. (left), greets Political Officer, United States Embassy, Kingston, Dr. Don Baker, during the opening of the Ministry of Health's two-day workshop on the theme: 'Human Trafficking: A legal, medical/healthcare, economic and social dilemma', at the Mona Visitors Lodge and Conference Centre, University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona on Tuesday (February 23). The workshop was staged in collaboration with the organization for Strategic Development in Jamaica (OSDJ); the Norman Manley Law School, UWI; and the International Leadership Institute. Looking on is Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights (IJCHR) member, Nancy Anderson.

Eight suspected cases of human trafficking have been successfully investigated by the police and brought before the courts over the past two years, yielding two convictions, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Senator Dorothy Lightbourne, Q.C., has disclosed.

Human trafficking is defined as the practice of humans being tricked, lured, coerced or otherwise removed from their home or country, and forced to work with no or low payment, or in terms which are highly exploitative.

Senator Lightbourne was speaking at the opening of a two-day workshop on the theme, "Human Trafficking: A legal, medical/health care, economic and social dilemma", hosted by the Ministry of Health, at the Mona Visitor Lodge and Conference Centre, University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Andrew, on Tuesday (February 23).

She said that the eight cases investigated incorporated five raids conducted last year, resulting in 22 persons being interviewed, of which four were arrested and three brought before the courts. Two of those cases yielded the convictions.

Senator Lightbourne alluded to the United States Department of State's Trafficking in Persons 2009 Report which, she said, revealed that the activity had expanded to some 175 countries, reflecting 90.2 per cent of the world's nations.

She said that, additionally, the United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) reported that, globally, there are 12.3 million adults and children and children "at any time" in "forced labour and sexual servitude", resulting from human trafficking.

Justice Minister and Attorney General, Senator Hon. Dorothy Lightbourne Q.C. (left), consults with Chief Justice, Hon. Zaila McCalla, during the opening of the Ministry of Health's two-day workshop on the theme: 'Human Trafficking: A legal, medical/healthcare, economic and social dilemma', at the Mona Visitors Lodge and Conference Centre, University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona on Tuesday (February 23). Senator Lightbourne was guest speaker at the workshop, which was staged n collaboration with the organization for Strategic Development in Jamaica (OSDJ); the Norman Manley Law School, UWI; and the International Leadership Institute.


"The financial crisis which has affected the world, over the past two years, has led to more workers, especially females, being willing to take greater risks for economic opportunities for themselves and their families, making them more vulnerable to traffickers, who lure them with promises of jobs and other prospects," the Minister noted.

She pointed out that "reports" indicate that, in Jamaica, it is primarily poor women and girls and, increasingly, boys who are trafficked from rural to urban and tourist areas, for "commercial sexual exploitation."

She asserted that with human trafficking being the second largest and fastest growing international criminal activity globally, "we must become aware of the legal, medical/healthcare, economic and social aspects of the dilemma in our effort to fight it in Jamaica and the Caribbean."

Senator Lightbourne advised that administration has undertaken the establishment of legislation and other activities aimed at curbing the incidence of human trafficking, locally. These include passage of the Trafficking in Persons (Suppression and Punishment) Act in 2007 to "advance our national efforts."

"The Act provides for increased penalties for persons who have committed, facilitated or, knowingly, benefited from human trafficking, with a fine of up to 10 years, or both fine and imprisonment," she outlined.

She added that the Act also facilitates support for victims, by providing access to medical, psychological, legal and victim protection services.

Justice Minister and Attorney General, Senator Hon. Dorothy Lightbourne Q.C. (left), conversing with Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights (IJCHR) member, Nancy Anderson, during the opening of the Ministry of Health's two-day workshop on the theme: 'Human Trafficking: A legal, medical/healthcare, economic and social dilemma', at the Mona Visitors Lodge and Conference Centre, University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Andrew, on Tuesday (February 23).


Other pieces of legislation, which the Minister said have been enacted, specifically aimed at protecting children, are the Childcare and Protection Act, which stipulates a fine or imprisonment of up to 10 years, and the Child Pornography (Prevention) Act, and the Sexual Offences Act, which she pointed out, all "seek to crack down physical and sexual exploitation in forms that can lead to or promote human trafficking."

Senator Lightbourne also advised that upwards of $25 million was slated to be spent to refurbish three buildings, which will be used as safe shelters for victims of human trafficking in Jamaica.

"These shelters are discreet, but they are located in the northern, southern and central areas of the island and will provide bedrooms, a counselling centre where victims can receive therapy or meet with legal officers, she explained.

They also contain: a sick bay; a training room; a recreational room for adults; and a play room for children; outdoor space for recreational activities; and living quarters for a house mother and a security officer; as well as security fencing around the houses.

The Minister disclosed that one shelter has already been completed at a cost of $10.7 million, adding that the second is 75 per cent complete at a cost, to date, of $8 million. Fifty per cent of the third shelter has been completed, at a cost of $2 million thus far. Cumulatively, they will be able to house 36 persons.

Upon completion, the shelters will be handed over to the Ministry of National Security for their management, and the Ministry of Justice will continue to provide assistance to the victims through the role that the Victim Support Unit (VSU) plays in the justice system, by counselling and other forms of support, Miss Lightbourne said.

She also noted that a Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Unit, within the Organized Crime Investigation Unit (OCID) of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), has also been established. The Unit is staffed by five officers, assigned to investigate cases of trafficking.

The workshop, which ends on Wednesday (February 24), brings together stakeholders from various sectors and interests for discussions on the issue of human trafficking, and the way forward for Jamaica in effectively addressing the matter.

The Ministry of Health is staging the event in collaboration with the Organization for Strategic Development in Jamaica (OSDJ); the Norman Manley Law School, UWI; and the International Leadership Institute.

8 Human Trafficking Cases Brought to Courts in Past 2 Years - Jamaica Information Service

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allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Minister Condemns Human Trafficking in Borno

Ahmed Mari
25 February 2010

Maiduguri — The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Alhaji Jibrin Maigari has condemned human trafficking and child labour, describing it as a source of embarrassment to the country.

The minister said this when he paid a courtesy call on the Borno State Governor, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff at Government House Maiduguri, recently.

He said he was in the state to launch an enlightenment campaign on eradication of human trafficking and child labour which is denting the image of country on the international scene.

Alhaji Maigari said the enlightenment campaign would be launched in the six geo-political zones of the country, adding that the choice of Borno in the North-East geo-political zone is strategic as it is the only state in the country that shares borders with three countries namely, Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

The minister said human trafficking is carried out in the name of seeking greener pastures in countries like Saudi Arabia, France, Italy, Spain USA and other developed countries.

Responding, Governor Sheriff said Borno State which shares borders with three countries serves as a gateway to human trafficking and called on security agencies in the state to be vigilant especially at the borders, which he described as being very porous.

He assured the minister that the state government will do everything possible to checkmate the activities of human traffickers and advised the public to report any suspicious movements to security agencies.

allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Minister Condemns Human Trafficking in Borno

About | KAVI - a short film written and directed by Gregg Helvey

Did you know that slavery still exists?

I was shocked to learn that 27 million people* around the world are enslaved today. As I began to research and understand the extent of modern slavery, I knew that I had to make a movie about it. People had to know. This injustice and cruelty had to stop.

“Kavi” is my USC thesis film. It’s a 19-minute fictional film about a young boy who wants to escape from the brick kiln where he is forced to work as a modern-day salve. “Kavi” will be the first fictional film of its kind to expose the reality of ‘bonded labor,’ a form of modern slavery.

[TRAFFICKING MONITOR: Click on URL brlow to view trailer.]http://kavithemovie.com/seethefilm/trailer/
http://kavithemovie.com/seethefilm/trailer/


My goal is to reach at least 50,000 people with “Kavi” in the first year. The purpose is to motivate action through awareness. To such an end, I will collaborate with anti-slavery organizations that will link viewers to actual steps they can take to help end slavery. Additionally, this short film is the springboard to a feature length version for theatrical distribution.

You can help by watching Kavi, spreading the word that slavery still exists, and putting this issue on people’s radars through Facebook, Twitter, or any other means you have to communicate. Then take action by supporting and connecting with anti-slavery organizations (some listed in the “End Slavery” section), write your elected representatives asking them to make the end of slavery a priority, and examine the supply chains of the companies and corporations you support with your daily purchases.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Gregg Helvey

email: Contact@KaviTheMovie.com

*Kevin Bales, “Free The Slaves”

About | KAVI - a short film written and directed by Gregg Helvey

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YouTube - UN ODC Public Service Announcements on Forced Labor and Human Trafficking

A selection of UN DOC Public Announcements relating to forced labor and human trafficking:

UN ODC Labor Trafficking PSA
YouTube - UN ODC Labor Trafficking PSA

UN DOC Trafficking in Women PSA
YouTube - Trafficking in women - UNODC Public Service Announcements

UN DOC Cleaning Lady PSA
YouTube - Cleaning Lady - UNODC Public Service Announcements

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9.5M trafficked in Asia-Pacific as of 2005 - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

INQUIRER.net
First Posted 13:04:00 01/21/2010

MANILA, Philippines—An estimated 9.49 million people were in forced labor in the Asia-Pacific region as of 2005, with a significant number believed to be in the Mekong region, according to United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO).

Thus, officials from the six countries of South-East Asia’s Mekong region and observers from the United Nations and other stakeholders opened a two-day meeting in Myanmar Thursday to step up the war on human trafficking, including sexual slavery and labor exploitation.

The meeting brings together ministers from China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, along with observers from the UN, including the UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking of Persons Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and donors.

“It is only through this kind of coordinated approach and solidarity of the counter-trafficking community that we can make a real difference in the lives of people who are suffering the cruel consequences of human trafficking and exploitation,” UN Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP) regional manager Matthew Friedman told the 7th Senior Officials Meeting of the Coordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiative Against Trafficking (Commit) in Bagan.

“Commit is unique in that it has fostered unprecedented accountability between the Mekong countries over the past six years,” UN Resident Coordinator Bishow Parajuli said. “I believe that this unity may be one of our greatest strengths in tackling some of our biggest challenges.”

Since the signing of a memorandum of understanding six years ago, the six countries have put in place legal and cooperative frameworks to prevent human trafficking taking place, prosecute traffickers and exploitative employers, and protect victims, helping them return home safely and with dignity.

The Bagan meeting will take a fresh look at regional approaches to counter trafficking, review plans and priorities, and discuss future joint actions, focusing in particular on law enforcement and the recovery and reintegration of victims.


9.5M trafficked in Asia-Pacific as of 2005 - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

allAfrica.com: Kenya: Slave Trade Booms as Poverty Bites

Abdullahi Jamaa
6 January 2010

Nairobi — A group of young are gathered behind a makeshift structure where they have been living on edge. They have been sitting idle for the some hours. Their discussion returns to poverty, and how to overcome it. Sweats are beading on their worried foreheads.

Indeed, if there is a poverty-stricken place near Garissa Town, it is Bulla Masalani Village. The sun sets gently, leaving a cloudless sky and the first hints of cool air begin to blow through the thatched houses that make most homes.

"The sun rises everyday and it sets everyday, and like that sun, poverty rises here everyday, making us a lost generation," says a 20-year-old youth we shall call Sheikh.

Seek asylum

"The only option now is to move out of this county and seek asylum." For months Sheikh has been weighing the possibility of making the long journey to Africa's biggest economy: South Africa. "We know that the journey is dangerous, but I cannot allow myself to be consumed by poverty. I better die elsewhere.

"We cannot further our education here, we cannot do business, we cannot get meals, so why should we stay in this horrible condition," he asks the man who completed secondary school two years ago. He has borrowed the money required for the voyage South, now he has only few weeks the journey with human traffickers this month.

"Many friends and relatives have already gone, some died on the way and others are surviving. The one important thing is to run away from Kenya," he says. Human trafficking business in the North Eastern region is getting bolder with every passing day.

"Of course we will have to seek better life elsewhere. We are concerned. Living conditions are getting worse by the day" says, Ahmed 19. Human traffickers have established a strong network to make money from those who are fleeing the sheer crumbling economy and the shocking unemployment that has ravaged most of Kenyan youth.

And here in the North, the scale of human trafficking is alarming. "Trafficking of people is very rampant here. It is a multi-million dollar business that is getting bold in much of the Great lakes and Horn of Africa region," says Mr Abdullahi Hirsi, the executive director of Northern Heritage, a local aid agency in Garissa.

"In the past few years alone, because of droughts, we have seen a huge number of economic refugees targeted by human traffickers with a promise of better life elsewhere," he said. A spot-check in Garissa, Wajir and Mandera shows that the illegal business is conducted daily, final arrangements done in Nairobi.

"In Garissa, at least five persons are trafficked in each of the more than 10 buses plying the route to Nairobi. You can imagine the number of people on sale everyday -- more than 50," says an anti-trafficking activist who sought anonymity due to security reasons. "This depicts a completely worrying picture."

Nairobi's' Eastleigh has been the hub of the internationally denounced trade. Economic and conflict refugees from Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Kenya are sold in the sprawling commercial centre to move to other countries. "Eastleigh is a connection point for most victims. It is where the journey starts and it is where most monies exchange hands," says Amina Kinsi of Ngazi Moja Foundation, a lobby group in Eastleigh.

According to a recent report released by US State Department in June 2009, Kenya is a source, transit and a destination country for men, women and children trafficked for the purpose of better lives, forced labour and sexual exploitation. Victims take tedious routes to South Africa and sometimes to some European countries. Traffickers make millions of dollars every month by arranging and directing the journey to South Africa. Some victims end their travels with shocking deaths.

The cheapest illegal migration goes well over $600 while the most expensive takes more than $2,000 for a journey that sometimes takes several months. "Sometimes, you become stranded in a town where you know no one. I spent more than a week in Zambia as I had run out of cash," said Farah, who returned from South Africa at the height of Xenophobia against Somalis.

"I reached Johannesburg after more than three weeks of journeying. It was the worst journey ever for me." The cartel of human traffickers usually collect per-head fee at every entry point of these countries. "Traffickers use unmanned border towns, often meeting with little police and security restrictions," says Mr Hirsi of Northern Heritage.

Some of this money is usually meant to pay kickbacks to Immigration officials and border police. "We travelled in group of about 10. At every point we paid about $100. If you don't have enough money, you are left alone and you may get lost. That could mean losing your money or even your life," says Farah.

The International Organization for Migration says women and girls are vulnerable to sexual abuse including rapes by even their own traffickers. Corruption among public officers has made life easy for benefiting from the sale of stricken villagers. Anti-trafficking NGOs in North Eastern say corrupt police officers are part and parcel of the business. Intelligence officers in the province agree. The authorities are incapable of changing things to stop the slave trade.

However, the North Eastern PC James Ole Serian says the government is making efforts to investigate and prosecute officials suspected of involvement. "We are having names of about seven individuals allegedly taking part in the illegal trade of selling people. We are investigating their case and we will obviously arraign them in court," he says.

Pressure groups are saying that bus companies from the region to the capital Nairobi traffic even young children. "Bus conductors and some police officers on major roadblocks are major players," says an activist. But as public transport gets tough for those involved in the business, the provincial authorities say these thieves have now resorted to more unlikely means.

Over the past few months, boats and dhows have been used to transport victims across River Tana. More are reportedly using government vehicles that are not searched by police.

Groups campaigning

Groups campaigning against the illegal trade are worried that trafficking industry continues to be a profitable one in much of the Horn, but there is misery involved. An assessment carried out by the International Organization for Migration in the target regions of Kenya establishes poverty and the search for livelihood as key factors that render people vulnerable to trafficking.

Over the years, trafficking has grown a well organised crime that operates on a global scale, with an estimated trade value of $32 billion a year. Lack of global action and accords to prevent the trade is one key problem.

"In Kenya for instance, there are no immediate laws that can be used to address this problems. Some laws and amendments are urgently needed to stop the vice," says Mr Hirsi. "You can realise the state of our lives. We are seeing traffickers are making money from people like us but we have accepted ourselves to be trafficked just to reach greener pastures," Sheikh finally says.

allAfrica.com: Kenya: Slave Trade Booms as Poverty Bites

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