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On World Day against Trafficking in Persons, far more still needs to be done to help victims and end impunity for criminals
On World Day against Trafficking in Persons, far more still needs to be done to help victims and end impunity for criminals
19/8/15
Each year
millions of women, men and children are trafficked for profit. They are
sexually exploited, made to undertake demanding and often dangerous work in
homes, farms and factories across the globe, and find themselves victims of one
of the many other forms of abuse such as forced marriage or organ removal.
Yet despite the
wide-spread recognition that this is one of today's most exploitative crimes,
action is lacking: more needs to be done to dismantle the organized criminal
networks behind this, while at the same time it is critical that assistance to
victims be stepped up.
Against this
background, and with the second annual World Day against
Trafficking in Persons being
marked today, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is calling
for definitive and marked action to both end the impunity of traffickers, and
to drastically scale-up the much needed support being provided to victims.
UNODC's most
recent biennial Global Report on
Trafficking in Persons highlights
the true extent of the crime: with at least 152 countries of origin and 124
countries of destination affected by trafficking in persons, and over 510
trafficking flows crisscrossing the world, no country is immune.
Coupled with this,
society's most vulnerable appear to be ever-more targeted by those responsible
for this crime: a full 33 per cent of known victims of trafficking are
children, a five point increase compared to the 2007-2010 period. With girls
making up two out of every three child victims, together with women, they now
account for 70 per cent of trafficked persons worldwide.
The Protocol to
Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and
Children, under the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized
Crime, which came into force a decade ago represents a major step towards
tackling this crime. For the first time, this international instrument called
for all acts of human trafficking to be criminalized, including trafficking for
sexual exploitation, forced labour, organ removal, domestic servitude and other
similar practices.
Yet despite this
and other encouraging progress, legislation in some countries still does not
always comply with the Protocol and fails to cover all forms of trafficking and
their victims, leaving billions of people inadequately protected and
vulnerable. In some areas this has resulted in extremely low levels of action
against traffickers.
Within the period
covered by the latest Global Report, some 40 per cent of countries reported
less than ten convictions per year, while 15 per cent did not record a single
conviction. "This illustrates a level of impunity which is unacceptable
and highlights the fact that, at the moment, the traffickers are getting away
with their crimes", said Yury Fedotov, UNODC Executive Director. "The
world is facing many grave challenges, and our resources are strained. But we
cannot allow unscrupulous criminals to exploit these crises and take advantage
of desperation and suffering."
Juxtaposed against
the need for heightened action against criminals, there is an equal urgency to
provide support services to those directly affected by traffickers.
Speaking on this,
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his statement for the World Day urged support for
the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons:
a mechanism which works with NGO partners across the globe to help survivors of
this crime, providing shelter, basic health services, vocational training and
schooling, as well as psychosocial, legal and economic support.
"We must also
provide meaningful assistance to those in need, including protection and access
to justice and remedies. I applaud the donors who have enabled the United
Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons Fund to
assist thousands of people. At the same time, I urge greater contributions to
help the many millions of other victims of this crime move forward with their
lives."
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All comments [ 10 ]
People are bought and sold for sexual exploitation, forced labour, street crime, domestic servitude or even the sale of organs and human sacrifice
Men, women and children are trafficked within their own countries and across international borders. Trafficking affects every continent and every country.
In whatever shape or form everyone dreams of progress, whether it’s to be loved, to be seen, to belong, or for a better future for their family. Traffickers often exploit that desire amongst the most vulnerable.
Trafficking is so often seeded on deception. The Trafficker creates an intimate point of sale, making promises of progress like an education, a new start and future choices. This is the ultimate deception.
...A global market place where people are the product and everyone has a price tag.
It’s based on an international conveyor belt of transactions and exchange, with sophisticated trade routes and communications.
This human product creates profit, tens of billions every year…and growing.
This crime is so awful that everyone instinctively struggles to admit it exists.
Society doesn’t listen, business doesn’t see and governments don’t talk about it. Those trafficked are often invisible, always powerless, and are put to work.
The answer is for individuals and society to see this crime, listen for it, talk about it, and take action to disrupt this global system!
STOP THE TRAFFIK exists to equip individuals and communities all over the world to take action.
The key is for society, government and business to generously share knowledge, information and resources that can be used to empower vulnerable communities, making them safe, and to disrupt the traffickers’ trade.
STOP THE TRAFFIK exists to energise this movement of generosity.
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