Human Trafficking News and Updates Feed

Thai Men and Women Warned about Exploitive Jobs in Bahrain and Turkey

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 20:54:00 GMT

Labour authorities in Nakhon Ratchasima province have warned job seekers to be careful if they intend to work in Bahrain or Turkey. The warning came after a worker sought help from the Thai embassy in Bahrain's capital Manama.

The man was first told he would be paid 20,000 baht a month, and later made to pay 58,000 baht for return air tickets to Bahrain, said provincial labour office chief Saeng-ngern Khaolikhit.

When he started work he was paid only about 12,500 baht a month and the employer kept his passport, crane driver's licence and air ticket, Mr
Saeng-ngern said. Eight other men subsequently reported similar problems.

He said the embassy was arranging for the men's return to Thailand.

He also warned women who plan to work as masseuses in Turkey that they could be forced into prostitution. His office had received several complaints from Thai women working there.

Brokers charged each woman a job placement fee of 43,000 baht.

The Foreign Ministry yesterday warned workers overstaying visas in Bahrain to contact the embassy in Manama quickly, as the deadline for amnesty was only days away. The Bahrain government has said foreigners overstaying visas can return home without facing fines and jail terms if they contact their embassies by the end of the month.

Adapted from: "Jobs in Bahrain 'could be risky'." Bangkok Post, 27 December 2007.

Cambodia Approves Law on Anti-Human Trafficking

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 20:57:00 GMT

The Cambodian National Assembly unanimously approved the law on anti-human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

"This law is one of the first steps of reforming the judicial and court system of the country", Ang Vong Vattana, Cambodian Minister of Justice, told the National Assembly after it approved the law. It also helped to strengthen the rule of law and reduce poverty in the kingdom, he said, adding that the law will be exercised strictly.

Cambodia passed its old law on anti-human trafficking and sexual exploitation with 10 articles in 1996. The new law has 52 articles and contains more details than the previous one. According to the new law, relevant criminals could be sentenced to 20 years in jail and fined up to 2,500 U.S. dollars.

Cambodians used to be trafficked to Thailand, China's Taiwan and Macao, Malaysia, South Korea, Nigeria and Somali for labor, sex and forced marriage.

Adapted from: "Cambodia Approves Law on Anti-Human Trafficking." www.chinaview.cn, 20
December 2007.

Human Trafficking Crackdown in Vietnam

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 20:59:00 GMT

Local authorities will intensify their operations in 2008 to stop the trafficking of women and children across the Chinese/Cambodian
border.

Ministry of Public Security Vice Director of Social Order and Crime Investigations, Colonel Dang Quoc Nhat, said, women and children smuggling in Vietnam is very serious and complicated, requiring increasingly cunning methods.

As many as 900 human trafficking cases involving 1,600 traffickers and 2,200 smuggled women and children were detected from 2005-2007.

Police and border guards have also uncovered several rings that trafficked women and children from Vietnam via Laos to Thailand, Africa or Europe to be sex workers. Economic difficulties, unemployment and poor education, especially in mountainous and remote areas, were the major factors in the trafficking increase.

Adapted from: "Human Trafficking Crackdown." Thanh Nien News, 26 December 2007.

China Improves Efforts to Combat Trafficking through Regional Mechanism

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 21:06:00 GMT

According to the press conference held by the Ministry of Public Security, ministers from Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam signed the COMMIT Joint Declaration on 14 December 2007. Mr Zhang Xinfeng, the Deputy Minister of MPS said that China does not have a safety net against trafficking in women and children. However, China solved more than 2,500 trafficking cases in 2006, representing up to 80-90% of total trafficking cases. Mr Zhang also expressed:

· anti-trafficking efforts have received support from the highest levels of the government

· no law enforcement personnel were involved in trafficking cases

· more than 2500 trafficking cases were solved in 2006

· China has shifted from “combating trafficking” to “anti-trafficking”

· China will establish a database on trafficking

Adapted from: "There Is No Any Safety Umbrella for Traffickers in China." Beijing Youth Daily, 15 December 2007.

Welcome Remarks at the Second Inter-Ministerial Meeting of the COMMIT Process by Mr. Khalid Malik, United Nations Resident Coordinator

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 22:38:00 GMT

On 14 December 2007, the United Nations Resident Coordinator spoke to the second Inter-Ministerial Meeting of the COMMIT process.

December 14, 2007

Excellencies, Distinguished Government Delegates, Colleagues from the UN system, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good Morning. It is my great honour this morning to welcome you to this second Inter-Ministerial Meeting of the COMMIT process on behalf of the United Nations system.

Tackling human trafficking is a challenge which cuts across both national borders, and across different sectors of Government. As you will know better than most, preventing the illegal movement of such exploited people across the countries of the region is an important and legitimate national and regional public security concern.

It is also, of course, a development concern. Poverty is both a cause and a consequence of trafficking. The poorest people – women and children in particular – can be amongst the most vulnerable to the traffickers. Once people become trafficking victims, they are placed in situations where their basic rights are denied. Those trafficked into the sex industry are often not provided with condoms and are thus vulnerable to AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Those living and working in the most exploitative conditions in factories face great risks of contracting other contagious diseases. And their access to basic health and education, and to other vital social services, is minimal or non-existent.

As human trafficking is such a multi-sectoral challenge, it is entirely appropriate that the United Nations is so strongly engaged with the COMMIT process. It is hard to think of another field which better illustrates the way in which the three pillars of the UN’s work – peace and security, development, and human rights – are inextricably interlinked. I am therefore pleased to pledge the ongoing strong support of the United Nations in each of the six countries to the COMMIT process and the broader fight against trafficking.

But while the UN can support, advise and facilitate the process, it is Governments who must take the lead, in partnership with other national stakeholders. Looking back at the last three years since the last meeting in Yangon, it gives me great pleasure to see that this is exactly what has happened. In the COMMIT process, we have an all too rare example of a cross-border Government-led process delivering results according to international standards. I congratulate all of you who have been involved in putting this partnership together and bringing it to where it is now.

Of course, this is a fairly new partnership, tackling a large and complex problem, and there is a lot of work ahead. But we should take a moment to reflect on some of the practical outcomes that the process has already helped to deliver. In the area of victim protection, for example, I know that all six countries have already shared their experiences, and have together developed new guidelines which are now in the process of being adopted and implemented in each country. I also know that the new forum for exchanging urgent counter-trafficking information has already been put to good use. Grassroots NGOs are now starting to be able to share the information they have with the authorities, and this is delivering real impacts in terms of local law enforcement against the criminals involved in trafficking.

So, what must we do to ensure such early progress is maintained and built upon?
First, I hope all of us here today can recommit to this important work, and to take further practical actions to combat trafficking, protect its victims and prosecute its perpetrators;
Second, I hope that all of us working in this field across the six countries can also commit to ensure that all our work is consolidated and harmonized within the COMMIT process, so that we maximize our synergies and eliminate duplications;
Third, I would encourage you all to share the results of your work through regional and international fora you attend, in order that others can learn from your rich experiences. Human trafficking is, after all, hardly a problem found only in this part of the world.

In closing, I would like to thank all of you here today, from Government, civil society, and the international community, for your commitment to this vital work. I thank the Government of China, and Minister Meng Jianzhu in particular, for their leadership and for their kind hosting of this meeting. I thank all the senior officials who have worked so hard over the last two days to prepare us for today. And lastly, I should thank the staff of the UN Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region, UNIAP, for all their work in preparing and organizing this meeting.

Excellencies, Distinguished Government Delegates, Colleagues from the UN system, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I hope that in our discussions today we will reaffirm the importance of our work – on behalf of the most vulnerable – to take on the criminal elements that perpetuate human trafficking, and to eventually make human trafficking a thing of the past. It is a difficult task, but it can be done.

Thank you.

Source: UNIAP China

Two Filipinas Tried for Human Trafficking in Hong Kong

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:57:00 GMT

First Filipina women to be charged with human trafficking outside of the Philippines.

Jennifer B. Nicdao, 27, and Angelita D. Amparado, 39 were charged at the District Court with trafficking in persons and aiding and abetting the breach of condition of stay after they allegedly brought to Hong Kong, last July, five Filipinas who ended up working as prostitutes in the city’s red light district in Wan Chai.

Government prosecutor Edward Le Breton Laskey said the two women were the first Filipino women charged with human trafficking outside the Philippines. However, the accused pleaded not guilty to the charges and their trial is expected to last until Thursday.

“This is the first case that Filipinas were prosecuted outside the Philippines in relation to trafficking of people. This has not happened in Singapore or the Middle East,” said Laskey during a break in Monday’s hearing. “I am told that officials in the Philippines, including an adviser to the President, are very interested in this case,” he added.

Laskey said that he had handled cases of Thai or Chinese traffickers bringing into Hong Kong women for prostitution but this was the first time that he encountered the case of Filipino women being charged for the crime. “This is a landmark case because, if the authorities before charged only the trafficked women they arrested, this time, they’re going after the traffickers themselves,” said Vice-Consul Val Roque, head of the Assistance of Nationals section of the Philippine Consulate.

The five complainants in the case initially sought the help of the Philippine Consulate before going to the police. The police then raided several bars in Wan Chai on August 4 and invited for questioning at least 35 Filipino women, including Nicdao and Amparado. According to Laskey, a certain Loida approached the first two victims in June and offered them work in Hong Kong.

Loida then introduced the women to Amparado, who allegedly told them that they would work as entertainers in a club, and this could include providing sexual services to customers, so that they could later pay the P60,000 for their plane ticket and their hotel accommodation. According to one of the victims, the “loan” of P60,000 had to be repaid within three months after they arrived in Hong Kong.

There was supposed to be a written contract and Amparado allegedly even threatened one of the victims that she could end up in jail if she failed to pay up. “(Amparado) told her that she could earn money by drinking with customers but if she wanted to earn more money and repay the loan quickly, then she should have sex with customers,” Laskey said.

The women earned their keep by getting commissions from the drinks their customers bought at the bar or by walking the streets to look for customers who would pay for sex. The first two victims arrived in Hong Kong on July 26, 2007, and Amaparado and Nicdao allegedly brought them to a flat in Wan Chai.

“(Amparado) had asked (one of the victims) to have sex with customers so as to repay the loan to her. (Amparado) had also reminded her to have sex with customers every day,” Laskey said. “On one occasion, Amparado took her to a club and asked her to approach the customers for sex. (She) refused. (Amparado) got angry and said (she) must have sex with customers on the next occasion,” he added.

The two other complainants, who were allegedly also introduced by Loida to Amparado, said Amparado told them that customers would usually pay around HK$2,000 (P10,840) for sex so they had “to bargain” to “fix the price at HK$2,500 (P13,550).” “(The victims) subsequently felt that they had been exploited by (the accused) and went to seek assistance from the Philippine Consulate General on August 2, 2007,” Laskey said.

Nicdao was arrested in the morning of August 4 and she denied the accusation while Amparado was arrested on the same day. She refused to answer any question during the police investigation.

Adapted from: Philip Tubeza,"2 Filipinas tried for trafficking compatriots in Hong Kong." Global Nation. 3 December 2007.

Greek Police Break Up International Sex Trafficking Ring

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:59:00 GMT

Police raids in Greece's two largest cities on Thursday shut down a network trafficking in women for the sex trade in Greece and several other countries.

About 200 police officers raided houses and businesses in Athens and Thessaloniki in an operation overseen by the international police organizations Europol and Interpol. Thirty suspects were arrested — nine gang members and 21 associates, police said.

Thousands of women from Eastern Europe and the Balkans are forced into prostitution each year in Greece and other European countries under the pretext of helping them find jobs in the West. Police said in a statement that the police action had "broken up one of the biggest criminal gangs active in the sexual exploitation of immigrant women in our country."

Three victims of the ring — two Russians and a Romanian woman — were released in the operation. The gang operated in at least four European Union countries as well as several nations outside the EU.

The raid, which had been planned for a year, targeted 15 apartments, offices and other properties in the two cities. Police confiscated five cars used for transporting women along with mobile telephones, cash and around two dozen passports.

Police are seeking another 23 suspects, among them Greeks, Russians, Germans and a Turk.

Adapted from: "Greek police break up international sex trafficking ring." The Associated Press. 29 November 2007.

Chinese Police Detain Two Suspects over Trafficking Vietnamese Babies

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:02:00 GMT

Chinese police have detained a Vietnamese woman and a Chinese man who allegedly smuggled four babies from Vietnam into China.

The woman was caught holding two babies in arms on the China-Vietnam border in Dongxing City of southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Tuesday night, when she illegally entered Chinese territory across a river. The woman seemed not to be the mother judging from her appearance, a spokesman with the Dongxing police said.

Police questioned the 53-year-old woman surnamed Pham from Mong Cai City of northeast Vietnam's Quang Ninh Province, and she confessed that she had planned to sell the two babies aged below two months to a man surnamed Ruan from south China's Guangdong Province, the spokesman said.

Pham also confessed that she has smuggled four babies on three separate occasions into China this month. Ruan was later captured in a makeshift shed in Dongxing, which neighbors Mong Cai.

The two babies are now being attended by the Dongxing Municipal Obstetric and Gynaecology Hospital, the spokesman said. The case is being further investigated, he added.

Adapted from: "Chinese police detain two suspects over trafficking Vietnamese babies." China View. 29 November 2007.

Combating Human Trafficking in Israel

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:06:00 GMT

The Israeli government is expected to approve a plan to combat human trafficking.

The goal: Assist victimized, often abused migrant workers.

The government on Sunday is expected to approve a national plan to combat human trafficking. The plan will be presented by Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann, Cabinet Secretary Oved Yehezkel and Justice Ministry Director Geberal Moshe Shilo who heads the Directors General Trafficking Committee.

The plan calls for providing housing solutions to victims; establishment of a rehab facility for victims who suffer psychosocial and medical problems; employment services and translation services. Medical services will be provided by the Ministry of Health in conjunction with the Ministry of Social Services. The Social Services. Ministry will allocate NIS 4.2 million ($1.1 million) to fund the plan.

The project's initiators said that the motivation is strictly humanitarian: "the victims of human trafficking, slavery or prostitution in Israel deserve protection and care."

Currently the victims are housed in various temporary facilities, homes of human rights activists and volunteers or various ad hoc institutions. "These are inappropriate solutions that do not provide structured support services."

Adapted from: Tova Ztimuki, "Combating human trafficking." ynetnews.com 30 November 2007.

Israeli Knesset Releases Report: Women trafficking to Israel Drops Sharply

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:09:00 GMT

Report compiled by Knesset division reveals no women smuggled into Israel caught since beginning of 2007, but infiltration of asylum seekers grows dramatically.

The smuggling of women for prostitution and of drugs from Egypt into Israel has dramatically declined since the IDF has taken over the border nine months ago. However, the infiltration rate of asylum seekers through the southern border has significantly increased over the same period, a new report compiled by the Knesset's Research and Information Center revealed Sunday.

The report was drafted ahead of a joint discussion of the Committee on Drug Abuse and the Subcommittee on the Trafficking of Women set to take place Monday. According to the report, since the beginning of 2007, 898 people were smuggled through the border from Sudan, 430 were smuggled from Eritrea, and about 40 of the infiltrators caught were from Georgia, Romania and Turkey.

The report stated that no women were caught being smuggled into Israel to serve as prostitutes in the last nine months, but head of the shelter for victims of women trafficking in Israel Ruth Davidovich claimed that some 30 women were currently staying at the shelter, and that most of them were smuggled through the Egyptian border.

The committee members are scheduled to discuss the urgent need for a fence to be constructed along the border to stop the infiltrations and smuggling. Other topics on the agenda would be the frequent violent clashes between Israeli security forces and the smugglers, and the need to boost forces on the Jordanian border, which is also exposed to smuggling.

The report stressed that despite Israel's substantial efforts, the border remained volatile, with smugglers becoming more sophisticated and using more technologically advanced methods.

Adapted from: Yael Branovsky, "Women trafficking to Israel drops sharply." Israel News. 11 November 2007.

Human Trafficking Not Uncommon on Long Island, New York

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:11:00 GMT

There are hundreds of homes on Long Island where immigrants, especially women, are held in conditions that approach slavery, Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota said Friday.

And many of those who end up working long hours for little or no pay, or who are forced into sex slavery, are lured to the United States by unscrupulous people who promise safe, well-paid jobs, Spota said.

But, he added, "We all know, of course, that there is no nanny position and there is no modeling" job for them once they arrive, he said. Spota spoke Friday morning at a conference on human trafficking held at Touro Law Center in Central Islip. Speakers at the conference defined human trafficking as the illegal control of a person through fraud, force and coercion.

Spota described how law enforcement officials found several Mexican women held against their will in a Plainfield, N.J., house, and said he is "convinced that there are hundreds of similar homes in our communities." On Long Island, most of the victims of human trafficking come from Mexico or Eastern Europe, Spota said. They come for a better life, but find slavery, he said.

The Touro conference was titled, "Modern-Day Slavery on Long Island: identifying victims of human trafficking." At the conference, several law enforcement and civic organizations said Friday that they plan to work together to crack down on human trafficking in the region, armed with recent state and federal laws that include tougher penalties.

Adapted from: Joseph Mallia and Laura Albanese, " Spota: Human trafficking not uncommon on LI." Newsday. 30 November 2007.

Sex slaves, human trafficking... in America?

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:13:00 GMT

Some foreign exchange students are tricked and exploited in the United States.

In spring of 2004, Katya (not her real name), like thousands of other foreign exchange university students, was looking forward to the summer job placement that she and a friend had received in Virginia Beach, Virginia. When she and her friend Lena arrived at Dulles Airport after a long flight from Ukraine, they were relieved to be met by fellow countrymen who spoke Russian.

The two men, Alex Maksimenko and Michael Aronov, were holding signs with the girls’ names and greeted them by taking their bags and luggage. Charming and reassuring, Aronov informed the girls that they had been reassigned to a job in Detroit where they would waitress and perfect their English language skills.

The men drove Katya and Lena to the Greyhound bus station and gave them tickets to Detroit. Confused and exhausted, the girls had no reason to question the change of plans.

“When we got to the hotel in Detroit, everything changed,” says Katya. “They closed the door and sat us down on the couch, took our passports and papers and said, you owe us big money for bringing you here. They gave us strip clothes and told us that we were going to be working at a strip club called ‘Cheetahs.’”

Shocked and scared, the two women were subjected to physical, mental and sexual abuse over the next year as they were forced to work 12-hour shifts stripping for local Detroit men’s clubs. According to immigration customs agent Angus Lowe, the men controlled the women through intimidation with guns and threats to hurt family members back home.

Katya and her friend are two of the estimated 17,000 young women and girls annually who are forced to work in the sex industry in the U.S. by organized criminals. “Chicago, Houston, St. Paul, Minnesota, these crimes are happening in every community in America big and small,” says Marcie Forman, Director of Investigations for ICE (Immigration Customs Enforcement.) “We’re talking about money here. Millions of dollars and these people don’t think about these women as human beings. They think of them as dollars and cents,” Forman says.

In February 2005, after months of planning and finally confiding in a customer from the strip club, the two girls escaped and were brought to the FBI and ICE. Their escape resulted in the arrest of Alex Maksimenko and Michael Aronov, both of whom pleaded guilty and are serving time in federal prison for their crimes.

Even though her captors are in prison, Katya says she will never live without fear. Maksimenko’s father — who was also convicted of forced labor and illegal trafficking — continues to live openly in Ukraine as a fugitive from authorities.

Adapted from: Grace Kahng, "Sex slaves, human trafficking... in America?." msnbc.com. 3 December 2007.

Putting a Stop to Human Trafficking in the United States

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:16:00 GMT

Human traffickers force victims into hard labor or sell them for sex. Worldwide, millions of women and children are part of this modern day slave trade. In this country, the border is of special concern, and that’s where authorities are working to build awareness. It’s a heartbreaking crime that crisscrosses the border.

“We may have an individual who’s in the United States illegally,” Diana Kirk with the El Paso Police Department said. “They’re being trafficked; they may be forced into prostitution.” Or sold into the sex trade back home in Mexico.

The El Paso Human Trafficking Task Force brought together a diverse group of partners: prosecutors, police, community and victim’s assistance groups to learn more, including warning signs. “They won’t have any ID with them,” social worker Theresa Flores said. “They might not speak the language. They might be a child that’s out very, very late at night.”

The first time Flores attended a conference like this one, the Ohio social worker came to a painful realization about her sexual abuse as a teen. Now the survivor from a middle class family is speaking out and dispelling myths.

“I was targeted by traffickers and was threatened and coerced and forced into sexual slavery for 2 years,” she said. Experts call it a crime that hides in plain sight.

The community is the first line of defense: a simple tip from a neighbor, teachers or anyone who suspects something can lead authorities to traffickers and their captives — captives from across the border or across the street

Adapted from: Angela Kocherga, "Putting a stop to human trafficking." Khou.com. 3 December 2007.

Prostitution Fueling Exploitation of Women

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:19:00 GMT

The evil of human trafficking is receiving attention in many countries around the world...The illegal trade is carried out either to provide cheap labor or for the sex industry, although it is the latter that is receiving more attention.

The BBC on Nov. 6 noted that the United Nations in 2006 had named Israel one of the main destinations in the world for trafficked women. According to the report, during the 1990s and the first years of the current decade, up to 3,000 women a year were lured to Israel by false promises of jobs, only to find themselves forced to be prostitutes. Prostitution in Israel is legal, but pimping and maintaining a brothel are not, according to the BBC.

Japan is another country with significant numbers of women forced into being sex slaves, the South China Morning Post reported Oct. 27. Every year, 50,000 women enter Japan on entertainer visas, but sources cited by the newspaper maintained there are never that many working as dancers or singers.

Japan is one of the largest destinations for international trafficking of women and children for sex and forced labor, according to the South China Morning Post. Due to international pressure the Japanese police set up a department to combat the problem. In 2005 the new unit made 81 arrests, but only five cases have reached the prosecution stage in the courts, all ending with suspended sentences.

In England, an Oct. 22 article in the Independent newspaper reported the arrest of a gang of Lithuanian and Chinese criminals who made up to 5,000 pounds ($10,281) a day by forcing young women to engage in prostitution.

New form of slavery
"What these gangs do is modern-day slavery," detective inspector Gary Young of Scotland Yard's clubs and vice unit told the paper. The growing industry is being fueled by the expansion and sophistication of the Internet, he said.

According to the Independent, one estimate is that at any one time, up to 4,000 women are being compelled to work as prostitutes in Britain by criminal gangs.

The problem was also recently the subject of a study published in Ireland, the Irish Examiner reported Oct. 19. Eilis Ward of National University of Ireland, and Gillian Wylie of Trinity College Dublin, found 76 women from 20 countries had been trafficked into Ireland to work in brothels and lap dancing clubs. They said that the total number could be far greater.

A major front-page article in the Sept. 23 edition of the Washington Post examined efforts by the United States to stamp out human trafficking. The U.S. government has spent more than half a billion dollars fighting trafficking around the world since 2000. The State Department has an office in charge of investigating the problem, which publishes an annual Trafficking in Persons report. According to the Washington Post, estimating the number of women trafficked into the United States is problematic. Estimates vary widely, but one recent calculation put it at 14,500 to 17,500 each year.

The most recent edition of the report by the State Department came out in June. It estimated that in 2006, approximately 800,000 people were trafficked across national borders. This does not include, the report added, millions more who were trafficked within their own countries.

Trafficking and the sex industry play a major role in spreading HIV/AIDS, the report noted. In addition, violence and abuse "are at the core of trafficking for prostitution."

A seminar on how to fight against trafficking was recently held in Rome. The session was a joint effort between the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See and the Italian Union of Major Superiors (USMI). "Human trafficking is a critical (issue) for the Holy See," said Monsignor Pietro Parolin, the Pope's undersecretary of state, in an address to the seminar.

According to a press release dated Oct. 19, one of the fruits of the seminar was the creation of the International Network of Religious Against Trafficking in Persons (INRATIP). The new organization issued a statement in which it called upon governments "to address the issues of economic inequality, poverty and corruption which lead to the destruction of so many lives."

"We urge all people of good will to open your hearts to the victims and to act to change the root causes of human trafficking -- poverty, gender inequality, discrimination, greed and corruption," the statement declared. "Our hope rests in a vision of humanity which honors the principle that no woman, child or man is a commodity for sale."

Fallacy of legalization
To combat trafficking and other abuses against women in the sex trade, some argue in favor of legalizing prostitution. This is a serious mistake, according to the conclusions of a recently published study of how legalized prostitution operates in the U.S. state of Nevada.

In "Prostitution and Trafficking in Nevada: Making the Connections," Melissa Farley argues that legalization has not improved conditions for women, but has worked in favor of pimps and brothel owners. The boom in the sex trade in Nevada has also made the state one of the main destinations for victims of human trafficking, observed U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney in the book's foreword.

In fact, after a two-year study of how prostitution functions in Nevada, one of the book's conclusions is that prostitution and sex trafficking are linked in the state as in other localities. "Sex trafficking happens when and where there is a demand for prostitution and a context of impunity for its customers," Farley stated.

Moreover, the legalization of prostitution has created a culture that promotes the sex trade, and far from eliminating illegal activities, both legal and illegal venues flourish. Farley calculated that Nevada's illegal prostitution industry is nine times greater than the state's legal brothels.

This is similar to what has happened in other places that have legalized prostitution, such as the Netherlands and the Australian state of Victoria, she added. In the former, legalized prostitution has made the country one of the major destinations for trafficked women, said Farley, citing several studies and declarations made by local authorities.

By contrast, places that have taken serious steps to stamp out prostitution, such as Sweden, have also seen a decrease in sex trafficking, Farley argued.

Promoting discrimination
We live in a world saturated with pornography and where prostitution is increasingly presented as a mainstream activity, she observed. It's a world where only too often girls and women are presented as sexual objects for men's gratification, and where sexual assaults against children are at ever-higher levels.

Prostitution, Farley argued, is a business rooted in inequality: between men and women, rich and poor, ethnic majorities and minorities. "Legal prostitution has set the stage for discrimination against women, especially those who are most vulnerable: poor and ethnically marginalized women," she concluded.

Legalization also increases sex trafficking because it expands the market. "It's actually deceptive to make a distinction between trafficking and prostitution because the implication is that it is the distance she is moved in order to be sold for sex that matters rather than being sold, used and prostituted per se," Farley expounded.

"What's relevant is what is done to her in prostitution, the sale of and sexual use of a human being," she continued. The degradation of persons, whether in trafficking or prostitution, stand out as one of the major challenges to a culture that too often ignores the weak.

Adapted from: Father John Flynn, LC. "Trafficking in Lives. Prostitution Fueling Exploitation of Women." Zenith News Agency. 3 December 2007.

Police Uncover Human Trafficking Misery in the UK

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:32:00 GMT

A Romanian woman who was raped and forced to work as a prostitute is among 20 victims of human trafficking identified by police in the central belt in the past eight weeks.

The alarming results from the first few weeks of the UK's biggest-ever operation to tackle human trafficking in the sex industry can be revealed by The Scotsman. Seven women have been identified as trafficking victims in Edinburgh since police began Pentameter 2 in October 2007.

Most of the women are from the Far East - mainly Thailand and Malaysia - with many thought to have travelled to Britain to pay off a family debt, ending up in Edinburgh's sex industry after becoming "debt-bonded" to a relative living in the UK.

In one case, a Romanian woman who arrived in London on the promise of work found herself repeatedly raped by her traffickers, who seized her passport. She was found working in a brothel in Edinburgh. Four raids were carried out on brothels operating out of flats in the city, leading to three arrests.

In Strathclyde, 13 suspected trafficked women have been identified following seven raids. Three people have been reported to the procurator-fiscal. Police are now extending Pentameter 2 into the New Year.

Detective Chief Inspector David Bullen, who is in charge of Pentameter 2 for Lothian and Borders Police, said: "Like the rest of the UK, we have a human trafficking problem. The problem we are encountering is getting them to speak to us. Many are so mistrustful of the police, and damaged, that they find it extremely hard to open up.

"But they have undoubtedly been trafficked here against their will, often forced into prostitution to pay off family debts." A spokesman for Grampian Police said they were "actively investigating a number of lines of inquiry".

Amnesty International and Lothian and Borders Police have joined forces to mount a campaign raising awareness about the trafficking of human beings. A display describing the lives of those who have been trafficked has been placed at Edinburgh Airport, as transport hubs have been identified as key areas in the human trafficking process.

Amnesty International campaigner Naomi McAuliffe said: "It is vitally important that we raise awareness of this trade, we have come across stories of women being bought and sold in the cafés of airport lounges." It has been estimated that as many as 700 foreign women have been trafficked into Scotland's sex industry.

Anne Hamilton, from Glasgow-based Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance - which will host a conference on the problem - said it was currently supporting 17 trafficking victims in the city.

Throughout the UK, the first Pentameter operation resulted in 88 victims of trafficking being rescued from 22 countries. There were a total of 232 arrests, which led to 134 people being charged with a variety of offences.

Natasha's Ordeal
WHEN Natasha, not her real name, was 18 she wanted to leave Latvia and come to the UK to study. But her family in a rural part of the country could not afford that, so she found a job in a local café. One day one of her mother's friends told her that she knew people who were living in London and needed someone to help with their first baby.

Natasha was very interested - this was a way she could practice her English, live in the UK and send money home to provide medical care for her grandmother. Natasha spoke to the family in London on the telephone and they arranged for her flights and to collect her at the airport.

When she arrived at the airport, Natasha was collected by a man called Alex and taken to a flat somewhere in London. There was a heavily pregnant woman there, but as soon as Natasha arrived she disappeared. At this point Natasha began to feel uneasy. Alex raped Natasha and told her she was now a prostitute. He threatened to tell her grandmother that she was a prostitute.

After three months Alex sold her to a man called Dimitri for £3,000. He told her that she was now his girlfriend and he respected her. They then drove to Glasgow where he had some friends. Dimitri said she needed to remain as a prostitute so they could get a place of their own and save up for their future together. Devoid of hope, she agreed.

Dimitri would drop her off and collect her from brothels in Glasgow. She was not allowed to socialise on her own, and would be beaten when she did. Once he beat her so badly she couldn't leave the house for weeks. An end to her tragedy only came after police raided a brothel while she was there.

Adapted from: Michael Howie, "Police uncover human trafficking misery." news.scotsman.com. 5 December 2007.

NGO in Nigeria Says Child Abandonment Promotes Trafficking

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:39:00 GMT

An Non-government organsiation Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network (CRARN) has linked the high rate of child trafficking in Akwa Ibom State to frequent cases of abandoned children.

Mr. Sam Itauma, the CRARN President, said in Eket that 70 percent of cases of trafficking in the state involved stigmatised and abandoned children, wrongly labeled as witches. Itauma spoke to newsmen at a symposium on “Preventing Abandonment of child Trafficking Today (PACT)”.

He identified Esit Eket, oron, Eket and Mobo local governments as areas with the highst number of cases of child abandonment. Itauma said that the children were abounded based on the belief that they possessed spiritual powers.

According to him, such innocent children were tortured in some churches and forced to make confessions so that prayers of deliverance would be said for them. He expressed regret at the involvement of so called men of God in the social ill.

“Recently, the Police in Owerri arrested a woman who was in possession of children of Akwa Ibom origin and who claimed that the children were brought for deliverance from witchcraft. Itauma called on the Akwa Ibom State Government, Christian Association of Nigeria and Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria to team up and regulate the activities of churches.

Also peaking, Mr. Gary Foxcroft, Executive Director, Stepping Stones Nigeria, called for close collaboration with national Agency for the Prevention of Trafficking in persons (NAPTIP) to check child taffficking. He also called on Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly to pass the child rights act to provide a legal framework for the protection of the rights of children.

Foxcroft said that if stigmatized and abandoned children were not transformed they would grow up to become miscreants.

Adapted from: "NGO says child abandonment promotes trafficking." The Tide Online. 4 December 2007.

Winning War Against Women Trafficking in Nigeria

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:43:00 GMT

The trafficking in women and children in the society has become a major source of worry to many concerned individuals, governments, non-governmental organisations and civil societies.

Nigeria has been ascribed to have the highest number of children and women traffickers in Africa. The rate at which the trade occurs has made some persons to describe it as an endemic disease, which the government must be relentless in combating.

Women and child trafficking can be defined as the transportation of children and women (young ladies and adults) from one place to another either as child labour, sexual commodities or professional prostitutes who have their bodies for money or engage in other menial jobs for which there is neither future nor special skills.

Trafficking as it were, occurs in two ways, which are internal and external trafficking.

Internal trafficking occurs when the victims, especially young boys and girls, are moved from rural areas or communities to urban area to become house helps, hotel attendants, and nannies. The girls usually end up as satisfiers of the sexual urge of their masters, if they are in families or customers of the hotel or beer palours where their services are used.

External trafficking involves transporting victims from 10 years and above from their country for the aim of prostitution and child labour. Ironically, while some victims of trafficking persons are unassuming and innocent individuals, others especially the ladies allow themselves to be trafficked all for the purpose of monetary gains. One of the countries for this ugly trend is Italy.

While civil societies and non-governmental organisations have carried out several campaigns against trafficking in persons, the Nigeria government had made notable efforts towards the deportation and rehabilitation of the women in the past few years.

Aside ladies who get involved willingly in women trafficking, parents especially mothers have aided in the trade. Parents give out their girl-children or encourage them as a result of economic hardship and the level of ostentatious living that most of other girls on return from their trip display.

Most parents are unaware that some women solicit for their daughters’ involvement in the batch of young girls to be sent out of the country for prostitution or slavery. They arrange for payment by the traffics while the innocent girls suffer. In most cases the girls are made to take an oath to behave and do anything she was asked to do by her slave master or mistress and also warned not to attempt an escape.

At the end, most of these girls die in the process, those who do not die contact dreadful diseases like the HIV/AIDS or are rendered useless for life.

Some other children who are not involved in the sexual escapades are subjected to child abuse. They are made to engage in tasks that are too difficult for them – fetching of water with pots that are too heavy for their age, hawking in the streets. In some cases, these children become victims to kidnappers for ritual purposes. They are not sent to school, and when they grow up, become social miscreants and haters of the society in which they live. Some, at the end turn out to be armed robbers, molesting the society.

Organisations like Women Political Action Committee (WPAC) on women trafficking, International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the UNICEF have been in the forefront of fighting this social plague. Their efforts have been on not only discouraging girls and mothers from such acts and emphasising the danger but also suggesting ways they could be useful to themselves and make money the proper way.

In Rivers State, the wife of the former Governor of the state, Justice Mary Odili had through The Adolescent Project (TAP) re-focused the minds of young and susceptible children to the acquisition of skills that would make them responsible in life. Many young boys and girls have been trained in skills ranging from tie and die, sewing, hairdressing, paint making and others. This gesture had in no small way redirected these youths from engaging in acts that would be inimical to their lives, their families and those of the society.

Thousands of these adolescent were graduated, equipped to be independent during the eight years of Dr. Peter Odili’s administration through the wife.

An NGO in Calabar, known as Girls Power Initiative (GPI) has been fighting against sexual exploitation of teenage girls in Cross River State. The founder of the NGO, Prof. Bene Madunagu, to empower the girls in the area opened a vocational training centre. She saw the idea of the centre came with the realization that girls from the poor homes were more vulnerable to sexual exploitation than those from well-to-do families.

Economic empowerment of the girl-child is the surest way to make her independent and protect her from sexual exploitation and prostitution. This programme is all about self-employment on adulthood, she had said. The essence, she explained further, is to make girls realize their God-given talents which can tomorrow become their source of livelihood.

At the international level, the United Nations (UN) and UNICEF have urged eastern and southern African nations, where it says more than eight million children live in dire poverty, to halt the boom in child trafficking. Per Engebak, UNICEF’s regional director for eastern and southern Africa warned that unless swift action was taken, the region was poised to become a major supplier of trafficked children often subjected to sexual and physical abuse.

Traffickers are exploiting the aspirations of those living in dreadful conditions with virtually no risk of prosecution. “In many countries, the absence of a specific law on child trafficking is a serious loophole that undermines the global effort to stop child trafficking” he said.

UNICEF acknowledged that existing laws often address certain aspects of trafficking, such as kidnapping, rape or sexual exploitation, but fall short of punishing perpetrators for the crime itself. “Only Mozambique and South Africa have made progress in enacting domestic legislation against child trafficking” UNICEF said, urging other countries to follow suit.

The UN agency on its part warned that global human trafficking, which spawns an estimated seven to 10 billion dollars annually is expanding to regions. Though child-women trafficking seem to be an African affair, there is need for countries and individuals to help the government in its prevention and stoppage.

Adapted from: "Winning war against women trafficking." The Tide Online. 21 June 2007.

California Top Spot for Human Trafficking in U.S.

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:44:00 GMT

California is the top destination in the United States for human traffickers who force women and girls into hard labor and sex trade, local TV channel ABC 7 reported.

A new report released by the state's anti-human trafficking task force shed light on how bad the problem is in California, and the team wants police and prosecutors to have more power to fight these crimes. Though exact numbers don't exist, thousands are somehow brought in across the borders and coerced into the sex trade or hard labor, officials and activists said.

Researchers at U.C. Berkeley found 57 forced labor operations over a five year period in about a dozen California cities, involving more than 500 people from 18 countries. A Mexican woman named "Esperanza" was lured by human traffickers to California from her destitute hometown five years ago with the promise of a good job making good money, but it turned out to be grueling work in a Los Angeles sweatshop.

"I had to live and sleep in the shop. I had to work 17 hours a day, sometimes more," Esperanza told a press conference Tuesday at Sacramento, the state capital. When Esperanza asked to leave, her employers threatened her family members and close ones. "She said someone who I love would pay the consequences," said Esperanza.

San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, who is on the task force to help state leaders find solutions for the problem, said that about 80 percent of the victims of human trafficking are women and girls, and up to 50 percent of them are minors.

Esperanza spent 40 days in the Los Angeles sweatshop before she pretended to go to church and escaped, and now she has become a victims' advocate. "I want to tell victims that there is hope, there is help," she said. To raise public awareness about the human trafficking problem, a new resolution is expected to take effect next month declaring every January 11 in California as "National Human Trafficking Day."

Adapted from: Yan Liang, "California top spot for human trafficking in U.S." China View. 5 December 2007.

Report Issued by Anti-Trafficking Task Force Names California Top Destination for Human Traffickers

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:56:00 GMT

California is a top destination for human traffickers who coerce people into the sex trade or hard labor through force or fraud, according to an 18-month government study.

The report by a 19-member task force of the California Alliance to Combat Trafficking and Slavery says California is particularly vulnerable to human trafficking because of its international border, ports and airports; its booming immigrant population; and a large economy that includes industries that attract forced labor.

The problem goes far beyond the sex trade, with migrant farm and construction workers, household employees and workers in motels, restaurants and clothing factories frequently vulnerable to abuse, task force members said.

The report, required by a 2005 state law, cites research by the U C Berkeley Human Rights Center. From 1998 to 2003, university researchers found 57 forced labor operations in nearly a dozen California cities involving more than 500 people from 18 countries. Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose were centers for the problem.

Researchers say 80 percent of the victims are female, and half are children. The federal government says human trafficking is second only to the drug trade as an international criminal industry. "We don't have chains, but the traffickers use coercion and fear" to keep people from fleeing, said a 35-year-old woman who said she was lured from Puebla, Mexico, to a Los Angeles sweatshop in

The woman goes by the name Esperanza, a pseudonym that means "hope" in Spanish, because she said the sweatshop owner continues to stalk her. She said she spent 40 days working and sleeping in the clothing factory before escaping by telling her overseer she wanted to attend Catholic Mass.

She said the sweatshop owner threatened to harm her mother and the three children she left behind in Mexico and warned that she would be jailed as an illegal immigrant if she went to authorities. "She told me I had no identity: 'If I kill you, no one will answer for you,'" Esperanza said at a news conference at the state Capitol.

Esperanza now helps train law enforcement officers to spot human trafficking victims, who are often frightened, penniless, unskilled, don't speak English and lack basic knowledge of how to dial a telephone or board a bus to seek help. It's the sort of training task force members said should be provided for firefighters, building inspectors, ambulance workers and others who might be in a position to spot the signs of human trafficking.

The state should also increase penalties for traffickers and provide housing and protection for victims, the report says. Task force members are backing pending legislation that would allow a maximum prison term of six years, up from five now, for engaging in human trafficking and make it easier to prosecute child labor cases and trafficking rings that cross county lines.

Until recently, traffickers could be prosecuted only for related crimes, such as kidnapping, pandering or pimping, said San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, a task force member. Trafficking was made a specific stand-alone federal crime in 2000 and was criminalized in California in 2005.

That is one reason researchers have mainly anecdotal evidence that the crime is widespread, said task force Chairwoman Nancy Matson, who directs the state attorney general's Crime and Violence Prevention Center. About 600 cases are documented in California a year, Matson said.

The U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division estimates that, nationwide, 14,500 to 17,500 people each year are brought into the United States by traffickers to work in the sex trade or other jobs. Harris said that doesn't include American citizens who are transported across state lines.

Adapted from: Don Thompson,"State a hot spot for human trafficking, panel says." Associated Press. 5 December 2007.

Morocco Center of Trafficking of Filipinos to Europe

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:00:00 GMT

The promise of employment and a better future has forced many Filipinos to resort to illegal means just to get to Europe.

Human trafficking syndicates are now using Morocco as the center of illegal recruitment for most Filipinos trying to cross the border of Europe. The North African country has become a favorite jumping point of illegal recruiters because it does not require a visa and is just near the border of Spain.

The tourist visa is valid up to three months. Many Filipinos have already overstayed from six months to one year, hoping to get their travel documents and make it to Europe. Madel de Silva is one of them and she is hopeful she will be able to join her sister in Milan, Italy.

De Silva said that incidentally, she replaced, her other sister who initially paid P350,000, but could not wait any longer in Casablanca, Morocco. She said her sister stayed in Casablanca for two months. De Silva is with 12 other Filipinos who are living in a crowded old apartment building in Mohammedia.

They have their own stories to tell, the ultimate goal of which is to get a job in Europe. JR Negoy said his family, now in Monaco, had already spent P2 million trying to get him. His first recruiter was able to take him only up to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, France, but was deported for illegal documents. Sensinio Villar Jr., meanwhile, is worried of crossing the border again after he discovered that his Schengen visa is fake.

His was a tampered visa with glaring discrepancies from the original document. Sam Siatrez, meanwhile, is no longer interested to pursue his European dream after almost seven months in Morocco. He believes that part of his P400,0000-placement fee would still be refunded.

Negoy, Villar, Siatrez and seven others earlier tried but failed to cross the Tangier port via the ferryboat which is just about an hour away from Marbella, Spain. Their Moroccan guide left them after the group paid 32,000 euros (P1.99 million) to a certain Arwin Montoya. Montoya is now wanted by the Moroccan police.

Another exit point from Morocco is Tetouan, which is almost an hour away from Spain. Except for Siatrez, most Filipinos are willing to wait and even take the risks of being arrested, justifying there is no better alternative in the Philippines.

Risk-takers
Stranded Filipinos in Morocco are willing to face deportation and arrest in their desperate attempt to cross europe despite having spurious travel documents. But a handful are just lucky to make it and join their loved ones in Europe. ake the case of "Cristy" (not her real name) who was able to enter Milan after a group of Filipinos took her in shortly after arriving at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris recently.

Cristy has rejoined her mom, who is domestic helper for many years in Italy. Cristy left Manila July 15 after her mother paid an initial amount of P250,000 to a recruiter whom she identified as Bobby Flores. She stayed for a month in Bangkok, Thailand and another two months in Morocco. Cristy revealed the modus operandi of the illegal recruitment syndicate. In traveling, they use two bags, one for check-in and the other, the handcarry bag. The check-in bag, she explained, is only for show to make it appear that she has a final destination. This bag only contains old clothes and sleepwear. The handcarry bag is where they hide the fake travel papers, and show it to immigration authorities when exiting the transit point in Europe.

The specially-designed bag has a secret opening at the bottom portion for documents which could not be detected by x-ray machines. At least one Filipino in Morocco, meanwhile, said the legal way is still the best way for Filipinos to gain entry to Europe. Lito Porto has been helping Filipino victims of illegal recruitment for the past 12 years in Morocco.

For him, the best way is still to do it legally because its not only deportation but the harsh penalty of arrest that Filipinos will have to pay.

Adapted from: Danny Buenafe, "Morocco center of trafficking of Pinoys to Europe." ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau.
6 December 2007.

Finland Falls Short in Helping Human Trafficking Victims

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:03:00 GMT

Finland often fails to identify victims of human trafficking, according to a steering group from the Ministry of Labour.

Hundreds of human trafficking victims are estimated to pass through Finland annually. But for many victims, Finland is the final destination. So far, police have launched investigations into just a handful of human trafficking cases. Only one investigation has led to convictions. In the summer of 2006, the Helsinki District Court sentenced seven people in a human trafficking and procurement case.

According to the steering group, more needs to be done to recognise human trafficking victims. It's calling for better training for officials working on such cases. The group also proposes nominating an independent human trafficking rapporteur, who would be responsible for analysing and assisting in human trafficking cases.

The government is expected to approve the steering group's recommendations in the future.

Finland Fails to Identify Sex Abuse Victims
Internationally, victims of human trafficking are often used for sex, and are often women. However in Finland, a large number of suspected human trafficking victims are men who are used for labour.

"The Finnish profile does not match the international picture. We have failed to identify human trafficking victims used for sex," said the chair of the steering committee, Mervi Virtanen. The report emphasises the importance of NGOs and labour organisations in finding victims.

"Victims feel more comfortable approaching NGOs than police," Virtanen added.

Adapted from: "Finland Falls Short in Helping Human Trafficking Victims." YLE.fi. 6 December 2007.

Dubai: 'War' Declared on Prostitution, Human Traffickers

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:05:00 GMT

A “war” has been declared on prostitution and the human traffickers that force women into the trade in Dubai, the emirate's head of police has announced.

Following the largest coordinated police raids ever witnessed in the city, police said yesterday that they had arrested 247 people involved in prostitution and closed 22 brothels. Among those arrested were 170 prostitutes, 12 pimps and 65 customers.

Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Bin Tamim, head of Dubai Police, said: “We are now declaring war against human traffickers. We will be tough and we will enforce law and order. Any woman who has been forced by human traffickers into this trade can call us. “Do not be afraid - we will investigate and do what is necessary,” he added.

“Anyone who is involved in this city in prostitution, if you think you are safe, think again. We are watching you and we will get you.” Police regularly arrest prostitutes and raid brothels, but this was the first time so many had been targeted in one major operation, it was confirmed.

Khalfan added that police would attempt to freeze the bank accounts of anyone convicted of running prostitute rings and making money from the illegal trade inside the UAE. The police chief said 22 teams of officers, with the help of the Interior Ministry, made a series of raids on villas and flats across the city on Saturday, following extensive surveillance. The premises raided were all linked and all part of an organised crime syndicate coordinated from outside of the UAE. The majority of the prostitutes were from China with the customers from various different countries, police said.

Those arrested have been detained while investigations continue. Many have already been referred to the Public Prosecution and are due to appear in court shortly.

Earlier this year UAE Attorney General Eassam Al-Humaidan said the country would continue to take a strong stand against human traffickers and that anyone involved in the trade would be jailed for at least five years. He added that anybody found guilty of forming a gang specifically involved in human trafficking would be sentenced to life in jail.

Last year 4,300 prostitutes were deported from the UAE.

Adapted from: "Dubai: 'War' Declared on Prostitution, Human Traffickers." daijiworld.com. 5 December 2007.

Dubai Declares War on Human Trafficking

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:07:00 GMT

Launching a new drive against human trafficking, authorities in Dubai have busted a well entrenched prostitution ring operating from upscale villas and apartments.

The Dubai police have arrested 247 suspects, including 170 sex workers after raiding 22 locations on December 1, said Dubai police chief Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim. Most of the sex workers were from East Asia.

This operation is only part of a series of other raids and measures that we will undertake to eliminate human trafficking from Dubai, sources in Dubai police told The Hindu.

Analysts point out that men and women have been trafficked to the United Arab Emirates (UAE.), where they have faced involuntary servitude and commercial exploitation.

There have been reports about UAE also being used as a transit country for human trafficking in the region. Women from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, India, Pakistan, China, the Philippines, Iraq, Iran, and Morocco have been reportedly trafficked to the U.A.E.

However, armed with a new law, authorities have started targeting the networks, said Lt. Gen. Dahi. He said women who had been inadvertently drawn into prostitution rings or possess information about such networks can make use of the Al Ameen helpline and seek protection. He added that with the biggest raid launched, a war on human trafficking had been declared.

Earlier this year, UAE Attorney-General Eassam Al-Humaidan had announced that a decision had been taken to confront human traffickers with an iron hand. He said practitioners would face a five-year jail sentence. Besides, anyone convicted of forming a gang for this purpose would be jailed for life.

Adapted from: Atul Aneja. "Dubai declares war on human trafficking." The Hindu. 6 December 2007.

Single Trafficking Act needed in South Africa

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:09:00 GMT

South Africa urgently needs legislation to counter human trafficking, particularly to help the people who are abused, a panel discussion in Pretoria heard.

"At some point we hope there would be a law protecting those victims who are not criminals," said Yitna Getachew of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Speaking at the panel discussion hosted by the IOM and the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), Getachew said trafficked people were simply deported by the South African authorities.

"For instance women who are trafficked for sexual exploitations simply get sent back before we can assist them or find out more about the networks who trafficked them," he said. He said the law should not only focus on the criminal side of the issue but also how to deal with trafficked persons.

"What are you doing with a victim, about their immigration issues, are you going to send them back certainly not, you are going to keep them," Getachew said. Patric Solomons of community-based organisation Molo Songololo said there was some legislation in the pipeline but this needed to be enforced or finalised.

They include the Children's Act and the Sexual Offences Bill, which make some provisions to tackle trafficking. The SA Law Commission is also working on a comprehensive legislation proposal which is expected to be submitted to the justice department next year.

Professor Vasu Reddy of the HSRC gender and development unit said there was a need for organisations to push for the legislation. "The next step would be to look at what mechanisms we can use to push for that," she said.

Reddy said this could include lobbying of parliament, research and further awareness raising of the issue. Several of the organisations who attended the discussion undertook to take up the issue.

Adapted from: "Single Trafficking Act needed." News24.com. 5 December 2007.

Judges in South Africa Asked to Clamp Down on Trafficking

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:12:00 GMT

South Africa is being used as a destination and transit point, as well as a source for human trafficking, the International Association of Women Judges was told at a conference in Boksburg.

Public prosecutions director, advocate Thoko Majokweni, speaking on behalf of Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla, said: "Mozambican women are trafficked to the mines and sometimes to Kwazulu-Natal. "Malawian women are sold by Nigerian syndicates... to Germany, Italy and Belgium, and this all happens via South Africa." She said South Africans themselves were being trafficked to Hong Kong and Macau.

'It really needs to be transnational'
"Thai women are debt-bonded in brothels in Johannesburg and in KwaZulu-Natal, especially in port areas," she said. Chinese traffickers were using Johannesburg as a transit point for Swaziland, Lesotho and Mozambique, Majokweni said. Russian and Bulgarian women were exploited in private clubs and venues in Johannesburg.

Majokweni said reliable statistics on trafficking in southern Africa were difficult to obtain because most countries in the region had not criminalised the trafficking of people. Necessary legislative reforms were underway in South Africa to halt trafficking. She said the SA Law Reform Commission had prioritised finalising the Combating of Trafficking in Persons Bill to make human trafficking a criminal offence in this country.

One of the key issues in the Bill was the amendment to the definition of the action of trafficking itself. In SA, the commission was adding to the definition of trafficking as "recruitment, transportation, transfer and harbouring", also the "sale, supply, capture and procurement" of people both within or across the border. "It really needs to be transnational," said Majokweni.

She also said the issue of illegal adoption across the country had been incorporated into the bill. Majokweni said that in the short term other legislative measures such as provisions of the Children's Act, the Sexual Offences Act and racketeering charges were being used to prosecute those involved in trafficking. However, these laws had limitations.

For example, cases tried under the Sexual Offences Act criminalised the act of trafficking in persons for sexual exploitation only. She also said the sentences issued under these laws often did not correlate with the severity of the crime.

South Africans should remember human trafficking was new in terms of recognition but not in its existence, she said. "You look and see the life of Sarah Baartman, who was sold into slavery in France, paraded naked for men's pleasure, and even in death didn't get any dignity because she was torn into little parts," Majokweni said.

"We do not see the chains, yet the bondage is there. We do not see the whips, yet the wounds are there."

Adapted from: Sapa, "Judges asked to clamp down on trafficking." Independent OnLine. 19 October 2007.

Ho Chi Minh City Cracks Down on Human Trafficking

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:14:00 GMT

The Ho Chi Minh City Association of Child Protection on October 19 held a meeting with relevant agencies to discuss measures against women and children trafficking.

Municipal police reported that recent raids have unrooted five human trafficking gangs and 35 locations used by the gangs as match-making places to arrange illegal marriages between foreigners and local girls. Police also released a list of 15 suspects of illegal human trafficking and 64 others suspected to have arranged illegal marriages to foreigners.

Although HCM City is not a hotbed, it is used by the bandits as a transit port, police said. They emphasized on preventive measures and called on relevant agencies and social organizations to be active in the fight as the country is intensifying an overall action plan against women and girls trading.

Adapted from: "HCM City cracks down on human trafficking." Mathaba News Agency. 21 October 2007.

End to Human Trafficking Is UAE’s Top Priority

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:16:00 GMT

The UAE shares the core universal values that make the elimination of human trafficking a top priority, said Dr. Anwar Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs and Chairperson of the National Committee on Human Trafficking, in an exclusive interview with Khaleej Times.

Dr. Gargash said the recently-formed committee has undertaken several steps to ensure a comprehensive assessment of the problem in the UAE. He said the committee has taken into consideration the contributing factors unique to the country and common in the developed countries.

“The committee has already met four times in the past few months and has undertaken several steps to ensure a comprehensive assessment of human trafficking in the country. The committee recognises the multi-faceted nature of the problem and is, therefore, acting at all levels including prosecution, prevention as well as protection of victims,” said the minister.

Answering a question on the efficiency of the committee, he said the committee was still in the process of collating data from various agencies and emirates. “However, according to preliminary indications, there are at least 10 cases pertaining to human trafficking registered so far this year. Five of these are related to instigating prostitution, two to threatening the life of children, and three cases are related to other issues,” disclosed Dr Gargash.

“It is heartening to note that when the Federal Law No.51 of 2006 was first implemented, two people had already been sentenced to a jail term of seven years, and a third for three years for indulging in and aiding and abetting human trafficking,” he said.

“The government is committed to strictly enforcing the new law and punishing all those found guilty, and rehabilitating the victims in the best possible way and with compassion,” Dr Gargash stressed. The Federal Law No.51 on combating human trafficking, which is the first of its kind in the Middle East was enacted last year with the aim of eradicating trading in persons and protecting and rehabilitating victims of this crime.

Regarding the tasks of the committee, the minister underlined that the committee is responsible for developing an implementation framework for the federal human trafficking law. “The committee focuses on drafting legislation, assesses government implementation procedures, monitors cases, coordinates between government divisions, and promotes public awareness on human trafficking,” the minister added.

He said the primary mandate of the committee is to coordinate among federal ministries and departments efforts to curb crimes related to trafficking in persons, be it prostitution, abuse, maltreatment, coercive exploitation and abuse of work force, or illegal organ transplantation. “Secondly, the committee seeks to ensure strict enforcement of the law and its provisions. The committee has also been designated as the official authority to receive and manage international enquiries and delegations related to human trafficking,” Dr Gargash clarified .

About the initiatives taken by the government to curb the crime, he said, “One of the noteworthy accomplishments during the last two years has been the total ban on child camel jockeys, as well as the multi-million-dirham compensation and repatriation programme that the government continues to support in conjunction with the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).”

The Dubai Women and Children Foundation’s initiative by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, which was launched earlier this year, is another step taken by the government to combat trading in persons, he said.

The initiative aims at providing a safe environment, assistance and rehabilitation for women and children who were exposed to physical and psychological abuse, including human rights abuses such as trafficking. “The UAE has signed an agreement with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to provide up to Dh50 million to support the Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking .This demonstrates the country’s commitment to tackle the crime not only in the UAE, but globally as well,” Dr Gargash stated.

He pointed out that it was important to highlight that human trafficking in the UAE has its origins in some other countries, a matter that has prompted the government to take joint measures with several countries, he said. “Agreements have been signed with Nepal, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to regulate the flow of workers. All labour contract transactions will henceforth be processed by labour ministries or offices in the supplying countries to prevent unscrupulous private recruitment agencies from trafficking, or otherwise exploiting, workers,” the minister concluded

Adapted from: Nada S. Mussallam. "End to human-trafficking UAE’s top priority." Khaleej Times Online. 20 October 2007.

Combating Human Trafficking a Priority in South Africa

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:18:00 GMT

Human trafficking is an evil as terrible as the Atlantic slave trade of the past, Chief Justice Pius Langa said.

"It is an evil as terrible as the slave trade of the past and it requires a concerted response from civil society and government," he said at the International Association of Women Judges Conference in Boksburg. "During the entire Atlantic slave trade, 25 million people were forced into slavery. Today there are an estimated 200 million people in conditions of slavery worldwide.

Langa said that even though slavery had been abolished over a century ago, practices like human trafficking kept its legacy alive.

'many women are subjected to an 'initiation' rape'
Langa said at least 800,000 to 900,000 people were trafficked annually around the globe. At least 28,000 children have been trafficked to South African cities for purposes of sexual exploitation. The majority of SA trafficking victims were refugees that were already in the country or came from the SADC region, Thailand, China and Eastern Europe.

"Refugees from other African countries already in South Africa often arrange for close female relatives to join them. "Once these women receive asylum-seeker status, their male relatives force them into prostitution." Langa said these women were often caught in a double bind when trying to access the law to help them.

"[They] are then placed in the unenviable position of choosing between deportation to an inhospitable home or remaining 'enslaved' but 'with' their family." Langa also said about 1 000 Mozambican girls and women were trafficked annually in SA.

He said they were lured with promises of lucrative jobs or picked up at taxi ranks while searching for a lift. "After crossing the border, many women are subjected to an 'initiation' rape at transit houses near the border. "The girls are then sold as 'wives' to men on the mines in the West Rand for around R650 or to SA brothels for R1 000."

Langa said gaps in SA laws meant it was only mainly the trafficking of children and sexual trafficking that was covered. New legislation aimed at targeting all forms of trafficking was in the pipeline, he said.

However, Langa said trafficking could not be solved by legislation alone. "Trafficking is a result of very serious social problems," he said.

"Trafficking in Southern Africa is generally attributed to extreme poverty, unemployment, war, lack of food and traditional practices that commodify women and make their sale acceptable. Langa also said organised crime syndicates and a demand for sex workers drove trafficking.

"As long as these realities exist it will be extremely difficult to abolish trafficking completely, but it is equally dangerous to use these realities as an excuse for not going the whole hog in fighting trafficking," he said. "[Fighting human trafficking] will require a combination of extended research, legislative measures, improved policing and prosecution practices and judicial awareness."

Langa said only this kind of multi-pronged approach could hope to fight what has become the third biggest profiteering organised crime after drugs and armaments. "Traffickers can make profits on drugs only once, they can sell the same person again and again and profit infinitely," said Langa in explaining trafficking's predominance.

Adapted from: Sapa."Human trafficking as terrible as slavery." Independent OnLine. 19 October 2007.

NGOs in Israel Warn Against Plan to Increase Russian Visas

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:21:00 GMT

Activists working against human trafficking in Israel called on Tourism Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch to reconsider a move to scrap visa requirements for visiting Russians, fearing the change could increase the flow of illegal sex workers into the country.

Report notes that the Israeli government still "does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking."

"I understand that it will increase globalization and strengthen Israel's economy," Rita Chaikin, the anti-trafficking project coordinator of the grassroots Isha L'Isha - Haifa Feminist Center, told The Jerusalem Post Tuesday. "I also understand that Russian tourists need to come in and visit, but the minute we open the borders, we have to be prepared [for the possibility] that trafficking will increase."

The abolishment of Russian tourist visas - a move that the Tourism Ministry claims will add tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue to the Israeli economy within the next few years - was approved last month by the cabinet and is now in the final stages of implementation. It will also allow Israelis to visit Russia without visas.

However, Russia is considered a transit destination for trafficking operations, with many men, women and children from neighboring countries arriving there before being transported elsewhere. Egypt has no visa requirements for Russian visitors, and its border with Israel is considered to be a main entry point for human traffickers.

A spokesman for Aharonovitch told the Post zthat the minister was aware of the problems of human trafficking in Israel and that the issue needed to be tackled; however, he added that there was little connection between the trafficking and the cancellation of visa requirements for Russian visitors.

He also said that the number of women arriving from Russia was much lower than those from other countries and that countries with border policies stricter than Israel's still had to contend with women and men being smuggled in for illegal work purposes.

However, Chaikin countered that "a legitimate Russian passport can be obtained quite easily," pointing out that the women are not necessarily from Russia, but coming through Russia from other countries in the Former Soviet Union block and Eastern Europe.

"Its like the [Tourism] Ministry was born yesterday," she continued. "They should really do their research and check the field before making such decisions. They have only thought about the financial benefits."

According to the US State Department's 2007 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP), which was released last June, Israel has made efforts to prevent such activities, but still "does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking."

In the 2006 report, Israel was listed on the Tier 2 (Watch List) category - one level before the US imposes sanctions on a country. Russia currently appears in the same category.

"We need to be ready to go back to that [level of problems]," continued Chaikin. "Our status has improved, but if this [visa] change is not properly monitored, we could end up back where we were." Although she believes it is most likely too late to prevent the visa change from going ahead, Chaikin said the government must still take steps to continue fighting human trafficking.

"Now there need to be even better checks of people entering the country, and closer attention must be paid to groups of young women traveling here," she said, adding that advertisements were needed to raise public awareness and to advise slave trade victims on where to receive help if they needed it.

Government-appointed attorney Rachel Gershoni, the national coordinator in the battle against trafficking, refused to comment on the pending visa arrangement between Israel and Russia.

Adapted from: Ruth Eglash. "NGOs warn against plan to increase Russian visas." The Jerusalem Post. 23 October 2007.

MTV, Rain Campaign Against Human Trafficking

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:26:00 GMT

MTV, one of the world's largest and influential television network, has launched ``End Exploitation and Trafficking'' (EXIT), a global campaign to raise awareness about human trafficking. Along with Thai star Tata Young, Korea's pop singer Rain has joined in the action as the front man for the Asia Pacific region.

``This is a form of slavery that still exists today, and I don't think enough people are aware of that,'' said Simon Goff, 30, campaign director for MTV EXIT, told The Korea Times at MTV Korea in central Seoul.

Individuals are denied their basic human rights and are usually tricked or coerced into prostitution, domestic servitude or other labor, according to the United States Trafficking Victims Protections Act (TVPA). After drugs, it is the second largest illegal trade in the world, and generates about $10 billion every year. Its total market value is around $32 billion.

The U.N. International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that 2.5 million people worldwide are victims, of which over half live in Asia Pacific. The majority of them are women and children, most of whom are sexually exploited, Goff said.

It is shocking and sad that the majority of these trafficked and exploited people are women and children. I hope I can be of help to those battling for these people,'' Rain was quoted as saying, according to MTV Korea.

Goff explained that the issue ``was getting some attention from the media but certainly not directed toward young people… We're the biggest broadcaster in the world so we have the ability to target messages and target our audience, so on a pro-social level it works very well.

It's also part of MTV's overall commitment to not just entertain our audiences but to educate them on social issues that are going on, and affecting young people around the world,'' he said. Launched in 2003, MTV EXIT's campaign theme was inspired by a music festival in Serbia. It receives support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

In every country, (celebrities') involvement increases the impact on massive messages immeasurably. If you put out a documentary, x number of people will watch it; if you put something with Rain in it… it will quadruple the number of people tuning into it,'' he said.

Actress Angelina Jolie, for example, hosted a documentary titled ``Inhuman Trafficking'' and supermodel and photographer Helena Christensen and Pelle Almqvist from Swedish rock band the Hives presented short films for MTV EXIT. Last summer, there was also a large-scale concert tour across Europe.

On Saturday and Sunday, a series of street performances featuring highlights of the documentary and live skits created a buzz in Daehakno and Hongdae, two hot spots in northern Seoul.

In countries like Korea and Japan where human trafficking is less reported, ``it is a difficult issue. We have these issues in Western Europe as well,'' said the British native. Nobody likes to be told they're an exploited country… but it's important to acknowledge that it's happening.''

According to the June 2007 U.S. State's Trafficking in Persons (T.I.P.) Report, Korea is classified as a Tier One country, meaning that the government fully complies with the TVPA. But Korean men flocking to Southeast Asia for sex has recently been gaining media coverage. With the escalating number of foreign brides here, traffickers have been abusing the brokered international marriage system. And yet, Korea is primarily considered a source country.

The biggest surprise I've found while looking into this is the fact that there are still Korean women being trafficked -- especially given that Korea is a developed country,'' Goff said. Korean women and girls are trafficked internally to the U.S., Canada and Mexico, according to the T.I.P. Report.

As soon as you start talking about prostitution you are obviously in a quite sensitive area that in any culture nobody really wants to acknowledge what's going on. So with the campaign we try not to go down into it too much,'' he said.

The MTV documentary provides a broad spectrum of the issue. Though only 30 minutes long and very fast-paced, the film gives viewers an in-depth look at the matter and makes it approachable at an individual level. It features seven people: three victims, a trafficker, a consumer (a young man who buys sex), a policeman pursuing traffickers and a social worker helping survivors of trafficking.

As these individuals courageously testify to the horrors of human trafficking, the documentary touches the core of the issue -- how it petrifies individual lives. Its music video-like audiovisual also speaks well to an audience whose attention span is rather short. Rain fans should not expect to see his signature smile as he narrates the film.

Future of Trafficking
As for the future of the human trafficking issue, Goff said, ``I think it'll get through there… Obviously 20 years ago, HIV/AIDS campaign started coming out and it was a bit taboo at the time. But the government began to understand the importance.'' The director had also been part of MTV's 2002 HIV/AIDS campaign ``Staying Alive,'' in which stars like Diddy and Alicia Keys participated.

This is tied in with national security issues so governments are interested in doing something about it... But now it's time for the guy in the streets to do something about it so they can start to sort of make as stand against it as well,'' he said. However, Goff pointed out that organized criminal networks primarily run the lucrative trafficking business in countries like Korea and Japan, which not only makes it difficult to gather exact statistics but also makes it challenging to crack down.

It is thus up to individuals to initiate a change. ``As a consumer you're part of this issue,'' said the director, explaining that consumers in Korea and elsewhere could well be eating shrimp that involves forced labor. As Bridget, a social worker helping victims recover says in the film, ``If everyone is aware that we are part of the problem and part of the solution then we can exercise our responsibility to uphold social justice for all.''

Tune into the documentary, to premiere on Korea's MTV channel at 10:20 p.m., Oct. 27 (Sat.). Catch the reruns at 9:20 p.m., Oct. 29 (Mon.) and 5:30 p.m., Oct. 31 (Wed.). No English subtitles.

For English and other language versions, visit www.mtvexit.org. You can view video clips, links to related organizations, as well as ways in which you can become involved. The Korean version featuring Rain is yet to be posted.

Based in Bangkok, MTV EXIT Asia was launched across Thailand, India, China and the Philippines. After Korea it will continue on to Japan, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Adapted from: Lee Hyo-won. "MTV, Rain Campaign Against Human Trafficking." The Korea Times. 23 October 2007.

Council of Europe Convention Against Trafficking in Human Beings Will Enter into Force

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:28:00 GMT

The Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking in Human Beings (CETS n° 197) will enter into force on 1 February 2008, following the ratification by Cyprus as the tenth country to ratify it.

On this occasion Terry Davis, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, made the following statement:

“The Convention is deliberately hard on traffickers and makes a clear difference for the victims of this crime. These victims will be offered comprehensive assistance and protection of their human rights.

Europe is finally going to use this new and far-reaching instrument to fight this modern form of slavery. Ten ratifications take us over the threshold required for the Convention to enter into force, but the Convention will use its full potential when it is ratified by other countries in Europe and beyond.

The fact that this treaty has been agreed within the Council of Europe extends its application to all European countries, which include countries of origin, transit and destination of the victims of trafficking. It is also open to non-European countries and therefore provides a global response to a global problem. “

The main features of the new Convention include:

compulsory assistance measures and a recovery and reflection period of at least 30 days for the victims of trafficking;
the possibility to deliver residence permits to victims not only on the basis of cooperation with the law enforcement authorities, but also on humanitarian grounds;
the possibility to criminalise “the clients”;
a non-punishment clause for the victims of trafficking;
a strengthened international cooperation system and an independent monitoring mechanism, GRETA, which will monitor the proper implementation of the Convention by the Parties.

Adapted from: "Council of Europe Convention Against Trafficking in Human Beings Will Enter into Force." Coucil of Europe. 25 October 2007.

Trafficking 'Potentially' a Huge Problem in Ireland

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:30:00 GMT

The Minister for Justice, Brian Lenihan, has said human trafficking has the potential to become a significant problem in Ireland.

Mr Lenihan was speaking in the Dáil during this morning's debate of the second stage of the Criminal Law Human Trafficking Bill. He said the Government was committed to tackling the crime and recognised the need to draw together the various Government departments in combating it.

His comments came after the arrest of one suspect as part of an investigation into an international child trafficking ring.

Dutch police announced last night that 19 arrests of suspected traffickers were made in Holland, Spain, Belgium, Britain, the United States and Ireland. It says Nigerian children, allegedly controlled through voodoo threats, were trafficked into Holland and forced to work as prostitutes in several European countries including France, Italy and Spain.

The suspect arrested in Ireland, on a European Arrest Warrant, is Peter Sarfo and he is due back before the High Court next week. It is understood there is no evidence of any children being trafficked into Ireland.

This investigation into the disappearance of Nigerian children in Holland has been ongoing for over a year. It uncovered a child trafficking ring, whereby Nigerian children, mostly girls controlled by voodoo threats, were sent to Amsterdam with fake documents and told to apply for asylum.

The young girls were then moved from care centres and forced into prostitution. More than 130 went missing and several victims have been found on the streets of France, Italy and Spain as well as Holland.

In a series of raids the Dutch found 10 migrants and arrested 13 people, while six other suspects have been arrested in Spain, Belgium, Britain, the United States and Ireland.

Adapted from: "Trafficking 'potentially' a huge problem." RTE News. 25 October 2007.

Ireland Criticised in Child Trafficking Report by Amnesty International

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:33:00 GMT

Ireland has been criticised in an Amnesty International report for a lack of child trafficking legislation and inadequate treatment for mentally ill children.

The Amnesty International Report for 2007 is an assessment of human rights worldwide. The report also claims that counter-terrorism laws could pose a potential threat to free speech in Britain.

The so called 'war on terror' and the ongoing conflict in Darfur are two of the principle issues raised in the report. But how Ireland treats young people with mental disabilities and the Irish record on human trafficking do not escape criticism.

Noeleen Hartigan of the Amnesty International Irish Section claims that victims of trafficking are currently criminalised rather than supported. The treatment of children with mental disabilities in adult inpatient facilities is in direct contravention of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, according to Amnesty International.

Adapted from: "Ireland criticised in child trafficking report." RTE News. 23 May 2007.

Irish Minister of Justice Takes Note of Child Trafficking

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:36:00 GMT

Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan has warned that human trafficking could become a major problem in Ireland if the issue is not addressed.

Mr Lenihan was speaking during a Dáil debate on the second stage of the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Bill 2007. The Bill, if passed by the Oireachtas, will make it an offence to recruit, transport, transfer or harbour a person for the purpose of sexual or labour exploitation, or the removal of their organs.

The Minister said the Government was fully committed to taking a "holistic approach" to tackling human trafficking. "[The Government] recognises the need to draw together all the work that is being done across the various departments and agencies," he said. He added that although there is "no evidence of an appreciable problem" of trafficking into Ireland, "any level is deplorable".

"Trafficking into Ireland is not a significant problem, however it is a potential problem and could grow without remedial action," Mr Lenihan said. Mr Lenihan was speaking as gardaí announced they have arrested a man in Dublin in connection with a Dutch investigation into a child trafficking ring that allegedly used voodoo to force Nigerian children into prostitution in Europe.

The man was arrested by gardaí under a European arrest warrant on October 10th and will appear before the High Court on October 31st.

His arrest is part of an international operation involving six police forces. Dutch authorities, who have been investigating the disappearance of Nigerian children in the Netherlands for over a year, announced yesterday they had arrested 19 suspected traffickers.

Thirteen suspects were arrested in raids in the Netherlands, while the other six were arrested in Ireland, Spain, Belgium, Britain and the United States. It is believed that up to 130 Nigerian children, mostly girls, have been trafficked into the Netherlands by a criminal ring who controlled them using voodoo threats.

The children were sent to the country with false passports, told to apply for asylum, and then taken by the traffickers from the facilities in which they were placed by the Dutch state. They were then forced to work as prostitutes in several European countries, including France, Italy and Spain.

Gardaí said there is no evidence to suggest any of the children were trafficked into Ireland.

Adapted from: Clodagh Mulvey. "Lenihan issues warning on human trafficking risk." The Irish Times.
25 October 2007.

American Anthropologist Comments on Global Efforts to Reduce Human Trafficking

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 21:16:00 GMT

An international monitoring project designed to combat human trafficking is flawed, according to Brown University anthropology professor Kay Warren.

Warren made her remarks during this year’s Robert G. Mead Jr. Lecture, held in the Student Union Theatre on November 8, 2007. The lecture, on human trafficking around the world, was part of the University’s celebration of International Week.

Warren is the Charles B. Tillinghast Jr. ’62 Professor in International Studies at Brown, where she directs the Politics, Culture, and Identity Program at the Watson Institute for International Studies.

She said a Trafficking in Persons program (TIP) was created by the U.S. State Department to measure countries’ levels of compliance with international norms in what are called TIP reports. However, she says, the TIP program lacks the measures needed for accurate results.

She defined human trafficking as “the international recruitment and transportation of individuals, especially women and children, which involves some form of coercion with the goal of exploitation for financial gain.”

Any form of labor could be the subject of trafficking, she said, but “in practice, there has been a much narrower understanding of trafficking, which focuses mostly on women and children and sexual exploitation.”

The Colombia-to-Japan trade fits into this category. Women, mostly in their 20s, are recruited from Colombia to go to Japan for the country’s sex entertainment industry, she said.

“That may range from anything from bar hostessing with no touching at all, to what would be regarded as coercive and violent sexual exploitation,” said Warren. “The TIP reports are widely circulated four-tier rankings designed to reward those judged to be in full compliance and to sanction those that fail both to recognize human trafficking and to embrace the global discipline combating this transnational crime,” Warren said.

“My analyses show how state policies and practices in Colombia and Japan have reworked American standards in striking ways – being that these and other countries jockey to keep their U.S. State Department rankings high. It’s hysterical to watch in practice.”

She said that countries take the protocol and “try to change it with another national, domestic agenda. The protocol actually morphs in this process. It might, for instance, take on a new identity as an anti-immigrant vehicle. “Even as these countries are trying to play with this imposition from the U.S. government, they also want high rankings,” she said. “Everyone wants to be a tier 1.”

Colombia, a source country for trafficking, has a high tier ranking, Warren said, noting that it is “working very hard to reform its morals.” Japan, on the other hand, through 2004, was ranked tier 2. “It hurt their reputation,” Warren said. “Japan is the second largest economy in the world. It’s a sophisticated place.”

But it has been hard for Japan to move out of tier 2 status, Warren said: “Japan has a one billion dollar sex entertainment industry. It’s part of their corporate culture.” She said the global estimate of 600,000 to 800,000 trafficking victims each year has been used in government reports as a measure of a global tragedy, but asked, “Where did those numbers come from? There was no methodology.”

She asked, “Is criminal disorder actually defeated by these anti-trafficking processes? It’s not clear to me. Anti-trafficking policies have had important effects on state policies through the legal system, but it’s unclear to me that they have had very effective consequences for transnational organized crime.”

Added Warren, “The issue is: Would there be another way to measure, and another kind of methodology, that one could develop that would target the criminals?”

Adapted from: Sherry Fisher,"Speaker says efforts to reduce human trafficking ineffective."
The UConn Advance. 26 November 2007.