“A 15-year-old Vietnamese boy found during a police raid on a house in Doncaster [United Kingdom], along with £85,000-worth of cannabis, had been working since he was 12, trafficked via France with the promise of a factory job. Having been beaten, he was too scared to leave.” (Emily Dugan, “Think slavery is a thing of the past? Think again,” The Independent UK 17 October 2010).
This is just one of the millions of stories about human trafficking victims. Despite international attention and awareness to the problem of human trafficking over the last decade, this modern day slave trade has grown to be the second largest criminal industry in the world (after the drug trade). The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates conservatively that approximately 2.5 million people are victims of trafficking at any given time.
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of persons through force, fraud, coercion, or violence for purposes of sexual exploitation, forced labor, and other slavery-like practices. Most victims are women and children that are kidnapped or seduced through fraud to seek financial opportunities outside of their hometowns or countries; however, any person of any age and gender can be a victim. Upon arrival at their destination, they are forced into labor and/or prostitution. “Bonded labor” or “debt bondage”, when a worker is exploited to pay off a debt, like their travel costs, is one prevalent type of slavery into which people are trafficked. The trafficking and enslavement of children is often linked to war where children are used as combatants, porters, cooks, guards, servants, messengers or spies. In these situations, boys and girls are also forced to marry or have sex with male combatants. Children are subjected to prostitution in the global commercial trade although it is prohibited by legislation in countries around the world.
Human trafficking affects every country regardless of its socio-economic status or political structure as an origin, transit or destination location. Thailand, China, Nigeria, Albania, Bulgaria, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine are primary sources of trafficked persons, and Thailand, Japan, Israel, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Turkey and the US are common destinations for victims of human trafficking. Even without the physical presence of the victims, the trafficking of people affects every country through its impact on the global economy, its violation of human rights, and its degradation of the human spirit.
In July 2010 the UN General Assembly adopted the Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons. This plan urges governments to treat this problem as an abuse of human rights and to take coordinated, comprehensive, and consistent steps to stop all forms of human trafficking.
Take Action!
1. Write to your country’s national, city, and local leaders. Urge them to read, promote, and do everything possible to fully implement the UN Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons that was adopted by the UN General Assembly in July 2010. Ask them to join the UN’s Blue Heart Campaign against human trafficking and to take coordinated, comprehensive, and consistent steps toward stopping all forms of human trafficking in your country and throughout the world.
2. Be a part of the United Nations’ Blue Heart Campaign against human trafficking. As part of this global campaign, you can join the Blue Heart Facebook group and “wear” the Blue Heart on your Facebook profile, put it on your website, or on your organization’s publications. Spread the word and advocate for your local, state and national government to join the campaign as well!
Visit the Blue Heart Campaign website for more information and campaign tools (factsheets, logos, brochures, etc) to get started!
If you are an individual – be a conscientious consumer! Write letters to the owners of your favorite retailers telling them you support their efforts to promote and maintain a slave-free business. Include some useful facts and information with the letter or provide links to resources where they can learn more.
If you are a business - make sure your company takes steps to investigate and eliminate human trafficking throughout its supply chain. Publish your business and products as “slave-free” on your website or storefront using the Blue Heart logo available here for download in several languages.
If you are an organization - increase awareness of the issue of human trafficking in your community. Ensure that your staff is able to identify and assist trafficked persons. Spread the word about the Blue Heart Campaign through your own networks and contacts.
Further Reading:
- The CNN Freedom Project: Ending Modern-Day Slavery is a year-long multimedia project that started in February 2011. The CNN crew will fight modern-day slavery by shining a spotlight on its horrors, amplify its victims’ voices, highlight success stories and help unravel the complicated tangle of criminal enterprises of trading human life.
- The UN Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons, adopted by the UN General Assembly in July 2010.
- The US Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons website.
- How does your country rank on the issue of human trafficking? Click here to find out how the 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report ranks your country using the interactive map, then scroll down the page and find your Country Narrative to learn the details.
- The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
Anti-Trafficking Organizations:
- Humantrafficking.org: www.humantrafficking.org
- Free the Slaves: www.freetheslaves.net
- Anti-Slavery: www.antislavery.org
- End Slavery Now: www.endslaverynow.com