Council of Europe Convention to enter into force February 2008

The Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings of the Council of Europe, a pan-European organization with 47 member states (and 1 applicant country, Belarus), is set to come into force on February 1, 2008. The Convention was actually opened for signature in 2005 by the Committee of Ministers and has been signed by 37 member countries. Only ten countries, however, have ratified the document. Ukraine is not one of them. Yet.

According to Darina Malko of the Ministry of Justice during a conference last week in Kyiv entitled "New challenges in providing social assistance to trafficked persons in the countries of origin, transit, and destination," there is a hold-up within the Ministry of Transportation regarding the articles and subsections related to the obligation of commercial carriers to check travel documents:

Article 7, subsection 3: Where appropriate, and without prejudice to
applicable international conventions, such measures shall include establishing
the obligation of commercial carriers, including any transportation company or
the owner or operator of any means of transport, to ascertain that all
passengers are in possession of the travel documents required for entry into the
receiving State.

Of course, a representative of a relevant Rada committee also complained the text is quite complicated, and they want to ensure correct translation of the document as well as understand the potential consequences of ratifying it. This individual claimed that some parts of the Convention actually overlap or contradict the Palermo Protocol (which Ukraine has ratified), making The CoE Convention difficult to ratify. Actually, the Palermo Protocol has the exact same clause related to carrier obligations. In fact, one of the final chapters of the CoE Convention is about its "Relationship with other international instruments" and the first article deals with Palermo. It states that the Convention shall not affect the rights and obligations of member states to the Palermo Protocol, but is in fact "intended to enhance the protection afforded by it and develop the standards contained therein."

The CoE basically states that the difference between this convention and other existing international protocol and framework is that it is more specific in regards to the protection of victims.

The Council of Europe considered that it was necessary to draft a legally binding instrument which goes beyond recommendations or specific actions.
While other international instruments already exist in this field , the Council of Europe Convention (Warsaw, 16 May 2005) is a comprehensive treaty mainly focussed on protection of victims of trafficking and the safeguard of their rights. It also aims at preventing trafficking as well prosecuting traffickers. In addition, the Convention provides for the setting up of an effective and independent monitoring mechanism capable of controlling the implementation of the obligations contained in the Convention.

The enhanced protection of victims' rights is one of the more important contributions of the CoE Convention as it provides for victims' rights during the identification process (so that one will not be removed before the identification process is complete). It also requires (destination) States to provide for a "Recovery and Reflection Period" at a minimum of 30 days so the victim may contemplate whether to stay and testify, and requires provisions to be taken during the repatriation process so that the programmes avoid re-victimisation.

The Convention is especially protective of children's rights and calls for measures to be taken to provide child victims with appropriate housing, education, counseling, and legal representation, and also requires that child victims shall not be returned to their state of origin if it is determined by a risk and security assessment that the return would put the child in a dangerous situation.

Other unique features of the Convention provide for measures to discourage the demand for TIP, as well as the punishment and sanctioning of traffickers, witness protection, and a monitoring mechanism that has specific protocol to observe the implementation of the Convention (known as GRETA). The articles provide for everything from the creation of the group to the steps that will be taken in order for GRETA to complete it's monitoring program efficiently and transparently.

You can view the State-by-State signature and ratification process and involvement here. Even if a state, such as Ukraine, signed it now, the Convention requires three months in between the submission of the ratification instrument and its entry into force within the state so the earliest it would start would be March. Nonetheless, a country bound to this document is committing to a major leap forward in the protection of the human rights of TIP victims. It has been said that Ukraine will jump on board by early next year so we will have to wait and see.

Short Introduction

Well this is my first post as a contributor to The Human Trafficking Project. Originally from Buffalo, New York, I am currently living in Kyiv, Ukraine where I am completing research for a Fulbright grant on the response to human trafficking in Ukraine. I began by wanting to study the governmental response to human trafficking and looking at how the government works with domestic and international organizations to formulate its response. However, I have shifted more towards looking at how international organizations and pressure, as well as the proliferation of domestic anti-trafficking NGOs, have influenced the Ukrainian government's decisions and actions regarding TIP.

At present, I mainly work with two organizations- the International Organization for Migration's Mission to Ukraine, an intergovernmental organization, and La Strada-Ukraine, part of the larger La Strada NGO network based in the Netherlands, but all domestically operated. Part of my research will include site visits and case studies of about ten domestic organizations involved in prevention, reintegration, and prosecution activities. I'm also quite interested in the response by the religious community in Ukraine. I still plan on doing research about the government response itself, but due to high turnover and due to the extremely complex network of government ministries and committees that are involved in process, and because Urkaine is still undergoing a change in Parliament from the September 30th elections, this part of the research will have to come later.

So, most of my posts will probably have a Ukrainian/Eastern European angle to them, as well as news from the organizations that Urkaine works with on the issue of TIP, such as the European Union and the United Nations. So here we go!

U.N. Says Tackle Human Trafficking with Economics

From Reuters UK:

The industry would continue to thrive as long as criminals benefit from high profit margins and relentless demand.

Human trafficking affects virtually every region of the world and U.N. estimates say the trade could be worth some $32 billion if both "sales" of individuals and the value of their exploited labor is taken into account. The traffic sees the young and vulnerable, particularly in developing regions such as Africa, sold into sexual servitude, child soldiers are drugged and forced into combat, and women enslaved as indentured labor.

Avina said UNODC wanted to secure $100 million (49 million pounds) from private sector donors and philanthropists to help fund a global drive against human trafficking. "The recognition is that there is insufficient resources to deal with this problem," said Avina.

Read the full article

Ireland Human Trafficking Bill Falls Short

From the Irish Times:

Amnesty International has welcomed new legislation aimed at tackling human trafficking but said it falls short in the protection and support of victims. The Criminal Law Human Trafficking Bill, unveiled earlier today by the Minister for Justice, gives expanded powers to gardaí to investigate cases of human trafficking. However, the new legislation does not contain detailed provisions to support and protect victims, apart from guaranteeing the right to anonymity for those who testify in court against the trafficker.

Questioned as to whether victims of the crime would automatically be considered immune from prosecution for other misdemeanors, such as entering the country illegally, Mr Lenihan said it would not be possible to guarantee immunity and that such matters would be at the discretion of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Amnesty said it welcomed the anonymity provision of the legislation and the proposal to exclude members of the public from proceedings where publicity might place trafficking victims or their families at risk.

Read the full article

It's good that they have a bill against trafficking, but honestly how many victims do they expect to come forward and file cases if there is a chance they can get prosecuted for other misdemeanors including entering the country illegally? It shows a lack of perspective on part of the Irish government- it is to their benefit to support the victims and ensure their non-criminal status because in doing so, they not only give the victims the services and support they need and deserve but also, by offering services which can encourage victims to pursue cases, improve the chances of traffickers being convicted thus increasing the risk/cost of operating in Ireland . Even the chance that victims can be prosecuted drastically decreases the likelihood that they will file a case against the traffickers. As a result, traffickers will not be convicted, legal repercussions for their crimes will continue to be negligible and business will continue as usual.

Instituting an anti-trafficking law is a good first step, but equally important is drafting a law that fully supports victims and maximizes the likelihood of putting traffickers behind bars. Currently, Ireland's Criminal Law Human Trafficking Bill does neither.

A Tale of Two Filipinas in Singapore

Source: Corbis

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer:

Lalaine, 19, was a saleslady for a popular department store when she was lured by a “friend of a friend” to work “for better pay” as a waitress in Singapore only to find that her workplace was a nightclub where she was forced to do a strip-tease and encouraged to have customers fondle her.

Kristine, a recent widow at 23 with two children (her husband died December 2006), was also told of the tremendous earning opportunities (“malaki raw ang kita”) in Singapore by an acquaintance -- a neighbor who was also their barangay (village) chairman. She agreed to a “hostessing” job there, but ended up being a call girl, having sex with different men in different hotels as arranged by her employer.

Lalaine and Kristine are just two of a growing number of young Filipino women being trafficked to Singapore for sexual exploitation, drawn in by the adventure of work abroad on the false promise of a high-paying decent job.

Read the full article

Doing Well By Doing Good

Source: Corbis

From MSNBC:

In June 2006, Bill Gates announced he was stepping down from his full-time role at Microsoft and shifting his focus to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. When the world's richest entrepreneur decides to take a step in the nonprofit direction, he may be onto something.

In the last decade, a generation of social entrepreneurs has become increasingly visible by creating self-sustaining businesses. Social entrepreneurs are similar to regular entrepreneurs with one main difference--their gains aren't measured in financial profit, but by the impact they have on society. Many entrepreneurs have started social enterprises, breaking nonprofit tradition by blending mission with money, referred to as "double bottom line" businesses.

Read the full article

Unlad Kabayan (Unlad) is a non-governmental organization in the Philippines that spurs local development by creating savings groups of migrant workers abroad to invest in community businesses. For example, Unlad helped establish a successful coco coir plant that processes coconut husks for their fiber, which is used for a variety of purposes including creating anti-erosion nets and filling mattresses to be sent to China. Social enterprise is one potentially effective way to combat trafficking, which exists in large part because of poverty and unemployment. Quality of life and monetary stability can increase by creating businesses that generate both financial and social profit, thus decreasing vulnerability to trafficking.

Ending trafficking requires a holistic approach including coordinated efforts between governments, law enforcement and the civil sector. At the end of the day, however, trafficking is an issue created by poor economies and the resulting financial desperation; out of a lack of options, men, women and children are forced to place their faith in recruiters who could be, and not uncommonly are, trying to exploit them.

Social enterprise provides an out to this desperation: if it can create jobs and do good at the same time, then all the better. The bottom line is a job= money = livelihood = stability = decreased vulnerability to trafficking.

This Week in Trafficking

Source: USA Today

Interpol unmasks man in photos with little boys
The image on the left was taken from a series of 200 photos that show a man with 12 young boys in Southeast Asia, according to Interpol. The human trafficking unit says the image on the right was reverse-engineered by experts who found a way to remove the digital manipulations that hid the man's face. They re-created the photograph for the global law-enforcement agency to distribute to its members and, when that didn't produce any viable leads, among the news media. Interpol won't say how it unmasked the man's face. "Techniques are always developing. What is impossible today is possible tomorrow," Anders Persson, a Swedish police officer who oversees Interpol's database of images of child abuse, tells the Associated Press.

Child prostitutes available at $100 a night: the human cost of junta's repression
This is a side of life the Burmese military junta might prefer you did not see: girls who appear to be 13 and 14 years old paraded in front of customers at a nightclub where a beauty contest thinly veils child prostitution. Tottering in stiletto heels and miniskirts, young teenage girls criss-crossed the dance-floor as part of a nightly "modeling" show at the Asia Entertainment City nightclub on a recent evening in Rangoon.

Dubai's promised land of luxury lures women into sexual slavery
Fei Fei, a 22-year-old from China's Guangdong province, has a souvenir of her eight months in Dubai: burns on her back and arms from cigarette butts crushed against her skin when she refused to work as a prostitute. She eventually submitted when a criminal gang threatened to send nude photos of her to family members. That indignity, she said, would have been worse than selling her body.

U.S. Attorney Rachel Paulose's crackdown on trafficking starts with Minneapolis man
A 36-year-old Minneapolis man on Monday became the first in what the U.S. attorney in Minnesota promises will be a long line of human traffickers to be sentenced to lengthy prison terms.Daniel McNeal, who has a history of sex trafficking and violent crimes, was charged in December 2006 with recruiting a 16-year-old Rogers girl into a life of prostitution and stripping jobs. On Monday, U.S. District Judge David Doty ordered McNeal to spend more than 24 years in federal prison, to be followed by a lifetime on supervised release.

India needs to bolster its anti-trafficking efforts
Even as India continues to be the most favored origin and destination for human trafficking in South Asia, most states in the country are still not combating the crime as a priority. Despite claims of consolidated steps being taken by the union government to combat the menace, only three states in the country, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and West Bengal, have set up Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTU) till date. Conviction rate in human trafficking cases remain low with states not prioritizing the issue of trafficking, despite India being a signatory of the UN Protocol on Human Trafficking.