Dear all,
It's been quiet lately, hope those who made it back from Geneva have
had time to recover. Looking forward to your assessments and
recommendations on how we move forward in Asia Pacific.
Am attaching a news article below re trafficking issue that came up in
our communication list previously. Sharing it as food for thought to
show what those involved in the issue are concerned with.
I don't make any comments one way or the other, except not sure about
the trafficking figures quoted below.
All best,
Sacha
The Bangkok Post
6 March 2003
FOCUS / TRAFFICKING IN HUMANS
Heinous trade can only lead to pain and woe
It is to the eternal shame of humankind that there will always be those
willing to prey on those weaker than themselves.
ANJIRA ASSAVANONDA
Those engaged in the war against the trafficking of human beings will
never forget the cruelty committed against a group of young Laotian
girls rescued late last year from an embroidery firm in Bangkok's Bang
Khun Thien district.
One girl, just 14 years old, had bruises and serious wounds covering
her body after being doused with cleansing liquid. This had destroyed
her skin and bone tissue and was expected to leave her disabled. All
the children had been overworked and paid a pittance in return.
This was not the first case of horrible physical abuse of child labour
in Thailand or elsewhere. These young girls are just a few among
millions of children who have fallen victim to human trafficking, an
insidious worldwide, multi-billion-dollar industry.
Yet some people ask why solving this crime should be made a priority
when there are many other serious problems besetting the global
community.
The answer to this from social workers and government officials in
Southeast Asia attending an international symposium on children
trafficking in Tokyo last month was simple: Any violation of human
rights has no place in today's world and trafficking inevitably leads
to other serious problems.
Kul Gautum, deputy executive director of the United Nations Children's
Fund, or Unicef, the meeting organiser along with the Japanese
government, did not mince words. He described the current practice of
trafficking as ``the largest slave trade in history''.
The UN estimates that 1.2 million children are trafficked worldwide
each year, but the actual figure could be many times more. Such numbers
demand immediate, appropriate action.
Trafficked children are abused, exposed to hazardous working
conditions, confined to their workplace, and denied an education, basic
health-care, adequate nutrition, leisure time and the safety and
security of their families and communities.
Many are exposed to health risks, including HIV/Aids and other sexually
transmitted diseases. Children who are exploited are often not in a
position to negotiate safe sex. Their basic rights are violated and no
one knows how many lose their lives.
Despite the horrifying consequences, the problem will continue _ here
in Thailand as elsewhere _ as long as there remains gaps in economic
and political fortune.
Ben Svasti, programme coordinator for Trafcord, or the Coordination
Unit for Anti-Trafficking Operations Northern Thailand, said the
foremost factors in human trafficking include economic hardship, a lack
of opportunity, political oppression in neighbouring countries, and the
increased demand among those who would abuse.
``Shan women from Burma who endure systematic ethnic persecution by the
government often state that their choice is either to stay at home and
be raped for free by the Burmese military or come to Thailand and be
raped in brothels for a small amount of money,'' he said.
Bodil Tumir, trafficking adviser to Norwegian Church Aid, which carries
out a project in Laos, agreed, noting that Laotian girls travel to
Thailand not only for economic reasons but in the hope of ``a better
life''.
``Parents also push their children to go in order to obtain well
being,'' he said. ``This can easily be seen in a lot of villages where
houses are built using Thai money.''
Hence the complexity of the issue: whether those trafficked agree to
leave their homes behind or are coerced, and whether they want to be
rescued or not.
Thailand is a country of origin, transit and destination for the trade
in humans. National statistics show there are roughly 200,000
commercial sex workers in Thailand, 25% of them under 18 years and
50,000 of them of Burmese origin.
While the number of Thai girls and boys entering the sex trade has
declined, the number of girls trafficked from Burma, Laos, China,
Cambodia and Vietnam is believed to be on the rise.
This trend has gathered pace despite the changes to Thai law and
working procedures to help in the rescue of victims and the stiffer
penalties for traffickers and the end users of the victims. The
legislation includes the Prostitution Prevention and Suppression Act,
the Measures in Prevention and Suppression of Trafficking in Women and
Children Act, and the Amendment to Criminal Procedures Act.
The country has also ratified international mechanisms, including the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, the ILO Convention, the
Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime, and the Protocol to
Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons.
Yet, despite those national and international mechanisms, the
trafficking of children continues. It has also become more complex
through such things as the spread of child pornography and the
mail-order bride business, which are offered openly on the internet. Mr
Ben said this was the result of widespread corruption, poor law
enforcement, the failure to successfully arrest and punish human
traffickers, and the lack of cross-border cooperation between
governments in neighbouring countries.
Thailand alone, he said, cannot solve the problem until its neighbours
put in place coordinated programmes of prevention and the reintegration
of victims.
``In many cases, Thai programmes have facilitated the return of victims
to their homes but have been unable to arrange follow-up reintegration
programmes with organisations in Burma,'' Mr Ben said. ``So within
weeks the victims have returned to Thailand to once again fall prey to
trafficking networks.''
Handling the problem more effectively means implementing comprehensive
strategies that address the full cycle of child assistance _ from
prevention to protection, legislation and enforcement, to repatriation,
recovery and reintegration. Networking at the local, national and
international levels is one of the most important steps in countering
trafficking, which is a transnational organised crime.
Saisuree Chutikul, vice-chairwoman of the UN Committee on the Rights of
the Child, stressed that priority should be given to bilateral and
multilateral agreements among neighbouring countries if they are to
block trafficking from one country to another.
Every country should also be more serious about having a national plan
of action to reflect the national commitment, she said, and they should
set a direction on the trafficking issue.
In 2001, 159 governments met in Yokohama at a UN-organised meeting to
find a solution to the problem. They adopted an agenda for action which
committed them to specific measures to combat child trafficking. But
only one-fifth of them have actually turned their pledges into action,
according to ECPAT International, an organisation working to end child
prostitution, child pornography and the trafficking of children. And
only about one-fourth of the countries with national plans allocate
resources to the implementation of programmes and activities.
Clearly, there is a need for more political will from each government,
said Sudarat Sereewat, of the Coalition to Fight Against Child
Exploitation. Trafficking must be regarded as a transnational organised
crime and the awareness and the consciousness of the state and its
people must be raised.
``It is not just small individual criminal cases any more,''she said.
``If we just raise awareness, we know what it is, what the problems
are. But we do not have the consciousness to start to take action.
Changes or improvement may not happen.''
Ms Saisuree also warned that action must be taken right away in a
holistic manner or it will be too late. ``Remember that whatever
happens, at this very minute children are being victimised. Don't give
up our effort to rescue them,'' she demanded.
attatchment (text/enriched) ignored