Human Trafficking: A Global Human Rights Crisis

Introduction

The problem of human trafficking — in general, and with respect to women and children in particular — is a global human rights issue that has received considerable worldwide attention for a number of years. As inhumane as the concept may be, it affects every society throughout the world, whether developed or developing. The present-day movement toward open borders tends to perpetuate the problem, and as a result, a multinational approach toward combating human trafficking is essential.

As hard as it may be to imagine, human trafficking is a serious international concern. The uninformed may believe that slavery no longer exists in the world, but in fact it is flourishing. Within the past ten years, human trafficking has increased substantially and has actually reached unprecedented levels (Bales, 2004).

The United Nations has been at the forefront of efforts to combat the practice of human trafficking. In its efforts, the United Nations has estimated that the number of women and children who become victims of human trafficking every year is approximately 4 million (United Nations, 2007). The industry that has developed around human trafficking is highly profitable. Experts report that there are presently more slaves in the world today — estimated at 27 million individuals — than at any time in human history (Polaris Project, 2007).

In addressing the human trafficking problem, the United Nations has defined the practice as being composed of three main elements (United Nations, 2000):

1) It involves the "transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of persons."

Literature Review

2) Such actions must be accomplished through certain "means or mechanisms," such as force, coercion, kidnapping, and/or deception.

3) Actions must occur solely for the purposes of sexual exploitation, prostitution, and/or debt bondage.

In its simplest form, human trafficking occurs when organized crime units lure women and children — through a system of deception — with promises of better lives. Victims are offered jobs and housing, with positions typically presented as legitimate work in hotels and restaurants. Unfortunately, once the women and children arrive at their destination, the reality is far different. Victims are quickly brought to brothels and massage parlors and forced into prostitution, compelled to work long hours in dismal factories, or made to harvest produce under harsh conditions. All of this is done in the name of greed, with no consideration for the human rights of the victims. Moreover, these individuals are afforded nearly no legal protections once their working conditions are discovered and are, too often, returned to the same circumstances that made them vulnerable to trafficking in the first place. Therein lies the essence of the problem.

There is no shortage of literature addressing the human trafficking situation. As globalization has increased, the problem has become a paramount concern for a great number of international organizations. Many of these organizations are only remotely connected to the victims of human trafficking, but the problem is so serious as to require an effort by everyone to eradicate it. The European Union, the World Trade Organization, and UNESCO are just a few of the organizations that have formulated official policies on the issue. Despite near-universal criticism of the practice, few advances have been made toward eliminating it. In addition to policy statements by international organizations, the problem has been addressed in the international press and in professional journals worldwide.

One example of how professionals in a variety of fields have engaged with the human trafficking problem is an insightful article by attorney Stephanie Hepburn and Professor Rita Simon (Hepburn, 2010). Both women have been actively engaged in the human rights field, have lectured on the issue of human trafficking, and were preparing a book detailing their experiences with the problem. In their article, the authors examine human trafficking as a worldwide problem while also recognizing that it has individualized aspects characterized by the specific culture in which it occurs. Although they examine the problem with an eye toward its impact on human rights at an international scale, their specific focus is on the problem as it presents itself in the United States. The article provides a variety of interesting insights, and it is particularly valuable in that it pinpoints how and why trafficking is practiced. It also argues that present policy considerations are hampering strict enforcement against human trafficking in the United States — and that these same policies are effectively treating the victims of trafficking as the criminals rather than as persons deserving protection.

Conclusion

The other critical issue that must be addressed is the continued treatment of trafficking victims as criminals. Presently, many jurisdictions incarcerate victims and then deport them as illegal aliens back to the same conditions that made them candidates for trafficking in the first place. In the process, these individuals are victimized a second time — this time at the hands of law enforcement. It is an unbroken cycle. Efforts are underway, such as within the European Union, to adopt a more enlightened approach, but far more work remains. The United States has also initiated legislation aimed at the same goal, though its full enforcement has been constrained by public sensitivity toward immigrants (U.S. Department of State, 2000). Perhaps the most important provision of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 was the creation of T-visas, which allowed victims to remain in the United States if they qualified under the Act's requirements. This was a major step forward in recognizing the rights of trafficking victims.

The fact that slavery — created primarily through human trafficking — exists in modern society is an embarrassment for everyone, particularly for the developed countries where such practices have been illegal for hundreds of years. Immediate efforts to eradicate human trafficking should be a priority for every international body. The United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the European Union, and the United States have all expressed their intent to work toward a resolution, but additional funding is required along with a genuine determination to work together toward a common goal.

Globalization has proven effective in business and politics. It is time that the same techniques and spirit of cooperation that have driven globalization be applied in the area of human rights. Such an approach would undermine the efforts of those individuals and organizations profiting from human trafficking. Human trafficking is not a national problem — it is an international one, and it requires the combined efforts of the international community to eradicate it. The greatness of a society is determined by how it treats the weakest among its members. Now is the time for the international community to treat its most vulnerable members — women and children — with the same dignity it accords to everyone else. When this occurs, the world will be a more peaceful and lawful place for all.