Have a (Blue) Heart

We all know about the global reach of narcotics trafficking, but there is an even more lucrative form of trafficking for those who engage in this kind of shady business - human trafficking. It is a crime that exploits especially women and children for numerous purposes including forced labour and sex. One in three known victims of this crime is a child, with girls and women accounting for 70 per cent of overall victims worldwide (UN).

The UN defines trafficking in persons as the "recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs."

Victims

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), around 21 million people are victims of forced labour globally every year. The primary reason behind this illegal human trade is poverty. The victims are sometimes forced by friends or families to commit such acts for finding 'easy money'. This estimate includes victims of human trafficking for labour (slavery in other words) and sexual exploitation. Trafficked persons are often tricked into servitude with the false promise of a well-paid job. In Sri Lanka, some rogue job agencies were known to engage in this practice though there has been a general clampdown on such entities. Every country in the world is affected by human trafficking, whether as a country of origin, transit or destination for victims. Slavery, in both its ancient and modern forms, is shameful and inhuman.

Yesterday, the world marked the World Day against Trafficking in Persons, highlighting these issues. The UN says that such a day is necessary to "raise awareness of the situation of victims of human trafficking and for the promotion and protection of their rights."

In 2010, the UN General Assembly adopted the Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons, urging Governments worldwide to take coordinated and consistent measures to defeat this scourge. The Plan calls for integrating the fight against human trafficking into the UN's broader programmes in order to boost development and strengthen security worldwide. One of the crucial provisions in the Plan is the establishment of a UN Voluntary Trust Fund for victims of trafficking, especially women and children.

Trafficking in persons is a serious crime and a grave violation of human rights. Every year, thousands of men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers, in their own countries and abroad. Almost every country in the world is affected by trafficking, whether as a country of origin, transit or destination for victims. The latest Global Report on Trafficking in Persons by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime found that the trafficking victims identified in 124 states were citizens of 152 different countries. However, there is a difference between human trafficking and human smuggling, which is another huge issue. The latter involves the transport of persons to third countries or territories by boat, on the payment of huge sums of money to human smugglers. These are often people fleeing conflict or economic migrants seeking illegal entry to Western countries. The same ring leaders sometimes engage in both human trafficking. We witnessed this phenomenon recently with thousands of Syrian refugees trying to get into Western Europe.

Migrants

In some cases, conflict and economic migrants also end up being trafficked for labour and sexual exploitation. These individuals can find themselves alone in a foreign land where they have been stripped of their passports and exploited for labour. Either way, the traffickers earn vast sums of money by 'selling' people. Both categories often end up penniless in strange countries, with deportation and/or prison staring them in the face. The UN has started a 'Blue Heart' campaign to focus attention on the issue of human trafficking. The Blue Heart represents the sadness of those who are trafficked while reminding us of the cold-heartedness of those who buy and sell fellow human beings. The use of the blue UN colour also demonstrates the commitment of the United Nations to combating this crime against human dignity.

In the same way that the Red Ribbon has become the international symbol of HIV/AIDS awareness and the pink ribbon for breast cancer awareness, this campaign aims to make the Blue Heart into an international symbol against human trafficking. You can wear a Blue Heart or change your Facebook profile picture to a Blue Heart to show support to trafficked people and to law enforcement personnel battling this crime. It is a small but important step one to show that you abhor this practice and care about trafficked persons around the world.

This also ties in with the basic theme of this year's anti-trafficking day - Give Hope. This alludes to the fact that trafficked persons keep hoping for a better tomorrow free of slave labour, probably in their home countries. Governments, multilateral agencies (ILO, International Organisation for Migration etc) and individuals can and should give them hope for a better tomorrow.

Cooperation

All governments must intensify cooperation to eliminate human trafficking and smuggling by sharing intelligence on organised crime gangs which engage in these lucrative practices along with gun running and narcotics transport. They are all intertwined in the smugglers' operations. Governments must ratify and effectively implement the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocol on trafficking, to protect trafficking victims, promote cooperation between countries and ensure that criminal traffickers, wherever they are, are brought to justice.

One instance of international cooperation resulted in a ban on child camel jockeys trafficked from Asia to Persian Gulf countries. This proves that it is possible to control, if not altogether eliminate trafficking in persons, especially children, the most vulnerable segment through enhanced international cooperation.