Russians Jailed For Belarusian Trafficking Ring

Russians Jailed For Belarusian Trafficking Ring - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty © 2009

June 10, 2009
MINSK -- A Moscow court has found three Russians guilty of human trafficking, illegal incarceration, and the organization of a prostitution ring in Moscow, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports.

The Meshchansky District Court in Moscow said that from 2003 to 2005 Viktor Sheremet, Kirill Golovin, and Artem Chukardin organized a chain of brothels in central Moscow where young women from Belarus were forced to work as prostitutes.

They were also found to have run an organized criminal group that operated in Moscow and the Belarusian city of Vitebsk.

The leader of the group, Sheremet, was sentenced to 12 years in prison, while Golovin and Chukardin were given 11 and 10 years, respectively.

timesofmalta.com - Malta, Italy and Libya discuss immigration

Wednesday, 10th June 2009 - 12:26CET
Malta, Italy and Libya discuss immigration

The role which the EU has to assume with a view to addressing the problem of human trafficking holistically was discussed during a foreign ministers' meeting between Italy, Libya and Malta, the government said.

The meeting was held in Rome yesterday and grouped Foreign Minister Tonio Borg, Italian Minister Franco Frattini, and Libya's Minister Mussa Kussa.

The Foreign Ministry said they discussed the need to address the problem of migration at source at the countries of origi,n and Libya could provide useful assistance in this regard as it is the president of the African Union.

It was also agreed that meetings at the tripartite level should continue to take place in the future.

timesofmalta.com - Right of refugees to bring relatives to Malta

Wednesday, 10th June 2009 - 10:51CET
Right of refugees to bring relatives to Malta

Illegal immigrants do not have a right to bring their relatives to Malta, but such a right is enjoyed by those migrants who are granted refugee status, Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici said this morning.

He said when speaking in Parliament that this is in line with the 1951 Geneva Convention.

The minister was replying to a parliamentary question by Chris Cardona.

timesofmalta.com - Right of refugees to bring relatives to Malta

Wednesday, 10th June 2009 - 10:51CET
Right of refugees to bring relatives to Malta

Illegal immigrants do not have a right to bring their relatives to Malta, but such a right is enjoyed by those migrants who are granted refugee status, Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici said this morning.

He said when speaking in Parliament that this is in line with the 1951 Geneva Convention.

The minister was replying to a parliamentary question by Chris Cardona.

Tratta immigrati: 46 gli arrestati

Tratta immigrati: 46 gli arrestati

Organizzazione curda ha portato in Europa migliaia di persone
09/06/2009 16:24
(ANSA-ROMA, 9 GIU- Arrestati in 46 in un'operazione contro una tratta di clandestini: sgominata banda curda che ha fatto arrivare in Europa migliaia di persone. L'indagine della Polizia di Venezia ha portato a 32 arresti e perquisizioni a Venezia, Roma, Bologna, Rimini, Ancona, Como, Verona, Arezzo, Sassari, Bergamo, Bari, Bolzano, Milano, Crotone, Palermo, Cosenza e Imperia. Ogni immigrato, per raggiungere l'Europa dall'Iraq, pagava dai 4 agli 8000 dollari. In tutto i clandestini trasferiti potrebbero essere 5000.

Traffico immigrati, 11 arresti

Traffico immigrati, 11 arresti

Tra gli arrestati persone di nazionalita' indiana
01/06/2009 11:52
(ANSA) - LOCRI (REGGIO CALABRIA), 1 GIU - I carabinieri hanno arrestato 11 persone in Calabria nell'ambito di un'operazione contro il traffico di immigrati. Gli arrestati sono anche di nazionalita' indiana e sono accusati di associazione per delinquere finalizzata all'immigrazione clandestina. Gli 11 arresti sono stati fatti in esecuzione di ordinanze di custodia cautelare emesse dal gip di Locri su richiesta della Procura della Repubblica.

Poland becoming transit, destination country for human trafficking – UN expert

Poland becoming transit, destination country for human trafficking – UN expert

29 May 2009 – Poland’s accession to both the European Union (EU) and the Schengen zone has transformed it into both a transit and destination country for human trafficking, a United Nations independent expert said today, noting that the Eastern European nation has made progress in fighting the scourge.

The scale of trafficking was already serious in Poland, but has become aggravated in the past five years due to joining the EU and the Schengen zone, Joy Ngozi, the Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, said, wrapping up a six-day visit to the country.

“The endemic forms of trafficking include, but are not limited to, trafficking for labour exploitation, for prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation,” she said.

According to information provided by both the Government and by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the number of trafficking cases is on the rise.

Poland has ratified key international and human rights treaties, including the Protocol on Trafficking in Persons to the 2000 UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Protocol), under which States are required to take action to ensure the protection of trafficking victims, prevent trafficking and bring traffickers to justice.

Ms. Ngozi said that the Government has taken steps in combating the scourge through cooperation with neighbouring countries. It has amended its Criminal Code to punish perpetrators of trafficking and has a law on domestic violence in place.

Further, Poland has a comprehensive law on trafficking in human organs and tissue, “which is very forward-looking and has been enacted and is indeed a welcome development as we must ensure that all forms of trafficking are criminalized,” she added.

But the Rapporteur, who reports to the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council in an independent and unpaid capacity, noted that there are other steps the country must take to effectively address human trafficking.

Poland lacks a clear definition of trafficking in its criminal law, labour exploitation is on the rise and availability and access to help for trafficking victims is limited, she said.

Additionally, judicial proceedings for trafficking cases are unduly long, lasting two years on average. “Thus, efforts should be made by the Ministry of Justice and the Judiciary to shorten the period and provide early case closure that will bring succour to victims and reduce trauma suffered, while redirecting focus to victims’ full reintegration and rehabilitation,” she noted.

Woman jailed for human trafficking

Bangkok Post : Woman jailed for human trafficking

By: AFP
Published: 29/05/2009 at 03:43 PM

A woman was sentenced to 18 years in jail on Friday for trafficking women from her hometown in Isan to Italy, where they were forced to work as prostitutes, court officials said.

The Criminal Court found Kularb Thongmisri, 42, guilty of procuring three women from an impoverished part of Si Sa Ket province to work in the Italian sex industry three years ago.

The victims, aged 42, 40 and 31, were lured to Europe by Kularb with the promise of well-paid jobs as house maids.

She made them pay an advance sum of 500,000 baht each for travel costs.

After arriving in Milan via Vienna in February 2006, the women were forced to work as prostitutes until Italian police smashed the racket and repatriated them to Thailand in August 2006, the court said.

Kularb was arrested in Si Sa Ket in July 2007 after she returned from Italy.

She was also ordered by the court to pay the three women a total of 1.5 million baht in compensation.

Mozambique: Law On Human Trafficking Still Not Implemented

allAfrica.com: Mozambique: Law On Human Trafficking Still Not Implemented

28 May 2009

Maputo — The law on human trafficking in Mozambique, particularly concerning women and children, approved by the country's parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, in April 2008, remains a dead letter, because of the lack of regulations for its implementation.

Mozambique was the first member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to approve such a law, and was commended as an example to be followed by others, but it still lacks the detailed regulations required to put the principles of the law into practice.

The same fate has overtaken many other laws passed by the Assembly, which wait months or years for a set of regulations to make them effective.

The Minister for Women's Affairs and Social Welfare, Virgília Matabele, told AIM that the government has been working on regulations to implement this law, and an inter-sector commission has been set up to that end. She said that the delay is due to the complexity of the issue.

"I think that we are not very far behind", said Matabele. "We are working. These are very complex issues, and we must all discuss how to implement them".

Before the adoption of this law, human trafficking could only be dealt with by using the articles in the penal code on crimes such as kidnapping. But now there is a specific crime on trafficking in human beings which covers the recruitment, transport, or accommodation of a person by any means, including under the pretext of employment, but where the end purpose is prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labour, slavery or debt servitude.

One of the innovations of the law is the fact that it declares human trafficking as a "public crime", which means that prosecuting cases does not depend on any complaint or denunciation on the part of persons trafficked.

The law states that goods or property used in the crime of human trafficking or resulting from it are to revert to the state and are to be used in programmes to prevent trafficking and to support the victims. People found guilty of this crime should be sentenced to between eight and 12 years imprisonment.

The Southern African Network Against the Trafficking and Abuse of Children (SANTAC) argues that regulating this law must take place immediately, because the practice is tending to take root in Mozambique, a situation that may worsen with the forthcoming World Cup in South Africa in 2010. There are fears that the massive influx of tourists expected for the World Cup, will provide fresh opportunities for the sexual exploitation of women and children.

SANTAC executive secretary Margarida Guitunga thinks that Mozambique must have the capacity to implement the Law on Human Trafficking, which implies making available human and financial resources, and producing the necessary regulations.

Human trafficking gang targeted

BBC NEWS | UK | Northern Ireland | Human trafficking gang targeted

Six women, believed to be the victims of human trafficking, have been rescued in Belfast and Londonderry as part of a UK-wide police operation.

Five were rescued in Belfast, and one in Derry during the investigation.

Police said Operation Sleek was aimed at dismantling a Chinese organised crime gang and rescuing their victims.

Three people have been arrested, one in Belfast and two in Worcestershire, on suspicion of human trafficking and controlling prostitution.

A 39-year-old man was arrested in east Belfast and has been taken to Antrim police station.

The two other arrests were made in England by officers from West Mercia Police accompanied by PSNI detectives at properties in the Summerhill area of Kidderminster.

West Midlands Police and PSNI officers also searched a property in Birmingham.

The two suspects, a 40-year-old woman and a 41-year-old man, are being brought to Antrim police station for questioning.

Property in Newry, County Down was also searched.

'Vulnerable'

The officer in charge of the operation, Detective Chief Superintendent Essie Adair, said the arrests were part of a co-ordinated operation against human trafficking in the United Kingdom.

"This is nothing more than a modern form of slavery in which vulnerable women are used and abused to make substantial profits for organised crime gangs," he said.

"This particular operation has been a long time in the planning, involving a number of partner agencies and with co-operation from two Chinese victims.

"Police will continue to work with partner agencies to disrupt and dismantle these gangs, wherever and whenever they come to our attention."

The suspected victims are being cared for under arrangements funded by the government with support from the Police Service and delivered by Women's Aid Federation (NI) and the Migrant Helpline.

The UK Human Trafficking Centre, the Serious Organised Crime Agency, the UK Borders Agency, Women's Aid, the Migrant Helpline and the Poppy Project were also involved in the multi-agency operation.

Mozambique: SADC Fights Against Human Trafficking

allAfrica.com: Mozambique: SADC Fights Against Human Trafficking

27 May 2009

Maputo — The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is designing a response to the growing threat posed by human trafficking.

To this end, a three day technical meeting of the organization began in Maputo on Tuesday to prepare a forum of ministers on the matter. The objective of the meeting is to design a regional strategy to fight against the trafficking in people, which mostly affects women and children

Opening the meeting, Mozambique's Minister for Women's Affairs and Social Welfare, Virgilia Matabele, defended the need for coordinated action among SADC member states.

'Trafficking in human beings is a concern to every country across the world, and to SADC in particular", she said. "This practice is the most degrading form of crime. It is necessary to find a way to prevent this kind of practice, that affects particularly women and children, and we feel that there is a need for coordinated action to fight against this evil".

One of the weak points in the fight against trafficking is the lack of specific legislation on the matter in most member states. Mozambique was the first SADC member countries to adopt a specific law banning trafficking in people. It was followed by Tanzania and Zambia, and South Africa and Malawi are working on it.

Speaking to reporters after the opening session, Lurdes Mabuda, head of the police department dealing with crimes against women and children, said the Mozambican police are investigating cases of trafficking of children involving two young girls, one aged 25 and one just 14 years old, who were being transported in a vehicle to South Africa, allegedly to be employed as maids.

Mabunda said the 25 year old was recruited at Palmeiras about 90 kilometres north of Maputo. On its way to South Africa, the vehicle stopped at a house in the Maputo suburb of Xipamanine, where the 14 year old was picked up.

But the police intercepted the vehicle, and when the person accompanying the girls was interrogated "he said that he did not know them, though they had declared that they were going to South Africa with him", said Mabunda. "We had to interrupt the journey, and the case is now under investigation".

Another case was reported in Inhambane province, where a woman was found transporting 10 children aged under 15. She was supposedly taking them to jobs in Mabalane, in the neighbouring province of Gaza, but the police found them in Maputo.

According to Mabunda, the woman was intending to take those children to South Africa. "This is a case of human trafficking where adults are involved or were used by relatives who are living in South Africa to recruit children, allegedly to find jobs, but the true objective is only found out at the end of the journey", she said.

"It is normal in Mozambique to have people easily accept proposals of good jobs even if they don't knowing whether the people recruiting them are suitable", said Mabunda. "Often those recruited do not even know where they are supposed to be working and end up being trafficked and used for other purposes".

The regional network against human trafficking, SANTAC, estimates that about 1,000 Mozambicans are trafficked to South Africa every year. They are enticed with the promise of employment, but end up in illicit activities, such as prostitution, and drug trafficking.

Detenida la persona responsable de la llegada de la patera con 54 inmigrantes a Tarifa (Cádiz)

Detenida la persona responsable de la llegada de la patera con 54 inmigrantes a Tarifa (Cádiz) - Yahoo! Noticias

sábado, 23 de mayo, 13.33
Europa Press

La Policía Nacional de Algeciras (Cádiz) detuvo hoy a la persona responsable de la llegada de una patera con 54 inmigrantes a las costas de Tarifa el pasado día 19 de mayo, determinando así su conexión con grupos y redes organizadas de inmigración ilegal desde el norte de África hacia el territorio peninsular.

Según informó la Policía en un comunicado, las investigaciones, aún no concluidas, pretenden identificar a la totalidad de los integrantes de este grupo, su posible relación con otros grupos del territorio nacional y su completa desmantelamiento, al objeto de evitar la lacra social que a nivel internacional supone el tráfico de seres humanos al amparo de la inmigración irregular.

Por otra parte, esta misma Unidad, apoyados por miembros de la Brigada Local de Seguridad Ciudadana, en el marco de los objetivos estratégico de lucha contra las redes de Inmigración Ilegal y la Trata de Seres Humanos, en muchas ocasiones asociados al mundo de la prostitución, procedió a realizar controles selectivos en la zona del mercado de abastos Ingeniero Torroja de esta ciudad.

La operación, cuya finalidad era controlar el establecimiento en la zona de inmigrantes en situación irregular y el ejercicio de actividades ilegales, entre otras el ejercicio de la prostitución callejera, culminó con la detención de un hombre de Sierra Leona y dos mujeres de nacionalidad nigeriana, que se encontraban de forma irregular y sobre los que pesaban sendas órdenes de expulsión de territorio español.

Los tres fueron conducidos a las instalaciones de la Comisaría donde se les instruyeron los correspondientes expedientes administrativos, a la espera de su repatriación.

UN EXPERT ON TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS TO VISIT BELARUS AND POLAND

United Nations Office at Geneva | News & Media | UN EXPERT ON TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS TO VISIT BELARUS AND POLAND

18 May 2009

GENEVA – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, will undertake country visits to Belarus from 18 to 24 May 2009, and to Poland from 25 to 29 May 2009, at the invitation of each Government.

The Special Rapporteur will meet with Government officials, civil society members and representatives of UN agencies, and may also conduct visits outside of the capital cities.

At the end of each country visit, the Special Rapporteur will hold a press conference to share her preliminary findings with representatives of the media. Based on the information obtained during each visit, the Special Rapporteur will present a report containing her conclusions and recommendations to a forthcoming session of the Human Rights Council.

Ms. Ezeilo, a Nigerian national, assumed her functions as Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children on 1 August 2008. Ms. Ezeilo is a human rights lawyer and professor at the University of Nigeria. She has also served in various governmental capacities, including as Honourable Commissioner for Ministry of Women Affairs & Social Development in Enugu State and as a Delegate to the National Political Reform Conference. She has consulted for various international organizations and is also involved in several NGOs, particularly working on women’s rights. She has published extensively on a variety of topics, including human rights, women’s rights, and Shari'a law.

Manama Declaration on Human Trafficking

UN Pulse | Alerts to Just Released UN Online Information - a DHLink Service -

Posted at 5:18:09 PM

The Manama Declaration on Human Trafficking (A63/85) has been issued. This declaration was adopted at The International Conference in Bahamas. More information on Human Trafficking is availabe on The United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking ( UN.GIFT)

French National Assembly approves Bilateral agreements on migration fluxes with Congo and Senegal

See Ratification Law on Senegal: http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/13/ta/ta0288.asp

See ratification Law on Congo:  http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/13/ta/ta0289.asp

UE.- El TUE condena a España por no aplicar la norma para ayudar a inmigrantes víctimas de trata de seres humanos

UE.- El TUE condena a España por no aplicar la norma para ayudar a inmigrantes víctimas de trata de seres humanos - Yahoo! Noticias

El Tribunal de Justicia de la Unión Europea (TUE) condenó hoy a España por no haber trasladado a su legislación nacional la norma comunitaria que facilita la concesión de permisos de residencia temporales a nacionales de terceros países que cooperen en la lucha contra la trata de seres humanos o contra la inmigración ilegal. El plazo para hacerlo vencía el 6 de agosto de 2006 y los Estados miembros estaban obligados a informar a Bruselas de las medidas adoptadas.

El 27 de junio de 2007, la Comisión emitió un dictamen motivado instando a España a adoptar las medidas necesarias para dar cumplimiento a las obligaciones que le incumbían en virtud de la directiva en un plazo de dos meses. En septiembre de ese año, las autoridades españolas informaron al Ejecutivo comunitario de que el proyecto de Real Decreto destinado a adaptar la legislación nacional a la directiva debía aún obtener el dictamen favorable de algunos de los ministerios afectados. Bruselas decidió entonces acudir al TUE.

En su sentencia de este jueves, el Tribunal de Justicia recuerda que, según reiterada jurisprudencia, un Estado miembro no puede alegar disposiciones, prácticas ni circunstancias de su ordenamiento jurídico interno para justificar el incumplimiento de las obligaciones y plazos establecidos por una directiva.

A partir de ahí, el TUE descarta la argumentación desarrollada por las autoridades españolas según la cual el retraso obedecería a la celebración de elecciones generales en marzo de 2008 y a una reestructuración de los departamentos ministeriales, a la que acompañó una nueva distribución de competencias entres estos últimos.

Las autoridades españolas alegaron durante el procedimiento que, si bien es cierto que aún no se ha llevado a cabo una adaptación completa y efectiva del derecho interno a la directiva, ello no tiene como resultado la inexistencia absoluta de protección de los extranjeros nacionales de terceros países que hayan sido víctimas de la trata de seres humanos o hayan sido objeto de una acción de ayuda a la inmigración ilegal y que cooperen con las autoridades competentes.

En efecto, según España ciertas disposiciones contenidas en la Ley orgánica 4/2000 sobre derechos y libertades de los extranjeros en España y su integración social y en el Real Decreto 2393/2004 ya garantizan ampliamente en la práctica la protección que exige la directiva.

A este respecto, en primer lugar, el Tribunal de Justicia declara que, del examen de las disposiciones de la Ley orgánica 4/2000 y del Real Decreto 2393/2004 invocadas por España, se desprende manifiestamente que las mismas no son suficientes para llevar a cabo una adaptación completa del derecho interno a la directiva.

Por lo tanto, la sentencia concluye que, en la fecha en que expiró el plazo concedido en el dictamen motivado de la Comisión, España no había adoptado aún todas las medidas necesarias para trasponer la directiva.

UN: VICTIMS MUST BE AT THE CENTRE OF ANTI-TRAFFICKING ACTION SAYS UNITED NATIONS DEPUTY HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

United Nations Office at Geneva | News & Media | VICTIMS MUST BE AT THE CENTRE OF ANTI-TRAFFICKING ACTION SAYS UNITED NATIONS DEPUTY HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

14 May 2009

Victims of human trafficking must be at the centre of any effective and credible anti-trafficking action, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Kyung-wha Kang, said Wednesday in New York. Calling human trafficking “our modern-day slavery”, Ms Kang called for agreement on urgent collective action, not just statements “of good intent”.

Speaking to a United Nations General Assembly special meeting to discuss a global plan of action to end human trafficking, Ms Kang underlined the importance of a human rights-based approach, explaining that this “ensures that trafficking is not reduced to a problem of population movements, a problem of public order, or a problem of organized crime.”

“States and the international community have come to recognize the strong connections between trafficking and violations of human rights, in particular those of vulnerable groups such as women, children and migrant workers,” said the Deputy High Commissioner. “Bought and sold as commodities, terrorized by violence and intimidation,” victims of trafficking are denied their most basic human rights, Ms. Kang said. “They must be actively assisted in reclaiming them”.

States must meet their obligations under international law “to redress discriminatory practices and unequal power relations that fuel trafficking, perpetuate impunity for traffickers and deny justice to victims,” she pointed out. In particular, States that have not yet ratified the Protocol on Trafficking (known as the Palermo Protocol) to the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organized Crime, and other human rights treaties, should do so promptly.

The rights-based approach to combating trafficking, as outlined in the Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2002, makes operational sense, Ms. Kang said. For example, trafficking victims who are protected and supported are in a better position to cooperate in the prosecution of their exploiters.

Reinforcing her views, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, who also spoke at the meeting, said that the national plans she has seen were weak in adopting a human rights approach. They usually build on the model of “three P’s” she explained, “Protection, Prevention and Prosecution (with great emphasis on prosecution) without adequate consideration for the three R’s – Rehabilitation, Reintegration and Redress for victims.” Moreover, “most address mainly trafficking for sexual exploitation and few address other forms such as trafficking for labour exploitation.”

Outlining some of the measures that Governments should take to support victims, the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights said that “trafficking victims should not be subjected to summary deportations, nor should they be held in detention. Nor should they be prosecuted for activities that are a direct outcome of being trafficked.”

“Special care is needed for the protection of children who fall victim,” she said, adding that “age-sensitive measures must be taken to address their needs and protect their interests.”

Ms. Kang said that there is already a growing consensus on how human trafficking should be addressed. A global plan of action should seek to capture this and push it forward. But to be more than a statement of good intent, it must “openly acknowledge the link between trafficking and inequality; between trafficking and entrenched gender and racial discrimination; and between trafficking and inefficient migration regimes”. Then it could provide an important boost to national, regional and international efforts to protect the rights of victims.
In addition, Ms. Kang said the plan must “honestly address two aspects of trafficking that have been particularly susceptible to bland and empty rhetoric”. The first is “the root causes of trafficking: those factors that increase the vulnerability of individuals and groups to trafficking and related exploitation. The second is the demand aspect: the social, political and economic forces that develop and sustain a market for the so-called ‘products’ of trafficking.”

“For such a plan to be successful, it needs to reflect the primacy of human rights in responding to trafficking. In other words, human rights should form the foundation for any global plan of action against trafficking,” she underscored.


For use of the information media; not an official record

UK: Parliamentary Committee publishes human trafficking report

Committee publishes human trafficking report | Parliament News

14 May 2009

Home Affairs Committee inquiry into "modern slave trade" paints picture of poor understanding of the problem, patchy enforcement and little protection for victims. The Committee publishes its report to coincide with a conference hosted by the Committee that brings together the Chairs of the relevant Committees from across Europe.

* Report: The Trade in Human Beings: Human Trafficking in the UK
* Home Affairs Committee

Keith Vaz MP, Chair of the Committee, said:

"Unfortunately, our inquiry has painted a rather grim picture of a lack of understanding of, and therefore ability to deal with, the problem of human trafficking, among the various authorities in the UK and other EU countries. We need to be clear – this is not about "people smuggling": illegally bringing willing people into the UK. This is not immigration crime and cannot be dealt with as such. What we are seeing is in effect a resurgence of a type of slave trade, yet we have no good information on the scale of the problem, enforcement is patchy, prosecution rates are low and there is little protection for victims.

"A number of agencies in the UK - for example, the Metropolitan Police Human Trafficking Unit and the Gangmasters Licensing Authority - are recognised internationally as examples of best practice in detecting and rescuing victims, but we need to greatly improve our understanding of the problem. We need reliable information about the scale of the problem to be able to assign resources in the proper direction, and crucially we need much better training for the agencies and officials who deal with trafficking, both on the front line and in the criminal justice and immigration systems.

"We are disappointed that not all Member States are co-operating as fully with Europol as they could, and that not all EU Member States have taken practical measures to combat trafficking. However, we are today bringing together a "coalition of the willing", representatives of agencies and Committees in other EU countries, to discuss approaches and best practice in dealing with this appalling crime."

The Committee says one of the biggest problems facing attempts to tackle trafficking is the lack of any serious, current estimates of the scale of the "trade in people". At a conservative estimate, there are at least 5,000 trafficking victims in the UK, although some estimates say there are at least 4,000 trafficked women working in the sex industry alone. The estimates of the number of people trafficked into the EU each year ranges from 100,000 to 800,000.

The Committee expresses its disappointment that the UKHTC has not made more progress at developing estimates of the scale of the problem, one of the main tasks for which it was established. Without reasonable estimates of the scale of the problem, it is impossible to gauge what support services are needed for victims. Currently there is long-term government funding for just 35 places for victims in safe accommodation.

Trafficking – which must be distinguished from people smuggling - takes several forms. According to Europol the most prevalent form of trafficking in the EU was of young women and children for sexual exploitation, and the trafficking of children to commit street crimes (e.g. begging) was a ‘big issue’. ECPAT UK also listed cannabis cultivation, forced marriage and benefit fraud as purposes for which children were trafficked.

About 60 per cent of suspected child victims in local authority care go missing and are not subsequently found. Evidence from the Local Government Association emphasised the degree of confusion still surrounding the question of how to detect child victims of trafficking, and the Committee was particularly alarmed by accounts that traffickers may be, in effect, using the "care home system for vulnerable children as holding pens for their victims until they are ready to pick them up".

Adults might be trafficked to commit crimes such as shoplifting, pick-pocketing and the sale of pirate CDs and DVDs on the street, or into legal employment such as construction, agriculture and food production, and care/nursing. The exploitation of migrant domestic workers became so notorious that in 1998 the Government introduced special visas for them.

The Committee considered measures that could be taken to reduce demand for forced labour and sexual exploitation. Shortly before it gave evidence to the Committee, the newspaper publisher, Newsquest, announced it intended to drop all advertisements for ‘adult entertainment’ from its papers throughout the UK. The Committee also considered the proposal (included in the current Police and Crime Bill) to make sexual intercourse with a trafficked person a strict liability offence, and noted the view of senior policemen that this would be very difficult to enforce.

The Committee says that the difficulty in getting prosecutions for trafficking has led to the "Al Capone" approach, where suspected traffickers are charged for lesser crimes such as "living on immoral earnings". However, the problem with this approach is that the lesser sentences these crimes attract may not allow time even for their victims’ immigration status to be determined, let alone for them to safely re-establish her/himself in the UK or their home country.

The Committee identifies "major gaps in awareness and training" within the UK Border Agency, despite the best efforts of some staff, which it says "must be addressed by a greater emphasis on the excellent guidance already available". It was also "disturbed to hear anecdotal evidence of a lack of awareness about trafficking and its effect on victims among immigration judges. It seems that there is a pressing need for training of judges, too."

In the area of "legal" employment, the Committee says that outside the Gangmasters Licensing Authority’s sectors, enforcement is at best patchy and at worst non-existent. The Committee recommends that that the construction industry should be the first focus and if, after two years, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate has not succeeded in reducing abuse, then the remit of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority should be extended to cover construction.

The Committee noted the reduction in government funding to the Met’s Human Trafficking Unit, and recommended that, far from being run down, the unit should be sustained until the best practice it represented was embedded throughout the police service in the UK.

Zimbabwe: Country Mulls Human Trafficking Law

allAfrica.com: Zimbabwe: Country Mulls Human Trafficking Law

11 May 2009

Harare — ZIMBABWE is looking at ways to come up with a holistic law that deals with all crimes perpetrated under human trafficking, a legal expert with the International Organisation on Migration has said.

Speaking at a two-day workshop to sensitise the media on the challenges posed by illegal international migration, smuggling and human trafficking in Harare last week, IOM Zimbabwe legal assistant Ms Yvonne Masvora said consultations and research on what needs to be done to come up with a comprehensive act covering human trafficking and smuggling had already begun.

A draft policy document on labour and international migration is circulating in Government and could soon be brought before Parliament for debate.

"What we need to do is come up with a human trafficking Act to amend the existing laws that are scattered over a number of laws, that include the Criminal Law Reform (Codification) Act, Immigration Act, Labour Law 28:01 and Children's Act 5:06. At the moment it is difficult for legal officers to prosecute traffickers as different crimes are dealt with under different laws.

"Now that Zimbabwe has become both a transit and source, it is imperative that a legal policy be instituted so that all crimes under human trafficking are brought under one piece of legislation.

"To date we have held consultative and sensitisation meetings with civic organisations, ministries of Youth and Indigenisation, Health and Child Welfare, Home Affairs and the secretariat to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committees. We will soon be engaging senior Government officials and ministers to lobby on the need for a comprehensive law on trafficking.

"At the moment there is a draft policy on migration and development issues, at the second reading now, which seeks to regulate international migration and remittances to the country," she said.

Ms Masvora said it was unfortunate that only two countries in the region, namely Zambia and Mozambique, had laws on countering human trafficking and smuggling.

Zimbabwe is still to ratify the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime; the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress And Punish Trafficking In Persons, Especially Women and Children; and the UN Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air.

IOM Zimbabwe counter-trafficking assistant Mr Nyararai Kwenda said a number of programmes had been put in place to combat the problem in Zimbabwe and its neighbours that included raising awareness among the populace in addition to research on the magnitude of smuggling and appropriate interventions.

"We have embarked on a programme to sensitise the people on the dangers of human trafficking and to capacitate the victims.

"The organisation is also raising awareness among key stakeholders such as the media and various Government departments on the problem, but the challenge remains the strengthening of the laws, increasing penalties and the lack of transnational co-operation as the crimes usually occur across borders," he said.

Infancia sin Fronteras cesa al vicepresidente detenido por inmigración ilegal

Infancia sin Fronteras cesa al vicepresidente detenido por inmigración ilegal - Yahoo! Noticias

miércoles, 6 de mayo, 13.56
EFE

Madrid, 6 may (EFE).- Infancia sin Fronteras desconocía las actividades que desarrollaba el vicepresidente de esta ONG, Miguel Ángel Gisbert, acusado de introducir de forma ilegal ciudadanos cubanos en Estados Unidos, y le ha cesado en su cargo, según ha confirmado a Efe el presidente de la organización, Luis Lastra.

Según fuentes de la investigación, Gisbert realizaba sus supuestas actividades delictivas a través de una compleja ruta que pasaba por Nicaragua, España y México.

El presidente de la ONG ha manifestado sentirse "alarmado" por la información, ya que se trata de una persona "muy próxima", a la que "tenemos mucho cariño y afecto y con el que hemos convivido en situaciones muy malas en muchos países".

La primera medida que ha adoptado la ONG es cesarle como vicepresidente y, además, ha puesto en marcha una investigación paralela para determinar si el detenido ha utilizado recursos de la organización o la ha vinculado a sus actividades delictivas, aunque Lastra cree que no.

Desde el lunes Gisbert no había acudido a las oficinas de la ONG y ayer llamó por teléfono para explicar que había estado detenido en la Audiencia Nacional por un presunto delito de blanqueo de dinero.

Pidió ayuda para abonar los 12.000 euros de fianza que le habían impuesto, según ha relatado Lastra.

A partir de ese momento, en la organización no han podido volver a contactar con él, pues tiene el teléfono desconectado.

Aunque sus compañeros conocían que Gisbert tenía una empresa, al parecer de fibra óptica, en Nicaragua, desde hacía dos años, no sabían las actividades que realizaba en aquel país, del que es originaria su esposa.

Además, según Lastra, no se ha producido ningún cambio sustancial en su forma de vivir ni han observado ningún signo externo que les hiciese sospechar que el detenido se estuviese lucrando.

Africa: New Church Study Finds Human Trafficking Growing

allAfrica.com: Africa: New Church Study Finds Human Trafficking Growing

8 May 2009

Nairobi — Human trafficking for the purpose of forced labour and commercial sexual exploitation is a growing problem in East Africa, the findings of a new study show.

The study, conducted by the Catholic agency, Koinonia Advisory Research and Development Service (KARDS), to establish the response of faith-based organizations and other actors to the vice, covered Kenya and Tanzania. The findings were published last month.

Fifty-one organizations participated in the study. In Kenya, the study was conducted in Malindi, Mobasa and Nairobi, while in Tanzania data was gathered in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar.

The study found that in Tanzania boys are trafficked for forced labour on farms, in mines, the fishing industry and the informal business sector. "Tanzanian girls from rural areas are trafficked to urban centres and the Island of Zanzibar for domestic servitude and commercial sexual exploitation; some domestic workers fleeing abusive employers fall prey to forced prostitution."

Tanzanian men are reportedly trafficked to South Africa for forced labour and girls are trafficked to Oman, the United Arab Emirates and possibly Europe, the report says.

Kenyan children are trafficked within the country for domestic servitude, street vending, agricultural labour, herding, work as bar maids, and commercial sexual exploitation. Other trafficked Kenyans end up in other African nations, the Middle East, Europe and North America.

"Employment agencies facilitate and profit from the trafficking of Kenyan nationals to Middle Eastern nations, notably Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Lebanon, as well as Germany."

Chinese, Indian and Pakistan women reportedly transit Nairobi en route to Europe for the sexual trade. Brothels and massage parlours in Nairobi also employ foreign women. Children are trafficked into Kenya from Rwanda, DR Congo, Ehtiopia, Uganda and Somalia.

The report blames the vice on poverty, unemployment, migration, globalization, lack of birth registration, cultural and social norms and lack of appropriate laws to deal with human trafficking.

"Tanzania has enacted a law on human trafficking that is yet to be gazetted and enforced. Kenya's efforts to develop an appropriate law have been dragging on since 2007 when NGO's passed to the [Attorney General] a recommended bill," the report says.

Copyright © 2009 Catholic Information Service for Africa. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).