Committee: Special Conference
Question of: Protection of migrants from human trafficking and contemporary forms of slavery
Student Officer: Akhil Venkatesh
Position: Deputy Chair
Introduction
Human trafficking and slavery have long existed in our society, however, were recognized in the 17th century, with the rise of the west, when a Dutch ship brought 20 African slaves to Jamestown, Virginia. These slaves were forced into hard labor. As more and more ships emerged with thousands of slaves, slave trade became huge, expanding to 3 major continents: Europe, North America, and South America. Colored people, especially blacks were simply migrants who sought for a better life with a job. The Emancipation Proclamation (signed January 1st, 1863) stated that all slaves be free, changing the legal status of more than 3.5 million enslaved African Americans. Although there is definitely a lot less slavery in our world today, it still continues to exist. Contemporary forms of modern slavery include forced labor, sexual slavery/forced prostitution, child slavery and bonded labor (caused by debts – it is the most widespread form of slavery today). A majority of countries do not promote slavery or human trafficking and they enforce rules, attempting to keep citizens safe, however, this doesn’t have a great deal of impact, as the perpetrators find workarounds. The United Nations (UN) has called upon countries to abolish their practices of slavery, but modern slavery brings about a lot of money. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has also worked alongside the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to save innocents from detention centers across Africa. There have been numerous other efforts made by the UN and even though slavery has been abolished in most jurisdictions, contemporary slavery continues to exist and is a rising problem, especially for migrants.
Definition of Key Terms
Human Trafficking:
Contemporary Slavery:
Migrants:
Abolitionists:
Bonded labor:
Topic Summary/ Overview
Slavery and human trafficking have been around for centuries, but were never really recognized as a problem until the early 17th century. Today, modern slavery is a widespread and rising problem. Although there have been many efforts to tackle it, it continues to exist. There are many theoretical causes that have been put forth by people, but the most practical one is that as European countries were beginning to develop, there was an increase in the need for labourers. Paid labourers would cost too much, hence, they turned to cheap labor in Africa. In one way, Africa helped start the Atlantic Slave Trade as well, as there were groups of people who would traffick those who sought a better life and sell them off to the slave owners. At the same time, there were black slave owners in Africa, who would sell their slaves to the slave owners in America. Causes in other parts of the world were war and being conquered – free people became slaves once their land was conquered by enemies. This was the case for many years, and eventually being were being born into slavery. Slavery brought about a lot of money for people, and it also brought about cheap labor. Most countries used this cheap labor for construction purposes or to get the “hard work” done. There are many ways that these predators get ahold of people. One way is through instilling fear, telling them that their family is in danger if they do not complete the job. Another is through giving attention to the person and then manipulating the person to eventually work for them. The final, and most common cause is that the person lacks money, or is need of some. This is especially the case for many migrants, as not all migrants are offered the best jobs. The person borrows money, and they have to work to pay off for that money. The trick is however, that they are payed little to no money, and they may only leave once they have payed off their loan. The value of their labor and time is worth more than the money they borrow. Migration occurs daily, yet according to the World Poverty Clock, more than 600,000 people live in extreme poverty, meaning they are severely deprived of any basic human rights. More than 3.6 billion people live under the poverty line. This indicates that there is a huge chance for potential migrants to be middle class or lower. But even if people aren’t forced into bonded labor, they may be forced through means of violence or fear, which means that nobody is safe. According to The International Labor Organization, more than 21 million people are victims of forced labor, sexual exploitation, as well as human trafficking.
Actions against slavery and human trafficking began with the Abolitionists in America. They sparked the anti slavery movement, and inspired many different other decisions that were taken, such as the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, or the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) being signed by 48 countries, granting basic, unalienable human rights to people. One of the articles, article 4 states that: “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.”
The Global Slavery Index Map – Shows the prevalence of slavery in countries of the world
The top 10 being – North Korea, Eritrea, Burundi, The Central African Republic, Afghanistan, Mauritiana, South Sudan, Pakistan, Cambodia, and Iran respectively in that order.
Major Parties Involved
Country or Organization 1
Identify the major parties: states, IGOs, NGOs, MNCs etc. For each party explain how it is involved (i.e invests, provides aid, supports, setup programmes, impacted directly or indirectly etc) Give specific details regarding what the party is doing. If you are using an acronym, define it the first time that you use it. Ex: IMF (International Monetary Fund)
International Organization for Migration (IOM):
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is an intergovernmental organization, providing services as well as advice concerning migration to governments, and especially migrants such as but not limited to: displaced persons, refugees and migrant workers. The IOM, as of July 2018 has 165 member states and 8 observer states. The IOM was born out of people displaced from World War II. It is the principal intergovernmental organization in the migration field. The IOM works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners and just recently, in September 2016 became a related organization of the United Nations. The IOM works in four broad areas of migration management: migration and development, facilitating migration, addressing forced migration, and regulating migration
IOM works in the four broad areas of migration management: migration and development, facilitating migration, regulating migration, and addressing forced migration.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is an intergovernmental organization that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers. In September 2016, it became a related organization of the United Nations.[4] It was initially established in 1951 as the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration (ICEM) to help resettle people displaced by World War II. As of June 2016, the International Organization for Migration had 166 member states and eight observer states.[5][6]
It is the principal intergovernmental organization in the field of migration. IOM's stated mission is to promote humane and orderly migration by providing services and advice to governments and migrants.
IOM works to help ensure the orderly and humane management of migration, to promote international cooperation on migration issues, to assist in the search for practical solutions to migration problems and to provide humanitarian assistance to migrants in need, be they refugees, displaced persons or other uprooted people.
The IOM Constitution[7] gives explicit recognition to the link between migration and economic, social and cultural development, as well as to the right of freedom of movement of persons.
IOM works in the four broad areas of migration management: migration and development, facilitating migration, regulating migration, and addressing forced migration. Cross-cutting activities include the promotion of international migration law, policy debate and guidance, protection of migrants’ rights, migration health and the gender dimension of migration.
In addition, IOM has often organized elections for refugees out of their home country, as was the case in the 2004 Afghan elections and the 2005 Iraqi elections.
IOM works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners.
Walk Free Foundation:
Polaris Project:
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK/North Korea)
Country or Organization 2
Continue listing the relevant countries and organizations, and explaining how the party is involved, with specific details.
Aim for at least 3-4 major parties involved.
Timeline
Include any dates that are relevant to the issue, along with a detailed description of the event and it’s impact on the issue. Aim for a minimum of 5 key dates. This can also include dates where key resolutions were created etc. Please make sure the timeline is up to date.
Date
Detailed description of event
Previous UN Involvement
This section includes any actions the United Nations has taken relating to the issue. Outline the actions proposed by relevant UN resolutions (include the resolution number) or programs. Also comment on the purpose of these actions, their effectiveness and any further impacts the action might have had.
Possible Solutions
This section consists of a list of applicable action and solutions that can be undertaken to resolve the issue being focused on. This is one of the principal parts of the report, as it assists the delegates as to what to include in their resolutions. It is of paramount importance that no bias is shown. As a chair, it you must be completely impartial. Please do not include actions that have already taken place. Do not be afraid to be creative and “think out of the box”!
Useful links for further research
Include any links to guide further research for the delegates. This could include sources that have already been used in your report but contain a more in depth analysis of certain aspects of the issue. This section is to provide delegates with useful tools for research so please include relevant and helpful sources.
Along with the hyperlink to the source, also include a one-line description of the resource.
Bibliography
In text referencing is not required. Please cite all sources using MLA format. Websites such as www.easybib.com or www.bibme.org will do this for you.
The following sections are necessary to be included within your report:
Introduction
Definition of Key Terms
Topic Overview/ Summary
Major Parties Involved
Timeline
UN Involvement
Possible Solutions
Useful links
Bibliography
If you wish, and deem necessary, you may add extra information that does not fall into any of the above sections.
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THE TIERS
TIER 1
Countries whose governments fully meet the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s (TVPA) minimum standards.
TIER 2
Countries whose governments do not fully meet the TVPA’s minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.
b) There is a failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons from the previous year; or
c) The determination that a country is making significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with minimum standards was based on commitments by the country to take additional future steps over the next year.
TIER 3
Countries whose governments do not fully meet the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so.
TIER 2 WATCH LIST
Countries whose governments do not fully meet the TVPA’s minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards AND:
a)The absolute number of victims of severe forms of trafficking is very significant or is significantly increasing;
TIER PLACEMENTSTIER 1
ARGENTINA ARUBA AUSTRALIA AUSTRIA
THE BAHAMAS BAHRAIN BELGIUM CANADA
TIER 2
AFGHANISTAN ALBANIA
ANTIGUA & BARBUDA ARMENIA AZERBAIJAN BARBADOS
BENIN BOTSWANA BRAZIL BRUNEI BULGARIA BURKINA FASO CABO VERDE CAMBODIA CAMEROON COSTA RICA COTE D’IVOIRE
CHILE
COLOMBIA CYPRUS
CZECH REPUBLIC DENMARK ESTONIA FINLAND FRANCE
CROATIA
CURAÇAO
DJIBOUTI
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC ECUADOR
EGYPT
EL SALVADOR ETHIOPIA GHANA GREECE HONDURAS ICELAND INDIA INDONESIA IRELAND JAMAICA JORDAN
GEORGIA GERMANY GUYANA ISRAEL
ITALY
JAPAN
KOREA, SOUTH LITHUANIA
KAZAKHSTAN KENYA
KOSOVO
LATVIA
LEBANON LESOTHO MACEDONIA MALAWI
MALTA
MARSHALL ISLANDS MAURITIUS
MEXICO MICRONESIA MOLDOVA MOROCCO MOZAMBIQUE NAMIBIA
IRAQ
KUWAIT
KYRGYZ REPUBLIC LIBERIA
MACAU MADAGASCAR MALAYSIA MALDIVES
MALI
EQUATORIAL GUINEA ERITREA
GABON
IRAN
KOREA, NORTH
SOMALIA
LUXEMBOURG NETHERLANDS NEW ZEALAND NORWAY PHILIPPINES POLAND PORTUGAL SLOVAKIA
NEPAL
OMAN
PAKISTAN
PALAU
PANAMA PARAGUAY
PERU
QATAR
ROMANIA
RWANDA
ST. LUCIA
ST. VINCENT &
THE GRENADINES SERBIA SINGAPORE SOLOMON ISLANDS SRI LANKA
MONGOLIA MONTENEGRO NICARAGUA NIGER NIGERIA SAUDI ARABIA SENEGAL SEYCHELLES SIERRA LEONE
LAOS
MAURITANIA
PAPUA NEW GUINEA RUSSIA
SOUTH SUDAN
YEMEN
SLOVENIA
SPAIN
SWITZERLAND
TAIWAN
UNITED KINGDOM
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
TANZANIA THAILAND TIMOR-LESTE TONGA
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO TUNISIA
TURKEY
UGANDA
UKRAINE
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES URUGUAY
VIETNAM ZAMBIA
SOUTH AFRICA SUDAN SURINAME TAJIKISTAN TOGO UZBEKISTAN ZIMBABWE
SYRIA TURKMENISTAN VENEZUELA
ALGERIA
ANGOLA
BANGLADESH
BHUTAN
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
CHAD CUBA
TIER 3
BELARUS BELIZE BOLIVIA BURMA BURUNDI
SPECIAL CASE
LIBYA
ESWATINI
FIJI
THE GAMBIA GUATEMALA GUINEA GUINEA-BISSAU HAITI
HONG KONG HUNGARY
CHINA (PRC) COMOROS
CONGO, DEMOCRATIC REP. OF
CONGO, REPUBLIC OF
ST. MAARTEN
Sources (LOOK AT WHEN BACK IN SG)
https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/sites/antitrafficking/files/train_the_trainers_manual_1.pdf
https://refugeesmigrants.un.org/sites/default/files/ts5_issue_brief.pdf
https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/forced-labour/lang–en/index.htm
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Slavery/SRSlavery/Pages/SRSlaveryIndex.aspx
https://www.iom.int/sites/default/files/our_work/ODG/GCM/IOM-Thematic-Paper-Trafficking-in-persons.pdf
http://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/9504/iom-launches-map-to-help-companies-fight-human-trafficking
https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-policy/human-rights/fight-against-human-trafficking/
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/glo-act/17-countries-agree-on-regional-mechanism-to-combat-human-trafficking-and-migrants-smuggling-in-latin-america.html
https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-fight-for-freedom-7-organizations-combatting-human-trafficking
https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-policy/human-rights/fight-against-human-trafficking/
https://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/27/world/us-trafficking-tip-report-2015/index.html
https://www.themuse.com/advice/whats-being-done-to-stop-human-trafficking
https://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2018/index.htm
https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/282798.pdf
https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-fight-for-freedom-7-organizations-combatting-human-trafficking
Stop Modern Day Slavery – Top 10 Anti-Human Sex Trafficking Organizations
http://www.salesforce.org/7-nonprofits-leading-fight-human-trafficking/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polaris_Project
https://sf-hrc.org/what-human-trafficking
https://sf-hrc.org/what-human-trafficking#Examples%20of%20Human%20Trafficking
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/slideshows/5-of-the-worst-countries-for-human-trafficking?slide=3
https://www.humanrightsfirst.org/resource/who-are-human-traffickers
https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-fight-for-freedom-7-organizations-combatting-human-trafficking
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Trafficking/TiP/Pages/Index.aspx
https://www.unodc.org/documents/congress/background-information/Human_Trafficking/UNODC_2015_Issue_Paper_Exploitation.pdf
https://www.un.org/press/en/2017/sc12751.doc.htm
https://news.un.org/en/story/2014/12/485102-day-abolish-slavery-un-urges-end-modern-day-scourge-trapping-21-million
https://news.un.org/en/story/2007/03/213492-un-and-partners-launch-initiative-end-modern-slavery-human-trafficking
Timeline of events:
http://news.trust.org/item/20160530230430-42x1r/