18 December is the U.N. designated International Migrants Day. International migration is a growing phenonomen, and migration can make positive contributions to the economy and culture of the receiving country. Throughout history, migration has been an expression of the individual's will to overcome adversity and to live a better life. Poverty, ethnic and racial discrimination are all factors in people seeking to change countries.
However migration can also present dangers. There is trafficking in persons. The traffick in human beings reveals the hunger for human labor. Illegal immigration is a nightmare of how the poor are exploited with no respect for human dignity.Trafficking in persons is often linked to networks trafficking in drugs and arms. Some gans are involved in all three; in other cases agreements are made to specialize and not expand into the speciality of other criminal networks.
International standards against trafficking have been set out within the United Nations especially the "United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime" and its "Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children". However, effective remedies are slow and often uncoordinated. Effective remedies are often not accessible to victims of trafficking due to gaps between setting international standards, enacting national laws, and then implementing the laws in a humane way.
Thus, despite clear international standards, there is poor implementation and limited governmental resources dedicated to the issue. There is a tendency to criminalize victims. Also, we see the growth of restrictive immigration policies in many countries. With these ever-tighter immigration policies and with popular "backlash" against migrants, would-be migrants turn to "passers" - individuals or groups that try to take migrants into a country avoiding legal control.
The scourage of trafficking in persons will continue to grow unless strong counter measures are taken. Basically, police and governments worldwide do not place a high priority on the fights against trafficking in persons unless illegal migration becomes a media issue. Thus, real progress needs to be made through nongovernmental organizations (NGO) such as the Association of World Citizens.
There are four aspects to this anti-trafficking effort. The first is to help build political will by giving accurate information to political leaders and the press. The other three aspects depend on the efforts of the NGOs themselves. Such efforts call for increased cooperation among NGOs and capacity building.
The second aspect is research into the areas from which children and women are trafficked. These are usually the poorest parts of the country and among marginalized populations. Thus, socio-economic and educational development projects must be directed to these areas so that there are realistic avenues for advancement.
The third aspect is the development of housing and of women's shelters to ensure that persons who have been able to leave exploitive situations have temporary housing and other necessary services.
The fourth aspect is psychological healing. Very often women and children who have been trafficked into the sex trades have a poor idea of their self-worth. This is also often true of refugees from armed conflicts. Thus, it is important to create opportunities for individual and group healing, to give a spiritual dimention to the person through teaching meditation and yoga. There are needs for adult education facilities so that people may continue a broken education cycle.
There are NGOs who are already working along these lines. Their efforts need to be encouraged and expanded.
René Wadlow
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