STATES HAVE OBLIGATION TO PROTECT VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING - SENIOR MIGRANT SPECIALIST

With an ongoing preoccupying human trafficking phenomenon, we spoke to  SARAH CRAGGS, Senior Migrant Assistance Specialist, for the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) for the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

SARAH CRAGGS : PROTECT VICTIMS

CRAGGS who supports IOM’s counter-trafficking and migrant assistance efforts across the region posits that any state which is party to the UN Protocol on trafficking in persons has a legal obligation to protect victims, prosecute traffickers, and prevent the crime in the outset.

When Sarah Craggs earlier worked as Counter-trafficking Research Officer in Geneva, she supported data collection and research efforts to address less considered aspects of human trafficking and has been working on the subject for almost 15 years.

Speaking from her base in Cairo, Egypt, she contends in this exclusive interview that victims of trafficking are never to blame.

READ ON FOR FULL INTERVIEW

What is human trafficking and what differences do exist between that practice and human smuggling?

Human trafficking is essentially modern day slavery. It is a crime, a process which we consider as having three ‘parts’: act, means and exploitation. It is the ultimate exploitation and violation of the fundamental human rights of an individual. An individual may enter human trafficking through coercive, fraudulent or deceptive recruitment, transfer, transportation, habouring, or even kidnapping. 

The concept of exploitation is not defined in the UN protocol which covers human trafficking but at a minimum covers forced labour, sexual exploitation, slavery and slavery-like practices, for the purposes of organ removal. Vulnerability further plays much towards an individual’s trafficking experience, although we may all find ourselves at-risk of trafficking if the intent is there.

SOME VICTIMS 

For the act of smuggling, there always has to be movement across an international border, from one country to another. The individual often seeks the services of an intermediary who facilitates the smuggling process. 

With trafficking there needs to be exploitation. The other difference is that trafficking can occur within the borders of a country; but the extent to exploit is at the core of the crime. Often times individuals enter into trafficking through being smuggled; and importantly, the consent of individual is irrelevant. 

How serious and severe is the human trafficking phenomenon globally?

The statistics differ and unfortunately there is still no globally agreed upon figure. The International Labour Organization, ILO, posits that at any given point in time there are over 21 million individuals in a situation of forced labour. The US Department of State through its annual trafficking reports has previously estimated that 700 000 individuals are trafficked annually.

SOME FRIGHTENING FIGURES 

But if we take the ILO statistics, we are talking about millions of individuals in situations of forced labour every year.

Africa is perceived as most hit with the practice. Can poverty, wars be the major causes to the upsurge of the phenomenon?

Trafficking is a global crime that affects all regions and countries. I am from the UK with a high GDP but individuals are being exploited within the UK. But when we look at some of the vulnerability factors we notice that lack of economic opportunities in the country of origin can be a motivation for an individual to seek and take risky migratory opportunities.

 This may place an individual in a situation of human trafficking. At the same time we need to look at the demand and supply dynamics; the heart of human trafficking. We have a supply of migrants and potential workers from the African continent and we also have a demand for the cheap and exploitative work and goods produced for those who recruit them. These are some of the major factors.

Some people blame the victims of trafficking (VoT) and smuggling for allowing themselves to be trafficked? Or that they are conscious but still get involved. Are the victims to blame in anyway?

No. Human trafficking is a crime. Someone who has been victimized, is victim of human trafficking, is a victim of a crime. And even if an individual consented to migrating irregularly no one can consent to the exploitation that they face or to having their basic and fundamental human rights violated. 

ROBBED OF HER DIGNITY

Anyone who has been victim of human trafficking should not be criminalized, penalized or blamed for anything that they have been forced to commit as a consequence for their exploitation. They instead need to have their rights upheld and reenacted; to be able to avail themselves of justice for that victimization.

Why is the case of Middle East seemingly problematic? Is it that government policies there favour the crime?

It’s true that the Middle East and the Gulf receives a lot of attention when it comes to issues of human trafficking. There are particular labour and migration policies which have been found, some, compounding the vulnerability of victims to human trafficking. But what is happening in the Middle East and Gulf is similar to what is happening in other regions. There is very widespread human trafficking in Europe and Asia. 

That said,  the Middle East and North Africa region hosts a very large number of migrant workers from Asia and more and more so from West and East Africa. And when we have such large mobility patterns there is the risk to human trafficking.We also need to reflect on changing and diverse migration corridors and mobility patterns across the African continent. Migrants from the horn of Africa and West Africa are being exploited in the Yemen and the Gulf; nationals from Sub-Saharan Africa being exploited in North Africa and Europe. 

MIDDLE EAST COUNTRIES 

There is also trafficking towards Southern Africa.  So it’s a continental and global problem.

There is the perception that mostly women and girls are being trafficked and smuggled?

We have to be careful with our biases and perception towards human trafficking and how we identify cases of human trafficking. For a long time trafficking was seen as a crime that only affected women and girls for sexual exploitation. 

When the UN protocol to combat human trafficking was negotiated in 2000 it played out in a context where the focus was on the sexual exploitation of women and children. But by the mid-2000s there was an increased understanding of trafficking for other forms of exploitation such as forced labour, and similarly, of trafficking of men. But we also need to reflect on an individual’s perception of their exploitation and whether they see themselves as victims. Gender roles may have an impact here.

What are the universally accepted legal instruments and punishments for those found guilty of human trafficking?

As mentioned, the UN Transnational Organization Crime Convention is the global legal framework covering the crime of human trafficking which is specifically enshrined in the supplementary Protocol to Prevent and Suppress Trafficking in Persons. The UN anti-trafficking protocol came into force on 25 of December 2003 and is the first international legal instrument on the topic. It is orientated around what we call three ’P’s; actions to protect victims; action to prosecute human traffickers; and action to prevent the crime from occurring.

SUSPECTED TRAFFICKER?

 In terms of prosecution, and while the UN Protocol obligates states to put in place penalties for human traffickers, minimum and maximum penalties are enshrined through national law.

How best can the world combat human trafficking?

We have to first look at the structural issues that impact human trafficking in the different regions. We need to know what pushes some individuals to become involved in human trafficking or ultimately, to become victimized.

 On the other hand we need to know what is fueling the demand for cheap labor and services and goods and ensure that no individual is put at risk. We need safe and legal labor migration channels to be put in place. We also need to be raising awareness and ensure that people understand that it is illegal to keep people’s documents or make others work for free.

How would you appreciate the reaction of some governments who have good number of suspected victims of trafficking at a government shelter or deportation camp and their home governments  seem not to give due attention.

Any State which is party to the UN Protocol on trafficking in persons has a legal obligation to protect victims, prosecute traffickers, and prevent the crime in the outset. This includes countries of origin, transit, and destination. But we also need to work in partnership with other actors such as civil society, academia, and the media. We need collective action; we must all take up the fight to end human trafficking together.