10 february 2018_final

News From Non -Aligned World
NAM Expresses concerns over
Human Trafficking
By IINS Research Team
Human trafficking has become a serious transnational
threat, threatening the security of not only the individual
victims but entire communities as well. Article 3,
paragraph (a) of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and
Punish Trafficking in Persons of the United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODOC) 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.
The most common victims of human trafficking
are women and children from poor, rural areas in
developing countries. Non-Aligned Movement, which
is the largest collective voice of the developing nations
of the world, has expressed serious concerns over the
issue of human trafficking.
NAM has recognised that trafficking in persons and
smuggling of migrants continue to pose a serious
challenge to humanity and require concerted
international response, based on cooperation and
sharing of information, as appropriate. The Heads
of State or Government of NAM Member States have
also recognized the importance of cooperation and
responsibility sharing among countries of origin,
transit, and destination in addressing the problem
of smuggling of migrants, as appropriate; and to that
end, urged all States to devise, enforce and strengthen
effective measures to prevent, combat and eliminate all
forms of trafficking in persons to counter the demand
for trafficked victims and to protect the victims, in
particular women and children subjected to forced
labour, or sexual or commercial exploitation, violence
and sexual abuse.
NAM Member States have undertaken a series of
measures to combat the threat of human trafficking. A
few initiatives are mentioned below.
In South Asia, Bangladesh has a comprehensive law on
TIP and a National Plan of Action to address all aspects of
TIP and Cross Border Trafficking (CBT). The government
has prioritized the training and sensitization of public
prosecutors and law enforcement. A government-led
Central Trafficking Committee is also in place with
inter-ministerial presence and participation. India has
implemented International Conventions on Trafficking.
India has ratified the United Nations Convention on
Transnational Organised Crime (UNCTOC) which has
as one of its Protocols Prevention, Suppression and
Punishment of Trafficking in Persons, particularly
Women and Children. For dealing with cross border
trafficking and to address the various issues relating
to prevention of Trafficking, victim identification and
repatriation and make the process speedy and victimfriendly
between India and Bangladesh, a Task Force of
India and Bangladesh has been constituted.
In North Africa, Algeria is a transit and destination
country for thousands of men, women and children
originating from sub-Saharan African countries and
wishing to reach Europe or the Middle East. . Algeria
prohibits all forms of trafficking under Section 5 of
its criminal code, enacted in March 2009. Prescribed
penalties under this statute range from three to 10
years’ imprisonment.
Another Northern African country Morocco has
demonstrated increasing efforts by enacting a new
anti-trafficking law prohibiting all forms of trafficking
and establishing an inter-ministerial anti-trafficking
commission. It also worked to reduce vulnerability
to trafficking by enacting a new law limiting child
domestic work and by extending legal protections and
social services to irregular migrants.
Morocco has cracked down on human trafficking and
illegal immigrants to the country by dismantling 80
human trafficking networks and foiling 50,000 illegal
immigration attempts in 2017.
NAM Member States are actively engaged in combating
the menace of human trafficking through devising
effective anti-trafficking strategies and also through
cooperation with the Border States.
February, 2018
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