United Nations Human Rights Council

Transcription

1 MMUN 2018 UNHRC Issue #02 United Nations Human Rights Council - Background Guide - Topic A Student Officer: Denisse Sandoval La Ceiba, Honduras

2 Table of Content Introduction Welcoming..2 Committee Background...3 Mission Statement.3 Topic Overviews...4 Topic A: Exploitation, forced labor, and trafficking Background Information.5 Background Information.6 Timeline of Events 7 Timeline of Event.8 Current Situation.9 Countries Involved..10 Countries Involved..11 Focus Questions...12 Important Research Links..13 References.14 References.15 Background Guide Page 1 of 15

3 Greetings delegates, It is a pleasure for us to receive you as the 2018 MMUNS s new members of the Human Rights Council Committee. From this point on, it s your duty to deliberate about certain issues concerning human rights worldwide with the help of other delegates in order to come up with virtuous solutions for such problems. We are more than pleased to see you all debate and get to live such an amazing experience here at Mazapan Model United Nations Simulation. I hope you re all able to put in practice your different skills in order to make this event even more thrilling. Hello, fellow delegates and welcome to MMUNS 2018! My name is Denisse Sandoval, I m 16 years old, currently a Junior, here at Mazapan School and I m beyond excited to be taking the role of your chair in this year s UNHRC Committee. I ve been involved in MUN for three years now and I can assure it s definitely an amazing experience. I would have to say that each conference has successfully allowed me to become better at public speaking and at understanding problems that have an international impact. I encourage you all to participate as much as possible, since it allows debating to become a much more memorable experience. May you all enjoy this conference and make the best of it! Welcome delegates to Mazapan Model United Nations Simulation 2018! It s a pleasure for me to introduce myself. My name is Abigail Reyes, I m 16 years old, and I m a junior at Mazapan School. I m more than excited to be one of your chairs this year. I have attended four MUNs now and I m thrilled to get to know each one of you this year. I expect participation from all delegates to propose solutions and discuss the global situation in order to make this conference successful. Prepare delegates, we re about to make a difference! Denisse Sandoval andrea.sandoval@mazapanschool.edu.hn Abigail Reyes abigail.reyes@mazapanschool.edu.hn Background Guide Page 2 of 15

4 Committee Background The Human Rights Committee is the successor to the United Nations Commission on the Human Rights. This committee works closely with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the General Assembly. UNHRC addresses every important topic that endangers or violates any human right. Currently the UNHRC holds 47 members that are elected for a term of three years. UNHRC was established on March 2006, after the General Assembly decided to replace the previous Council for Human Rights, which was criticised for allowing countries with poor human rights records to be members. Since then, it has been involved in strengthening its ability to protect and promote human rights and be respond to the needs of victims of rights violations around the globe. Mission Statement The mission of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is to work for the protection of all human rights for all people; to help empower people to realize their rights; and to assist those responsible for upholding such rights in ensuring that they are implemented. - United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Background Guide Page 3 of 15

5 Topic A Overview: Exploitation, forced labor, and trafficking Human trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, possession or acquisition of people through threats or any use of force in order to exploit them. Humans are constantly being moved within their country or across borders with the purpose of any type of exploitation, such as sexual, forced labour, modern slavery and even the removal of organs. Throughout the years, this has been a pervasive issue, including smuggling of migrants, where a person illegally enters into a State of which he or she is not a national or resident. While trafficking s main purpose is the exploitation of humans, the main focus for migrant smuggling is to be able to profit from the movement even though it involves deceiving and maltreating others. Such problem victimizes women, children, and even men worldwide. Some of our main points are: What has made exploitation, forced labor, and trafficking such a pervasive issue throughout the years? What means could be taken in order to reduce such vast rates? Is there any action that has already been taken? If so, what impact has it had? Background Guide Page 4 of 15

6 Background Information There are four main types of human trafficking that we most commonly hear of in present day: sex trafficking, forced labor, smuggling and debt bondage. Today, woman and children are the ones mostly affected for forced labor, where 99% of them are victims in the different commercial sex industries, 58% of them are in other sectors. According to the International Labor Organization, there are 24.9 million people caught in forced labour, 16 million people are exploited daily in the private sector, 4.8 million are trapped in a forced sexual exploitation, and 4 million are in forced labour imposed by any state authority. Forced labour is known for being any type of work that is put on a person through a threat and that they do not do voluntarily. Such problem is mostly imposed by state authorities, private enterprises, and even specific individuals. In the International Labor Organization s conventions on forced labour (No. 29 adopted in 1930 and No. 105 adopted in 1957), it says that there should be a specific obligation for States never to impose forced labour as a means of political persuasion or education, punishment for expressing political views or participating in strikes, mobilising labour for economic development, labour discipline or for racial, social, national or religious discrimination. We first heard of forced labour with the human trafficking of black slaves which later on became white slavery with the trafficking of women forcing them into prostitution without their consent. This was such a massive issue that the treaty of International Agreement for the Suppression of the White Slave Trade was created and ratified by twelve nations in Through such agreement, governments had to prohibit the procuration of women and girls for immoral purposes abroad. The United Nations General Assembly came up with a system in order to stop human trafficking in 1949 which was named as the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others. People who enslaved women and children for purposes of sexual exploitation were now getting punished by the government, but the agreement was only ratified by 72 out of 185 countries. In 2016, it was estimated that 40.3 million people were in modern slavery, 24.9 of those were in forced labour, and 15.4 million in a forced marriage. There is a big percent of people that are able to survive from this experiences but many of them end up with a trauma, lack of linguistic skills, as well as struggle with their basic functioning. Most of this people ended up in forced labor due to the result of internal or cross-border migrations. According to the International Labor Organization, 29% of the victims ended up in forced labour after having moved across international borders, the majority of those being forced sex workers. 15%became victims of forced labour following movement within their country, whereas the remaining 56% did not leave their place of origin or Background Guide Page 5 of 15

7 residence. Regularly, the victims most frequently drawn to forced labour are migrant workers /seasonal workers who leave their home in search for a job and then there s victims of state imposed forced labour who get exploited by the military. Countries who provide such victims, serve as pathways, and work as destinations are all involved in this international problem. The regions with the highest prevalence of forced labour according to the International Labour Organization is central and south-eastern Europe with 4.2 per 1,000 inhabitants, followed by Africa 4 per 1,000 inhabitants, Middle East 3.4 per 1,000 inhabitants, Asia Pacific 3.3 per 1,000 inhabitants, Latin America and the Caribbean 3.1 per 1,000 inhabitants, Developed Economies and European Union 1.5 per 1,000 inhabitants. Another form of human transportation that is regularly heard of this days would be coyotaje. This is known as a colloquial Mexican Spanish term referring to the practice of people smuggling across the U.S. Mexico border. The United States has depended on Mexican labor in their fields and factories, but throughout the past years, Mexican economy has been depending on any sort of wage given in the United States and that is able to reach the country. Mexican economy is unable to provide enough jobs for its growing population, therefore they rely on wages. This economic downfall has brought many mexicans to try to find solutions, causing them to try to reach the United States. This type of situation exposes them to any trafficker posing as a smuggler. In present day, coyotes have been coercing migrants into exploitative labor prior to reaching their designated place. Now, coyotes have been adding additional expenses to the migrants as they threat them and use them into any type of arrangement including agricultural labor, sex work, etc. Many times this smugglers offer service towards women or children migrants and then sexually assault and even rape them. Then, there s human traffickers posing as coyotes who guarantee migrants certain jobs and they end up kidnapping them to obtain money by selling them into prostitution or servitude. This most commonly happens to women but children live this experiences too. Most of the time, minors are sold into prostitution or put into forced labour by traffickers. Today, 1 in 4 victims of modern slavery are children. Background Guide Page 6 of 15

8 Timeline of Events MMUNS 2018 UNHRC s 1904 Portuguese started to transported Africans and use them in slave trading. European countries such as Britain, Spain, Holland, joined the slave trade later on. Plantation colonies increased the slave trade. International Agreement for the Suppression of "White Slave Traffic" was signed in This agreement protected women from being sold into white slavery League of Nations is created in order to maintain peace. The white slave traffic agreement now includes children. Studies were conducted in order to understand the real status of trafficking. In Japan during WWI, women were forced into sexual slavery. They were kept in comfort stations where they were tortured and abused. This stations were highly protected, this made escape impossible. The japanese government was responsible for that and used it for their own benefit. India; the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act started in the year of This act tried to reduce trafficking but it didn t actually turn out that way, it failed to protect women forced into prostitution, the act needed to be reformed. Background Guide Page 7 of 15

9 The fourth World Conference to address the issue of trafficking of women was held in the United States in During the conference, trafficking was now defined as a form of violence and solutions were developed such as enforcing international conventions on trafficking and human slavery, address the factors that encourage trafficking, set up effective law enforcement and institutions who would work to eliminate trafficking both nationally and internationally, and implementing programs including educational and rehabilitation institutions to provide for the social, etc. Two students from Brown University, Katherine Chon and Derek Ellerman, created the Polaris Project which includes a toll-free hotline where they receive information or reports regarding human trafficking, advocate for more legislation, raise awareness, and train law enforcement to deal with trafficking issues Migrants were found illegally smuggled into Thailand by traffickers in the year of Out of 124, 57 of them were suffocated to death as they were transported in a confined seafood container. The driver fled as he realized that the passengers had passed away. In Taipei-Taiwan, a trafficking ring was boosted when many young females were caught getting into the US with fake passports and later getting fake visas. Background Guide Page 8 of 15

10 Current Situation Currently there are two protocols addressing human trafficking which are the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children and the United Nations Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea, and Air. In the first one there are 119 parties involved and in the second one there are 112 parties involved. Just as there are international laws attacking this problem, there are also regional ones that further help with the elimination of human trafficking. Making reference to this, Lindsey King says, Regional and domestic instruments that have played a key role in the prevention and elimination of human trafficking include: the United States Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (2000), the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (2008), and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Right and Fundamental Freedoms (1950). Besides these rules and protocols, little awareness exists for how to identify traffickers or victim of traffickers which makes people blind toward these signs. According to Olga Khazan, some of the countries identified as the most involved in human trafficking are Russia, China, and Uzbekistan along with Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Sudan, and Zimbabwe. Background Guide Page 9 of 15

11 Countries Involved Thailand : Thailand is primarily known as a destination country but we still hear cases where transit takes place. Most of the victims in this country are men, women, and children for the purpose of forced labor and sexual exploitation. This is a recurring issue due to Thailand s government filled with corruption. It is said that government officials are even actively involved in such trading. According to the Thai government, Thailand s 1996 Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act replaced Thailand s former 1960 Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act and fined prostitutes less harshly. Thailand passed the Labour Protection Act in 1998, which provided for equal treatment of male and female employees. In 2008, Thailand passed the Anti-TIP Act, its founding legislation criminalizing human trafficking and providing for trafficking victims.â Following the Anti-TIP Act, Thailand published its National Policy Strategies and Measures to Prevent and Suppress TIP, intended to cover years North Korea: The most common way of trafficking in the country is when women and girls are put into involuntary servitude as they make their way through the border and into the Republic of China. North Korea ranked as the world s worst human rights abuser. In recent years, many have traveled across the border to china trying to flee hunger and repression, but North Korea has managed to make agreements with China in which they agree to send them back home where they can be fined, sent to jail, and even put into forced labour. According to the U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, North Korea forced labor to generate illicit sources of revenue in industries including construction, mining, and food processing. No laws have been established to stop this issue whatsoever. Background Guide Page 10 of 15

12 China: China is known for being a main source of transit and destination for people subjected to human trafficking. Just like North Korea, China has been named one of the worst human trafficking offenders. In the year of 1989 to 1990, of 8,000 vietnamese women married to chinese men, ½ of them were found to be trafficked. According to UNIAP, The main means of trafficking involved: fraud and deception, 37%; kidnapping, 26%; abuse of power or a position of vulnerability, 17%; and physical violence, 5%. 58% of the articles reported into which sector victims were trafficked: forced prostitution 19%; the entertainment industry, hairdressing or massage parlors 9%; brick kilns 9%; manufacturing 4%; domestic labor 3%; forced begging 3%; and others 11%. In December 2009, the UN Trafficking in Persons Protocol was ratified by the chinese government in order to prohibit any form of trafficking, as well as to bring all their domestic laws to to conformity with international standards. Many organizations have been taking a big role in order to stop such arising problem. United States of America : According to the U.S. Justice Department, 14,500 17,500 people are trafficked into the country every year and that 57, 700 U.S. citizens and immigrants are victims of human trafficking. The minimum standards based on ways to eliminate human trafficking listed in the legislation are: (1) The government of the country should prohibit severe forms of trafficking in persons and punish acts of such trafficking. (2) For the knowing commission of any act of sex trafficking involving force, fraud, coercion, or in which the victim of sex trafficking is a child incapable of giving meaningful consent, or of trafficking which includes rape or kidnapping or which causes a death, the government of the country should prescribe punishment commensurate with that for grave crimes, such as forcible sexual assault. (3) For the knowing commission of any act of a severe form of trafficking in persons, the government of the country should prescribe punishment that is sufficiently stringent to deter and that adequately reflects the heinous nature of the offense. (4) The government of the country should make serious and sustained efforts to eliminate severe forms of trafficking in persons. Background Guide Page 11 of 15

13 Focus Questions Which laws does your country have to further implement the existing international laws against human trafficking, if any? What could be done to make sure this laws are strictly implemented? How is your country affected by human trafficking? How could awareness be created to make the recognition of this crime much easier? What steps should be taken to try to diminish the rates of this crime overall? Background Guide Page 12 of 15

14 Useful Links n-day-slavery// Background Guide Page 13 of 15

15 Reference ILO. Questions and answers on forced labour, 1 June 2012, ia. Human Rights Commission. What is Human Trafficking? Human Rights Commission, City and County of San Francisco, sf-hrc.org/what-human-trafficking. International Agreements. Fight Slavery Now!, 16 Oct. 2010, national-agreements/. ILO. Forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking (Forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking), News, Pride. Human Trafficking, Forced Labour and Sexual Exploitation: A Form Of Modern-Day Slavery? Pride News, 28 Mar. 2017, n-day-slavery/. Coyotes: The Smugglers That Bring Kids To The Border. Latino USA, 4 May 2016, Timeline of Human Trafficking. Human Trafficking Timeline, Liebolt, Cristina. The Thai Government's Response to Human Trafficking: Areas of Strength and Suggestions for Improvement. The Thai Government's Response to Human Trafficking: Areas of Strength and Suggestions for Improvement (Part1), Human Trafficking & Modern-Day Slavery - DPRK (North Korea), Background Guide Page 14 of 15

16 Human trafficking in the United States. Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Dec. 2017, Background Guide Page 15 of 15