Combatting sex trafficking of Northern African migrants to Italy and other European places Forum: General Assembly 1 Student Officer: Giulia Andronico de Morais Salles, Deputy President Introduction Sex trafficking is the act of someone using force, fraud or coercion which leads to the commitment of a commercial act of sex with an adult or a minor. Unfortunately, the public generally does not have a clear idea of the magnitude of sex trafficking, specifically how this is instigated by the illegal smuggling of migrants. This involves the procurement of financial or other material benefits of illegal entry of a person into a State of which that person is not a national or resident. The main challenge to tackle this issue is the difficulty at targeting exactly who is part in this illegal trade. Traded in the black market, the underground organizations take years to discover. Therefore, as a global issue, proactive measures must be taken for every state. Background Conflicts in Africa and economic crises all around the world have produced a tide of desperate citizens sweeping through the continent, travelling from North Africa to across the lethal Mediterranean. One of the most common routes that these victims of social unrest take to reach Europe for haven is from Libya to Italy. According to the UN agency International Organization for Migration (IOM), in 2016, more than 180,000 refugees arrived in Italy, the vast majority of them coming from Libya. In theory, laws of the EU Refugees rescued by Italian Navy and UNHCR in Catania, Italy. require that asylum-seekers should find asylum in whichever EU country they first land. What makes it unappealing for asylum-seekers to seek asylum in Italy is the fact that their current system is slow and overcrowded due to the already occupying refugees. Therefore, many refugees are aiming to reach more generous countries like Sweden and Germany. Therefore, many aim to remain undetected in Italy and move north. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), there are at least 21 million people enslaved around the world. The Global Slavery Index argued that, in fact, the figure is twice than the figure stated by the ILO. Amongst the refugees that arrive in Italy, there is an alamringly high rate of victims of sexual violence. Many have suffered extremely traumatic events, including extortion, kidnap, sexual violence, and abuse on their way to Europe. In order to manage the situation in the most efficient manner, European countries need to be fully involved through extended engagement and additional legal pathways of admission. The response to the immediate crisis must be matched by broader efforts by all concerned so as to address the root causes behind migratory pressures and create better protection for people in transit.
International Action Meeting in the UN General Assembly regarding the Global Compact on migration. The United Nations has agreed to return to New York in 2018 to organize an intergovernmental conference on adopting global compact on migration. What makes this compact of such magnetic importance is that it will be the first negotiated agreement by governments to cover every aspect of international migration. This compact will ultimately help tackle issues that arise from migration including sex trafficking. Sex trafficking is an issue that is much more prominent in our times but is unfortunately unnoticed by the public. It is important to recognize that the victims are in a vulnerable position that require much aid. The compact, therefore, provides great potential for the international community to take lead by making nations adopt and implement the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, and its relevant protocols on trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling. If the global compact is adopted, it will have tremendous potential to enhance safe, orderly and regular migration and deal a concerted blow against the smugglers and traffickers. Places of High Concern Libya As the number of closed routes to Europe from North Africa continues to increase, the route through Libya has become more important than ever for migrants. Usually they take routes from Tripoli, Benghazi and Zawiyah to reach the Italian island of Sicily. Libya is a country that is suffering from social, economic and political unrest and therefore it is a very unsafe place for migrants to travel. Due to the current social circumstances, Libya has detention centers that have little to no regulation and are often black holes where migrants go and never return. These places are predicted to be the epicenter of where many of the sex trafficking activities occur. Therefore, more investigation and regulations need to be taken in these detention centers. Many humanitarian organizations began to take initiative to investigate these detention centers and share awareness of the reality of the situation, but they did not have much success. Italy The influx of migrants to the country during the reporting period placed a significant strain on government resources, especially among agencies that combat human trafficking. This
European member state acts as a destination, transit, and source of asylum for all victims of sex trafficking. As there is not a clear administrated way for the movement of migrants from North Africa to Europe, most of them rely on smugglers at some point during their journey to reach Italy. This is where they get force into sexual exploitation in the first place. In the case of female victims, the majority of them are often subjected to sex trafficking after being promised employment as waitresses, dancers, singer, models or caregivers. Stances of P5 Nations United States of America The US has clearly stated that they believe Italy should continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute trafficking cases and ensure convictions of traffickers result in dissuasive sanctions. The US argues for the improvement of screening irregular migrants and asylum-seekers to identify possible trafficking victims, particularly in migrant reception and detention centers. United Kingdom The United Kingdom has stated that it is home to hundreds of criminals and have more than 10,000 individuals exploited as forced sexual labour, many originating from North Africa. The UK government has made statements to the public, raising awareness that sex trafficking is much more prevalent in the UK society than perceived. As the UK prepares to leave the EU, the UK continues to set firm boundaries against immigrants. This additional security measure in their borders will allow the United Kingdom to regulate the influx of sex traffickers and those inflicted. France The Government of France estimates that the majority of the 20,000 people in France s commercial sex trade, about 90 percent of who are foreigners, are likely trafficking victims. There is a noticeable increase in online-advertised prostitution and classified ads posted by organized networks, both involving sex trafficking victims in the nation. China Many of the victims from of slavery in Europe originate from China. In the case for China, the majority of Chinese men and women are forced to work in textile factories in cities in Italy. In the textile factories, the most vulnerable women are sometimes lured into sex trafficking. Russian Federation Sex trafficking has become a more predominant problem within Russia in the escalating context of its significant increase in labor migration. Many Russian victims of sex trafficking are found in all countries in Europe and very predominantly in the UK.
Possible Solutions As there are many aspects to this problem, many solutions can be proposed. Possible solutions could be: Formalize sex trafficking victim identification and referral procedures and consistently train law enforcement and other officials on their proactive application; Provide adequate long-term funding to NGOs assisting victims of sex trafficking; Encourage measures to prevent innocent citizens from being lured into sex trafficking by raising awareness and setting boundaries Establish a national coordination structure that involves all relevant public bodies and NGOs; Make efforts to reduce the demand for sex trafficking around Europe; Implement nationwide awareness-raising activities on all forms of trafficking. Glossary Political Asyl.um: the right to live in a foreign country that is given by the government of the country to the people who left their own countries for political purposes. Refugee: People who are forced to leave their country because of several reasons, for example, war or conflict over religious beliefs. Sex trafficking: the exploitation of persons for the purposes of forced sex work. Commercial sexual exploitation includes pornography, prostitution and sex trafficking of women and girls, and is characterized by the exploitation of a human being in exchange for goods or money. UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees): the UNHCR is a humanitarian UNO established by the UN in 1950, and it has played a key role in leading international actions to protect refugees all over the world. Timeline 2000 - The UN passed the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons. 2001 - Countries of the Economic Community of Western African States (ECOWAS) established an action plan to address the issues of slavery and human trafficking in that region 2004 - The United Nations appointed the first Special Rapporteur who focused on human trafficking, 5 Rapporteur on Human Trafficking especially women and children. 2015 - Britain s Modern Slavery Act in March 2015, increased the maximum jail sentence for human traffickers from 14 years to the possibility of a life sentence. 2015 - The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were implemented after the conclusion of the Millennium Development Goals in the same year. The SDGs have goals in which are specific to the issue of slavery and poverty such as goals 1 and 8 which aims to eradicate poverty as well as having full employment and ensuring that the work people do is not harming them.
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