Child Trafficking Possible tourism & travel sector responses By Hans van de Glind, Vulnerable Groups International Programme on the Elimination of Childlabour (IPEC) International Labour Organization Geneva Berlin, 9 March 2007
Contents Concept of child trafficking labour perspective Understanding risk factors & vulnerability; Magnitude; Responses Role of tourism & travel sector; Summary;
Trafficking definition - 3 Components 1. Some movement/ transaction to unfamiliar territory 2. Abuse at any stage of movement Movement/transaction within (often rural to urban) or across national borders Traded as commodity & intent of the trader is material (e.g. labour) or immaterial (e.g. sex) benefit E.g. Deception; Use of violence & threats; Physical captivity & isolation; Withholding of travel documents; Debt bondage; abuse of position of vulnerability by recruiter, middleman, transporter, employer 3. End result: A form of exploitation Sexual exploitation Forced labour (i.e. bondage, slave-like, servitude) (Removal of organs)
Possible end results of trafficking By ILO Conventions: Unconditional WFCL < 18 (C 182) Hazardous child labour < 18 C 182) - Forced labour/slavery - Debt bondage - Armed conflict - Pornography - Domestic work - Work on plantations Possible link to tourism & transport - Sexual exploitation - Organized begging - Organized crime Porter on trekking tours Regular work below legal working age (i.e. 14-15) (C 138) Light work < 12/13 (C 138) Shoe shining Street vending > 14 hrs
Push, Pull & Risk factors that make children vulnerable Source side Process of trafficking Demand side/destination Population pressure & low labour absorption capacity; (Youth) unemployment; Illness & indebtedness in family; Low levels of education/ lack of awareness; Discrimination eg. gender, race, class, ethnicity; Lack of legal residence or immigration status; Domestic violence (dysfunctional family); Armed conflict & natural disaster; Boredom in village;
Push, Pull & risk factors that make children vulnerable Source side Process of trafficking Demand side/destination Improved communication and transportation services; Illegal recruitment agencies; Organized criminal networks & lack of enforcement; Peer pressure by friends ; Former victims of trafficking; Traveling unprepared & uninformed; Officials looking the other way ; Restrictive migration policies;
Push, Pull & Risk factors that make children vulnerable Source side Process of trafficking Demand side/destination City attraction; Possibility of meeting a benefactor ; Perceived opportunities through successful returnees; Limited reach of labour law & large informal economy; Poor inspection, law enforcement, protection (low risk); Demand for cheap and subservient labour (docile, obey, shows up for work on time); Demand for sex & sex tourism; Public tolerance of prostitution, begging, petty crime; Lack of organization and representation of workers;
Estimate of CHILD victims of trafficking 1,200,000 children globally (in 2000) 200,000 children in transition economies 550,000 children in Latin America & Caribbean 250,000 children in Asia/Pacific 200,000 children in Africa Source: Every Child Counts, ILO (2002)
What tourism & travel sector can do? Work in partnership appreciate complementarity: Governments Legislation, policy & enabling framework International Organizations Standard setting & international policy dialogue Employers & workers organizations mobilization capacity NGOs outreach capacity & campaigns
What tourism & travel sector can do? Take Corporate Social Responsibility to: Work with govts to develop tourism policy that does no harm to children; Establish corporate policy against trafficking/wfcl; Train staff on dealing with spotting & reporting trafficking/wfcl; Lobby government to address organized begging and petty crime in tourist areas - with attention to child victims; Offer jobs to parents whose kids are at risk of trafficking; Create local donation schemes for education of school drop-outs at risk of trafficking; Participate in skills training & job creation schemes for former victims of child trafficking and at risk children of 15 & older;
When participating in creating decent jobs for youth aged 15 up: For child victims: ensure trauma has been addressed by professionals; For children at risk of trafficking: ensure outreach to those that need it most i.e. Street children, children from dysfunctional families, runaways, children from large poor families, school drop-outs, children travelling alone or under suspicious conditions; And do so through outreach organizations
What tourism & travel sector can do? Youth unemployment lures youth into unsafe migration & puts them at risk of trafficking; Youth unemployment will likely continue to be a problem: Country Population under 15 in 2003 as % of total Cambodia 38.3 % Dominican Republic 33.6 % Nepal 39.9 % Tanzania 43.2 % Average of 20 most developed countries 18 % Source: Human Development Report 05 Tourism & travel sector offer huge potential to create decent jobs for youth aged 15 up & parents
Example of job creation to fight trafficking Eco Tourism in North Thailand Mirror Art Group (1) Background Ethnic minority children highly vulnerable to migration, trafficking, exploitation; Lack of citizenship, low income, lack of education and skills make them extra vulnerable; Home stay programmes for tourists principles: Target poor families most vulnerable to child trafficking; Train these families to host tourists; Tourists pay a fee to stay with these families; Experience the culture & every day life in the community;
Example of job creation to fight trafficking Eco Tourism in North Thailand Mirror Art Group (2) Actions taken: Set up young women s groups, youth community guides, handicraft group, art performance group, security volunteers; Offer training in cooking skills, language & communication, public speaking, general hospitality, sanitation care, book keeping, product design, marketing; Community guides to monitor readiness for home stay; Home stay feedback form to improve services; Marketing of concept; Community initiated and enforced regulations to prevent trafficking;
Example of job creation to fight trafficking Eco Tourism in North Thailand Mirror Art Group (3) Achievements and learning: Recognized by Thai Ministry of Tourism as Good Practice; Generated substantial increase in income & continuously throughout the year (agriculture is seasonal); This type of income generation can help reduce risk of trafficking; Savings to be used for indigenous schools, application for citizenship etc; Regular analysis of feedback form is crucial & to be seen as self-improvement process; Marketing among tour operators is crucial for continued inflow; Operations are now self sustaining;
What can governments do with tourism & travel sector Better monitoring of movement (e.g. train/bus/immigration); Licensing & registration of businesses & formalization of the sector; Regular monitoring & inspection including during holidays and at night; Praise businesses who have addressed WFCL/trafficking;
What can governments do with tourism & travel sector Where trafficking/exploitation: Unmasking conditions, condemnation & criminalization; Sanction & punishment & confiscation of assets; Complaint, dispute & settlement mechanisms for workers; Fight against public tolerance of prostitution, begging, organized crime; Freedom to associate include migrants/youth; Engage Workers & Employers organizations in national plans of action against WFCL/trafficking (in line with C182)
Summary Child trafficking not only into sexual exploitation; Regulate tourism/travel sector (where not yet done) through licensing; Regular inspection & sanction; Understand trafficking in context of youth unemployment & unsafe (internal) migration; Tourism/travel sector can offer solutions to children at risk of trafficking; In all work: Do no harm to children;