Human Trafficking in the South Asian Region: SAARC's Response and Initiatives
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Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Vol. 1, No. 1, 2015, pp. 14-31 http://www.publicscienceframework.org/journal/jssh ISSN: 2381-7763 (Print); ISSN: 2381-7771 (Online) Human Trafficking in the South Asian Region: SAARC’s Response and Initiatives Chanchal Kumar * Department of Political Science, Janki Devi Memorial College, University of Delhi, India Abstract Human trafficking is considered to be a serious violation of human security. Causes that contribute to human trafficking are commonly believed to be related to poverty, globalization and economic disparities among countries. Human trafficking is the modern equivalent to slavery. It presents a dangerous threat to the human rights and human dignity of many people each year. Despite this, it remains one of the least understood forms of transnational crime, with major gaps existing in both the data on the prevalence of the problem, as well as gaps in the ability of legislators to properly address the problem in their respective countries. Human trafficking is a serious violation of human rights because of the involuntary manner in which trafficked victims are recruited, entrapped, transported and subsequently subjected to the exploitation and abuses inherent in the act. Keywords Human Trafficking, Human Security, Women Security, South Asia, SAARC Received: March 16, 2015 / Accepted: March 29, 2015 / Published online: March 30, 2015 @ 2015 The Authors. Published by American Institute of Science. This Open Access article is under the CC BY-NC license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ dignity. It also violates the right to health and health care, 1. Introduction liberty and security of person, and the right to freedom from torture, violence, cruelty or degrading treatment. Today Human trafficking is one of the major crimes in the world human trafficking has emerged as a low risk high return well after trafficking in arms and drugs and one of the fastest organised criminal activity. Human trafficking is the third growing criminal enterprises because it holds relatively low biggest money earning illegal trade. There are at least one risk with high profit potential. The awful aspect of this million child prostitutes in South Asia alone mostly, in India problem is that it mostly hits women and children as compare (Kacker Loveleen, Varadan Srinivas, Kumar Pravesh: 2007). to men, who are also subject to trafficking. In modern days, it is a worst kind of slavery. Human trafficking is not only a Economic and social inequalities and political conflicts have cross border issue but it also occurs domestically. Trafficking led to the movement of persons within each country and across can be seen in a form of various issues like moral, law-and- the borders in South Asia. Globalization has encouraged free order or organized crime, human rights, migration, labour, mobility of capital, technology, experts and sex tourism. poverty and development, gender, and public health issues. Illiteracy, dependency, violence, social stigma, cultural stereotypes, gender disparity and endemic poverty, among Human trafficking in its widest sense includes the other factors, place women and children in powerless, non- exploitation of the prostitution of others, forced labour or negotiable situations that have contributed to the emergence services, slavery or practices similar to slavery and the trade and breeding of the cavernous problem of sex trafficking in the in human beings for the removal of organs. Human entire region. This alarming spread of sex trafficking has trafficking clearly violates the fundamental right to a life of fuelled the spread of HIV infection in South Asia, posing a * Corresponding author E-mail address: [email protected] Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Vol. 1, No. 1, 2015, pp. 14-31 15 unique and serious threat to community health, poverty include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution alleviation and other crucial aspects of human development. of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced Although the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, Cooperation) Convention on Trafficking in Women and servitude or the removal of organs.” Children has been an important breakthrough, most of the A person is considered to have been trafficked even if they countries in the region don’t have anti-trafficking legislation or have given their consent to the above. And a child – anyone means to protect the victims. under18 – can be considered trafficked if they have been recruited and transported into exploitive or slavery-like 2. What is Human Trafficking conditions even when they have not been deceived, forced, threatened, abducted or coerced. “The recruitment, Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery. Victims transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child for of human trafficking are subjected to force, fraud, or the purpose of exploitation shall be considered ‘trafficking in coercion for the purpose of commercial sex, debt bondage, or persons’ even if it does not involve any of the means set forced labour. They are young children, teenagers, men and forth”. (Aronowitz A. Alexis: 2009) women. Trafficking in persons occurs throughout the world, including in the United States. Human trafficking is an According to the SAARC Convention on Preventing and organized crime involving the overt or covert participation of Combating Trafficking in women and Children for several criminals at various places at different points of time. Prostitution, 2002, ‘trafficking; means moving, selling or The major ingredients of the process of human trafficking are buying women and children for prostitution within and recruitment or hiring or transfer; exploitation and outside a country for monetary or other considerations with commercialization of human beings (Manna Freedom: 2011). or without the consent of the person subjected to trafficking. (SAARC Convention: 2002) Article 3 of the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (2000): Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual “Trafficking in Persons’ shall mean the recruitment, exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices transportation, transfer, harbouring and receipt of similar to slavery servitude or the removal of organs. The persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other ‘consent’ of the victim of trafficking shall be irrelevant forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of where any of the means set forth above have been used. the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of ‘Consent’ is irrelevant in case of children even if this does the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve not involve any of the means set forth above(Manna the consent of a person having control over another Freedom: 2011). person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall Figure 1. Approaches to Human Trafficking Source: William, A. Thomas, (2008) “Child Trafficking: An Unconscious Phenomenon”, Kanishka Publishers New Delhi, p.14. 16 Chanchal Kumar: Human Trafficking in the South Asian Region: SAARC’s Response and Initiatives Definition of Trafficking in Persons the Trafficking Victims such act has not attained 18 years of age; and Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA ) defines “severe forms of • Labour Trafficking: the recruitment, harbouring, trafficking in persons” as follows: (Manna Freedom: 2012) transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for • Sex trafficking: the recruitment, harbouring, labour or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery. the purpose of a commercial sex act, in which the commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion. or in which the person induced to perform Table 1. Securitization Approach of Human Trafficking Securitization Referent Source of Nature of Threat Security Challenges Approach Object Threat Non military Demographic Internal, Transnational crime, corruption, Law and order Confidence on Widener State Legal Economic Social Fabric external Government Vulnerability of National boundary. Threatening individuals' survival, Dignity and livelihood. Non military Physical Internal, Specifically threat and fear, starvation, persecution and physical Deepener Deepener Psychological Gendered external abuses, sexual abuses, house arrest, forced Livelihood Family use of drugs and alcohol Source: Md. Muhibbur Rahman “Human Trafficking: A Security Concern for Bangladesh” Issue Brief, Issue 9, August 2011 BIPSS, p.2. another way to prevent trafficking - for example, educating 3. Responding to Human consumers about how their lifestyle choices impact others. Trafficking: THE 4Ps Protection begins when a victim is rescued and reunited with their family and continues when they are assisted to rebuild To be effective, anti-trafficking strategies must target the their lives. It may include keeping victims safe from threat, three dimensions of human trafficking: supply, demand, and violence and abuse, counseling, help with income generation, the systems and structures that allow it to happen. This education and vocational training. means taking action in countries of origin, transit and Prosecution ensures the victim receives full justice, including destination.