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TROYATHENSMODELUNITEDNATIONS
CONFERENCE

November16th2:204:25
Chairs: Revelle Gappy and Noshin Khan

Human Trafficking
Background

Human trafficking is an ongoing global issue that pertains to the recruitment,

transportation, and exploitation of men, women, and children from all countries. Almost
every country has been touched by human trafficking because countries can serve as a
place of origin, transition or destination for victims. The United Nations Global Initiative
to Fight Human Trafficking (UN
.GIFT) has defined the meaning of human trafficking in its
Protocol on the prevention and protection of women and children; this definition includes
the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of any persons with the
use of force or any coercion that may lead to the exploitation of people." At the minimum,
trafficking includes prostitution, sexual exploitation,
forced labor, slavery/servitude, and
the removal of organs.
The three main goals of the United Nations are to increase
awareness, attract global commitment against human trafficking, and to assist countries
in creating and strengthening support structures for victims of trafficking.

What Has Been Done

The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime was
approved and became the foundation of an international instrument to collectively
combat against transnational organized crime. The Convention contains three Protocols,
each of which target specific areas and manifestations of organized crime. Once the
Protocols came into force, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) worked together
to enforce the Convention and to decrease the problems associated with human
trafficking. The UNODC recognizes trends of human trafficking and communicates
information to investigators. They also give victims access to aid through NGOs and
counseling. In 2014, the UNODC created the Annotated Bibliography Database on
Migrant Smuggling in Asia in response to the abuse, exploitation, and human trafficking of
vulnerable migrants. Its purpose is to accumulate evidence-based knowledge in order to
raise awareness and inform effective policy development. Other efforts to raise
awareness about human trafficking include the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons,
a UNODC human trafficking website, and UNODC seminars discussing the experiences of
human trafficking victims.

The UN GIFT was created to enhance and reaffirm the international agreements
and initiatives of the United Nations. UN
.GIFT works with governments, civil society
businesses, media, and academia, to support, create, and develop effective tools that
combat human trafficking.
UN TIP is a document that has defined and outlined the act of trafficking and has
given it a universal definition to eliminate confusion. It has also outlined the three main
points of trafficking: act, means, and purpose. This breakdown allows authorities to target
traffickers and their means of trafficking. Research of 155 countries conducted by
UN.GIFT over the four years after UN TIP was put into effect shows that a significant
number of countries have sampled or have established laws against trafficking. By 2008,
124 countries had adopted legislation outlawing sex trafficking, as opposed to only 51 in
2003, when UN TIP was first introduced. 85 of the 155 countries additionally created
special anti-human trafficking police units to combat the issue.
Despite these improvements, it is still especially difficult to stop human trafficking
offenses due to the large scale of the issue, changing markets, and a lack of global power.
During the period that UN GIFT reporting occurred, 17% of countries had at least one to
ten human trafficking related trafficking cases. Also, 29% of the countries surveyed had at
least ten convictions per year.

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Questions to Consider
How can countries form a unified force against human trafficking? (One that
actually has global influence.)
What kinds of arrangements/legislation/aid needs to be made for victims of
trafficking?
Should there be standard international legislation (ex. police units) established to
combat this issue? What kind?
What mechanisms will allow authorities to easily target specific hubs of human
trafficking and carry out proper justice towards culprits?

Positions
United States

Adi S.

United Kingdom

Lara K.

France

Aubrey K.

Russia

Melissa M.

China

Fareeha K.

Germany

Ashley A.

South Korea

Goutham K.

Brazil

Akila N.

South Africa

Nithya R.

Japan

Malidia M.

India

Nikila N.

Turkey

Mustafa R.

Saudi Arabia

Adriana C.

Jordan

Will N.

Iran

Varun V.

Israel

Alice K.

Thailand

Max F.

Malaysia

Nunj S.

Venezuela

Sara Z.

Yemen

Arian S.

North Korea

Rayshad R.

Cambodia

Pedro P.

Myanmar

Denny H.

Laos

Sanath C.

Ukraine

Joey C.

Syria

Nathan B.

Mexico

Manasi D.

Indonesia

Yoon-Se K.

Egypt

Sana L.

Chad

Misbahul H.

Albania

Rexhinaldo N.

Canada

Emily M.

Bloc Positions
Arab Bloc
Sexual exploitation as well as domestic servitude are considered to be the most common
forms of human trafficking in North Africa and Middle East. Children, however, are often
exploited many trafficking forms, including prostitution, forced marriage and domestic
servitude.
In Middle East, it is commonplace the import of women and children. Women mostly
from Asia, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, are trafficked as prostitutes or even as brides to
the Middle East to countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Young boys in
the gulf states are often tricked into camel jockeying and forced to compete under elders. In Iraq
and Syria, ISIS has engaged in luring young women from western states as well as minorities
within the borders as wives and sex slaves. The recent refugee crisis has also resulted in the
manipulation and trafficking of refugees.
Israel has an open market for women from the former Soviet Republics, supplied by wellorganized criminal groups. It is important to mention that, according to the Israel Womens
Union, over 2000 women from Russia and the former Soviet Union are imported to Israel. Israel
has no specific law against trafficking and prostitution is not illegal.

African Bloc
In Africa, according to the U.S. Department of State, more than 50,000 women and
children are trafficked annually. Important factors are poverty, the low status of women, wars
etc. In some countries, such as Sudan and Rwanda, women and children are more vulnerable to
trafficking due to wars and civil conflict.
Togo, Benin, Botswana, Zaire, Somalia, Ethiopia, Zambia, Nigeria, Algeria are countries
with serious child labor trafficking issues. Women are regularly trafficked to Western Europe
and the Middle East.

Central/ Latin American Bloc

Human trafficking in Central America has taken center stage since the late 1990s. This
increase in public attention has been driven by U.S. initiatives, such as the Trafficking Victims

Protection Act (TVPA), as well as the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish
Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, commonly known as the Trafficking
Protocol. The United States has the reputation of being the leader in the fight against trafficking
in Central America, using the TVPA and the Trafficking Protocol as primary mechanisms for
anti- trafficking efforts.
Human trafficking is also widespread in Latin America and the Caribbean. The U.S.
Department of State estimates that over 100,000 women and children are trafficked for sexual
exploitation. According to the Organization of American States, it is estimated that more than 2
million children in Latin America are vulnerable to trafficking for prostitution and being sexually
exploited.
The number of sex tourists in Latin America is growing because of the recent restrictions
on sex tourism in Thailand, Sri Lanka, and other Asian countries. Major destinations include
Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Costa Rica, Argentina, Trinidad and Tobago. Brazil has
one of the worst child prostitution problems worldwide.
In the Dominican Republic, it is

estimated that more than 50,000 women have been trafficked abroad, usually to Western
Europe and the United States.

Western/European Bloc:
Eastern Europe countries are the largest suppliers of women for prostitution. Trafficking
may be the result of force, coercion, manipulation, deception, abuse of authority, initial consent,
family pressure, past and present family and community violence, economic deprivation, or
other conditions of inequality for women and children. More than 175,000 victims trafficked
annually from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe come from Russia and Ukraine.
Women who are recruited as prostitutes from Russia and Ukraine are active in international
prostitution, and are transported to North America, the Middle East, and the South Africa.
However, the majority who are from Moldova, Ukraine, and Russia are active in Europe. It is
unknown if they are involved in mobile prostitution abroad, and activate on a voluntary basis or
are victims of trafficking. These three countries are presently the most important recruiting
area for European organized prostitution.
According to the 1949 United Nations Convention of the Suppression of Traffic in
Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others, even if trafficking occurs with the
consent of the persons, those people are counted as criminals, and can be punished.
The U.S. Department of State reports that 50,000 women and children are annually
trafficked to the U.S. A majority of the victims come from Southeast Asia and the former Soviet
Union. 50% of the victims are forced into sweatshop labor and domestic servitude. The rest are
forced into prostitution and the sex industry. Young children are kidnapped and sold for
adoption. Mexico is a large source of children who are kidnapped and trafficked to the United
States.

South Asia/ East Asia Bloc:

Thailand is one of the worlds greatest hubs exploitation for sex and labor. Most of the
forced laborers are brought from neighboring countries like Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia.
Laos is also a major source of men, women, and children for the sex slave industry and
the forced labor industry. Many Laotian migrants move to countries like Thailand or are sent to
China from a transit country, and are mainly placed into sectors of intensive labor with little pay.
Seventy percent of migrants from Laos are female, and many of them are trafficked for domestic
labor. In Thailand, there is no labor protection for domestic workers. This lack of protection can
lead to risks for the migrant Lao females.
Cambodia is the third major source country of migrants due to high levels of
unemployment and poverty. This situation leaves natives with high levels of risk for human
trafficking. Cambodian women are trafficked into the sex or labor industries, while men are
trafficked into the fishing, agricultural, and construction sectors in Southeast Asia.
Lastly, Myanmar is also considered a source country because of its history of rule under
a military regime. The regimes poor management of the economy and human rights abuse put
the country's citizens at risk for human trafficking. Men, women, and children are subject to
labor exploitation.