Part 3 - Human Trafficking: Causes, Consequences and Counter-Measures

Forced Labor

Trafficking for the purpose of forced labor can be defined on the basis of ILO Convention No. 29 (1930): "As all work or service that is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily" (Art. 2). Similar to the provisions in the Palermo Protocol, consent becomes irrelevant when means of coercion or deception have been used to force a person into work or service he or she would not do otherwise. While many trafficked persons may have agreed to an informal or abusive employment arrangement in the beginning, they must be free to change or leave their employer at any given point in time.

In the 21st century, forced labor occurs mainly in the private economy, according to the ILO. There are, however, types of forced labor, such as prison or state imposed forced labor, which are not related to human trafficking. Trafficked forced labor has been mainly documented within economic sectors where there is traditionally a demand for cheap and flexible labor, for example construction, agriculture, textiles and garments or domestic service. Victims can be women, men and children.

Trafficking in human organs is another branch of this criminal business, alongside forced labor and sexual exploitation.

Kidneys are the most commonly trafficked organs, as removing other organs would lead to the death of the "donor." Only in rare cases are people whose organs are trafficked kidnapped and forced to have their organs removed. Most commonly, people sell their organs to escape from desperate economic situations. We can speak of organ trafficking when the "donor" is coerced into donating organs or when he or she does not receive the agreed price. Organs are not the only trafficked body material. Other human parts, including human tissue, are also traded. There have been cases where human parts have been removed from dead bodies and sold without the knowledge and consent of relatives.

The UN Protocol distinguishes between child trafficking and trafficking in adults. Trafficking in adults involves some element of coercion, abduction, deception or taking advantage of a person's vulnerability. These means do not necessarily have to be used to be considered trafficking in cases in which the victim is under 18 years of age.

Trafficking affects children in both industrialised and developing countries. Trafficked children provide sexual services, are forced into marriage, are illegally adopted, work as housemaids or beggars, are recruited by armed groups or are exploited in professional sports. Trafficking exposes children to violence, sexual abuse and HIV/AIDS. It violates their right to be protected, grow up in decent conditions, and have access to education. A trafficked child is any person under 18 who is recruited, transported, transferred, harboured or received for the purpose of exploitation, within or outside his or her country of origin.

Here are some facts about the trafficking of children:

• The clandestine nature of trafficking and a lack of systematic data collection efforts make it difficult to estimate the precise size of the market for trafficked children. According to UNICEF, some 1.2 million children are thought to be trafficked worldwide every year.

• In East Asia and the Pacific, trafficked children work in the sex industry or are recruited for agricultural and industrial work. In many parts of the world, trafficking is related to debt bondage.

• In Europe, children are mainly trafficked from poorer to wealthier countries. Trafficking also occurs within countries. Trafficked children work primarily as beggars or in the sex industry.