TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN BEINGS One of the serious

TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN BEINGS One of the serious problems

CONTENTS Defining Human Trafficking • What is Human Trafficking? • Trafficking in human beings People smuggling • Organized criminal networks INTERPOL's response • Operations and projects • INTERPOL tools • Partnerships

There are three main types of human trafficking: • Trafficking forced labour; • Trafficking for sexual exploitation; • Trafficking of organs.

Trafficking in women for sexual exploitation • This prevalent form of trafficking affects every region in the world, either as a source, transit or destination country. Women and children from developing countries, and from vulnerable parts of society in developed countries, are lured by promises of decent employment into leaving their homes and travelling to what they consider will be a better life. Victims are often provided with false travel documents and an organized network is used to transport them to the destination country, where they find themselves forced into sexual slavery and held in inhumane conditions and constant fear. • Forms of sexual exploitation: street prostitution, bars, massage parlours, escort services, private houses, brothels, pornography, child pornography, hostess clubs, call girls, forced marriage.

Trafficking forced labour Victims of this equally widespread form of trafficking come primarily from developing countries. They are recruited and trafficked using deception and coercion and find themselves held in conditions of slavery in a variety of jobs. Men, women and children are engaged in agricultural and construction work, domestic servitude and other labour-intensive jobs.

Trafficking in organs • Trafficking in humans for the purpose of using their organs, in particular kidneys, is a rapidly growing field of criminal activity. In many countries, waiting lists for transplants are very long, and criminals have seized this opportunity to exploit the desperation of patients and potential donors. The health of victims, even their lives, is at risk as operations may be carried out in clandestine conditions with no medical follow-up. An ageing population and increased incidence of diabetes in many developed countries is likely to increase the requirement for organ transplants and make this crime even more lucrative.

The exploitation of a person for the purpose of removing their organs.

People smuggling • People smuggling implies the procurement, for financial or material gain, of the illegal entry into a state of which that person is neither a citizen nor a permanent resident. • A broad distinction can be made between people smuggling and human trafficking. In general, the individuals who pay a smuggler in order to gain illegal entry to a country do so voluntarily whereas the victims of human trafficking are often duped or forced into entering another country. • In principle, the relationship between smuggler and migrant ends once the individual arrives in the new country. However, there is evidence that people smugglers continue to exploit illegal migrants, through threats and demands for additional fees. • Human migration is not a new phenomenon. For centuries, people have left their homes in search of better lives elsewhere. In the last decade, the process of globalization has caused an unprecedented amount of migration from the least developed countries of Asia, Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe to Western Europe, Australia and North America. • Currently, economic instability appears to be the main reason for illegal migration movement throughout the world, while many migrants are refugees or asylum seekers.

Operations • At INTERPOL, we support national police in tactical deployments in the field, aimed at breaking up the criminal networks behind trafficking in human beings and people smuggling. • Operations are preceded by training workshops to ensure that officers on the ground are trained in a range of skills, including specialist interview techniques. Deployments effectively combine police action with input from a number of different sectors such as customs and environmental officers, nongovernmental organizations, officials from the Ministries of Health and Social Affairs, and prosecutors.

• • • Operation Tuy (2012) Nearly 400 victims of child trafficking were rescued across Burkina Faso in an operation coordinated by INTERPOL. The children, some as young as 10 years old, were discovered working under extreme conditions in illegallyoperated gold mines and cotton fields. More than 70 individuals were arrested for child trafficking and labour offences. Operation Bia (2011) In an operation codenamed Bia II, INTERPOL joined forces with national authorities in Ghana to rescue child victims of forced labour. The children, aged from five to 17 had been trafficked from other parts of the country to work on fishing boats, often up to 14 hours a day. Ghana’s police rescued 116 children and arrested 30 suspected traffickers, 28 of whom were later sentenced in court for exposing children to danger and engaging minors in hazardous activities. Operation Bana (2010) Police in Gabon rescued more than 140 children who had been trafficked from 10 different countries to work as forced labour in local markets, in an INTERPOL-led operation codenamed Bana. Some 44 people were arrested in the operation, which was the first operation of its kind in Central Africa. During the operation, teams of officials carried out checks at market stalls in the capital city Libreville, where children as young as six years old were working in a variety of roles, from carrying heavy goods to selling products.

INTERPOL tools • At INTERPOL, we work to enable police and other law enforcement agencies to cooperate on a global basis. • We offer a number of technical tools to help the global law enforcement community share intelligence and coordinate action.

Partnerships • We work closely with other international organizations and nongovernmental bodies involved in the fight against human trafficking and people smuggling. In this way, we can combine our strengths and exchange best practice and knowledge with other organizations that have similar aims. • Our partners include: • Economic Community of West African States • Eurojust • Europol • Frontex • International Centre for Migration Policy Development • International Labour Organization • International Organization for Migration • Organization of American States • Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe • Southeast European Cooperative Initiative • UK Missing Persons Bureau • United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime