Blog #12: Human trafficking victims in Azerbaijan mainly taken out to Turkey and Iran

Thirty nine criminal facts were reported in connection with human trafficking in the first quarter of the year by Javad Shikhaliyev, head of the Interior Ministry department in charge of stopping human trafficking in the Republic of Azerbaijan. He stated that seventeen victims of human trafficking were recovered and rescued, four criminal groups involved with human trafficking have been taken down, and seven people prosecuted for human trafficking crimes. Of the seventeen victims, thirteen were taken to Turkey, and the other four were taken to Iran. Most of the victims were young unmarried women, and children. All of the victims were given legal, psychological and medical assistance. Ten were given jobs. Shikhaliyev also stated that the human trafficking is involved with prostitution rings, and many of the victims were forced into prostitution and sex trafficking.

It is a good thing that Azerbaijan is recognizing and attacking the problem of human trafficking. As I have said before, it would be easy for these officials to take bribes and not do anything about human trafficking, but they have not. They have recognized and attacked the problem. The only problem is that they are not reporting how many victims of human trafficking are still in captivity and slavery.

http://en.trend.az/news/society/2014348.html

Blog #10: Human smuggling and trafficking big business in Canada

Canada, after a recent yacht capsizing that was a failed attempt to smuggle people into the country, has announced that there is a rise and problem in human smuggling and human trafficking in Canada. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has estimated that about ten or twelve percent of illegal immigrants living in Canada have been smuggled or trafficked into the country. There are already 12,595 government-assisted and privately sponsored refugees in the country. While Canada has a large legal immigration population, the government is worried that there are people trying to get around the system. In order to do that, they turn to smugglers and traffickers. The controversial Balanced Refugee Reform Act (BRRA), which goes into effect June 29, 2012, was passed to stop smuggling and trafficking. Many fear though that it will only discriminate against refugees trying to enter the country legally and will do nothing to stop the smugglers. The current punishment for smuggling and trafficking people into the country for the first offense is a five hundred thousand dollar fine and ten years in prison. Anyone convicted of smuggling or trafficking more than ten people into the country can face up to life in prison. There is a difference between human smuggling and human trafficking. Human smuggling is people being smuggled into a country, while human trafficking, the people being smuggled are being exploited and often trafficked against their will. People be trafficked are exploited into either the sex trade or forced labor.

The Canadian government has noticed that there is an unsettling pattern in human smuggling and trafficking and are attempting to fix it. Their current punishments are deterrence, but it seems like deterrence is not working, if people are willing to risk $500,000 and ten years in prison.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/03/28/f-human-smuggling-overview.html?cmp=rss

Post #8: Human trafficking 'a national security issue,' Obama task force told

On Thursday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and various government department heads stated that human trafficking is a major issue in the Obama Administration. “The 27 million men, women and children victims of human trafficking are an affront to our most fundamental values," stated Clinton at the White House of the President's Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. In the past year the task force was able to charge 120 defendants with crimes of human trafficking, the highest yet. In the past three years, there has been a significant rise in prosecuting crimes of human trafficking and sex slavery. The task force acknowledged that stopping human trafficking would require large amounts of funding and time.

I think that it is good and important that President Obama’s administration is recognizing that human trafficking is a problem and are making plans to combat it. 27 million slaves is too high a number to not do anything about. One slave is too high a number. While 120 people being charged with trafficking crimes seem low, it is actually a high number considering that several years ago, human trafficking was being completely ignored. I applaud the Clinton, the task force, and the Obama Administration for their work and acknowledgment about human trafficking.

http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/15/human-trafficking-a-national-security-issue-obama-task-force-told/

Blog #7: Tanada asks DOLE to pursue probe on PHL-US human trafficing syndicates

Filipino leaders have become concerned in the rise of sex and human trafficking between the Philippines and the United States. The Philippine Oversees Employment Administration (POEA) has reported the existence of two more human trafficking crime syndicates that are trafficking women in from the Philippines to the United States. These syndicates are preying on the Filipino women that want to go to the United States. The syndicates are charging $7,000 per victim. House Deputy Speaker and Quezon Rep. Lorenzo "Erin" Tanada III stated that the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) should go after these syndicates.

This is very concerning that there is a rise in these sex and human trafficking crime syndicates. The syndicates prey upon women who want to go to the US and are not aware that they are in trouble until it is too late. It is commendable that these leaders and politicians are aware of the problems and are willing to stop it and do more. It would be easy for these politicians to take bribes and look the other way, but these do not.

http://www.zambotimes.com/archives/44299-Tanada-asks-DOLE-to-pursue-probe-on-PHL-US-human-trafficking-syndicates.html

Blog #5: Trafficking of Ugandan Women to Asia on the Rise

Concern was expressed recently about the rise of human trafficking in Malaysia. International Agencies including the International Organization of Migration (IOM) have reported a rise in trafficking women from Uganda into Malaysia recently. It is estimated that there are currently 600 Ugandan women in Malaysia with ten to twenty women being trafficked into the country each week. There were no previous indicators of a problem in Malaysia until a raid in late 2011 discovered large amounts of Ugandan women in Malaysia being used as prostitutes and other forms of slavery. The agencies are still not entirely sure why Malaysia is a destination for human trafficking. Several of the women that were rescued in the raids were previously transported through China and Thailand before arriving in Malaysia. The trafficking seems to be done by “respectable” Ugandans and Nigerians who are targeting women between the ages of 17 and 22. Both Malaysia and Uganda are attempting to stop the trafficking.

This is a strange but bad situation. It is strange is that Malaysia has no known previous problem with human trafficking. Malaysia is not a country that human trafficking would be very proffible in or an strategic place to transport people through. This is bad because human trafficking is rising in countries with no previous history. It seems that with countries cracking down on human trafficking, traffickers are having to find other countries.

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Trafficking-of-Ugandan-Women-to-Asia-on-the-Rise-139527723.html

Blog #3: Indiana passes human trafficking law in time for Super Bowl

The Indiana State legislature this week passed a law to better define, enforce, and close loopholes relating the human and sex trafficking. The law was passed and put into effect in time for the Super Bowl which is taking place on Sunday, February 5 in Indianapolis, Indiana. While the Super Bowl is the championship game for the NFL, and the most watched game on television during the year, it is also one of the largest human trafficking events of the year. Criminal organizations traffic large amounts of young women and children to the host city every year to exploit for sex. In 2010, an estimated ten thousand prostitutes were trafficked to Miami for the Super Bowl. The bill Indiana passed is intended to stop the large amount of human trafficking and prostitution that will come to the city. The law was signed by Governor Mitch Daniels and immediately went into effect. The new law extends the definition of sex slavery, human trafficking, and prostitution. It makes the penalties harsher, and makes it easier to prosecute the pimps, “Johns”, and traffickers. The law also sets up training programs for taxi drivers, hotel workers, and others to be able to spot and report human trafficking and prostitution.

The passage of this law is a huge step in stopping human trafficking and sex slavery. Most people are not aware that there is a huge sex trade going on during the Super Bowl. The passage of the law brings exposure and awareness to this horrible tragedy. While most people are not aware of the human trafficking going on in the country, Indiana is saying that they know, and they will not tolerate it in their state. They could have been like Florida, Texas, and the other recent hosts for the Super Bowl and turn a blind eye to the tragedy, but instead the took a stand and say that they want it to stop. They will be the standard for the future Super Bowl host cities to look at.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/02/02/human-trafficking-law-passes-before-super-bowl/#content