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| Human Trafficking For World Cup https://forum.costaricaticas.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12042 |
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| Author: | Mucho Gusto [ Tue Jun 06, 2006 10:40 am ] |
| Post subject: | Human Trafficking For World Cup |
Here's an interesting article in today's A.M. Costa Rica. It's kind of long, but it's an interesting read: World Cup seen as stimulant for human trafficking By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services The State Department's annual 2006 report on human trafficking around the world notes some progress on the issue last year, although it says the overall situation for what it calls "modern slavery" is still bad. The report also warns Germany over an influx of women being brought into the country to serve as prostitutes during the World Cup. In introducing this year's congressionally-mandated report, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said an estimated 800,000 people, mostly women and Ch*ldren, are victims of human trafficking. "The harsh reality of human trafficking stuns even the hardest of hearts — stories of the sexual exploitation of young girls, stories of men and women toiling as slave labor in sweatshops, stories of Ch*ldren forced to kill as rebel soldiers," she said. "Defeating human trafficking is a great moral calling of our time." This year's report lists Belize, Burma, Cuba, Iran, Laos, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Zimbabwe as countries where governments fail to take effective action to combat human trafficking. Costa Rica continues to be listed as a source, transit, and destination country for women and Ch*ldren trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The State Department's John Miller said there is no way to definitively count the number of human trafficking victims around the world. But, he said an increase in the number of arrests of traffickers is "the start of progress." "While several years ago, there were just hundreds of traffickers, last year there were about 3,000 convictions of traffickers worldwide," he said. "This year, it's up to around 4,700. That is sending a message, or more of a message anyway, and that is a good sign." Miller said there is special attention being paid to Germany, even though the report gives the country its highest overall rating for compliance with efforts to stop trafficking. The U.S. official said there are reports thousands of women are being transported to Germany to serve as prostitutes during the World Cup. He said the German ambassador to the United States has assured him that the government is taking measures to stop trafficking. What the report says about situation in Costa Rica Here's what the State Department's human trafficking report says about Costa Rica: Costa Rica is principally a source, transit, and destination country for women and Ch*ldren trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Women and girls from Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Guatemala, Ecuador, Cuba, Peru, China, Russia, and the Philippines are trafficked to the country for sexual exploitation; Costa Rican women and Ch*ldren are trafficked within the country for the same purpose. The government acknowledges that Ch*ld sex tourism is a serious problem. Costa Rica serves as a transit point for victims trafficked to the United States, Mexico, Canada, and Europe. Men, women, and Ch*ldren are also trafficked, usually within the country, for forced labor as domestic servants, agricultural workers, and workers in the fishing industry. The Government of Costa Rica does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Authorities investigated numerous reports of minors trafficked for sexual exploitation, cooperated on international trafficking investigations, and initiated a new public awareness campaign that targeted girls and young women vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation. The government should work with the legislature to pass necessary anti-trafficking laws. It should also improve services for victims and increase investigations and prosecutions of traffickers. When complaints are filed against officials allegedly involved in trafficking, they should be vigorously investigated. The government should also develop a national plan of action and designate an official to lead inter-agency cooperation. Prosecution The Government of Costa Rica showed only limited success in enforcement efforts against traffickers during the reporting year, and laws remained inadequate to address all forms of trafficking. Costa Rica lacks an anti-trafficking law; consequently, crimes that involve trafficking are difficult to track. A variety of criminal statutes were used against traffickers but the slow judicial system and the lack of trafficking-specific statutes prevented officials from confirming how many cases involving trafficking resulted in convictions in 2005. In practice, law enforcement anti-trafficking efforts focused on commercial sexual exploitation of minors, for which officials reported 37 new investigations during the reporting period. Authorities cooperated with Nicaraguan and U.S. counterparts in trafficking investigations, but lack of Costa Rican internal government coordination generally hampered enforcement efforts. Although there were indications that some border officials have been involved in trafficking, no reported complaints of trafficking-related corruption were filed during the reporting period. Protection The Costa Rican Government’s efforts to protect trafficking victims remained extremely limited during the reporting year, largely due to the lack of resources. The government continued to punish some victims for unlawful acts they committed as a direct result of their being trafficked. Identified trafficking victims did not face jail, but officials treated some adult victims as illegal migrants and deported them. Foreign nationals identified as trafficking victims could seek repatriation; alternatively, they could apply for work permits or refugee status. Most protective services were severely lacking. The government operated no shelters or health care facilities designated for trafficking victims and lacked the ability to provide even temporary shelter or services. Officials used no standard referral process to transfer trafficking victims to NGOs and the government lacked the capacity to fund NGOs that assisted trafficking victims. Prevention The government made some progress on prevention during the year. An existing campaign against Ch*ld sex tourism continued and a new campaign was launched using television, radio, and billboard notices to warn young women of the dangers of commercial sexual exploitation. The government relied heavily on third parties to raise awareness and provide anti-trafficking training. |
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