Program & Actions

What You Can Do § WG-USA Resolution of Trafficking

Take Action on Human Trafficking — the Fastest Growing Global Crime

§Take Action

Human Trafficking Violates Human Rights

The 30th IFUW Conference resolves that:

1.   National Federations and Associations (NFAs) educate their members about the issue of trafficking as it relates to their country, including addressing the primary causes that contribute to the practice;

2.  NFAs urge their respective governments to ensure that they have not only signed but have also ratified the United Nations Protocol against Trafficking in Persons passed in 2003; if their countries have done so, NFAs will monitor the status of their government’s implementation of the Protocol and take appropriate action where needed; and

3.  IFUW utilize its standing committees, its consultative status with ECOSOC, its website and member networks to advocate for measures that would reduce the incidence of trafficking.

Supporting Statement:
Human trafficking is a violation of human rights that destroys the lives of its victims, 80% of whom are women and children, while creating a 32 billion-dollar business each year. Trafficking is in many cases a trans-border crime that affects all regions of the world.

According to a 2006 UN global report on trafficking, 127 countries have been documented as countries of origin, and 137 as countries of destination. However, most exploitation still takes place close to home. The increasing ease and frequency of international travel, together with the growing phenomenon of temporary migration for work, has increased the opportunities for trafficking.

There are almost no reliable estimates on the number of women who are trafficked or data on the point of origin and destination which hinders development of strategies to combat trafficking. Since the United Nations Protocol on Trafficking in Persons (Palermo Accord) passed in 2003, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) indicates that most of the 155 signatories are “seriously implementing the Protocol” but the need remains to address root causes of trafficking such as economic and social powerlessness, subordination, statelessness, and gender discrimination.

From a February 2009 UN Report from the Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, a mandate emerged stating that “the real challenge is not just in adopting strategies that will effectively lead to catching the perpetrators and punishing them. Rather, it is preferable to put in place strategies that will focus equally on the victim by recognizing and redressing the violations suffered.”

This is a global issue that affects all countries that are members of IFUW. As early as1968, IFUW passed a Resolution related to Slavery 1968 No. 13), and according to UNODC estimates today there are 27 million people involved in this modern-day slavery. Later, IFUW Resolutions on Trafficking and Exploitation of Women and Children (1998 No. 6) and Commercial Exploitation of Children (2004 No.6) added emphasis to issues of slavery. The IFUW Resolutions referred to are listed under Resolutions on Human Rights. Both the current IFUW Board programme focus and the results of this triennium Consultation with members, branches and NFAs, identified “the empowerment of women” as one of the four areas of study and action.

Plan of Action:

1. SWC and Resolutions Committee will develop a list of websites and bibliography for use by NFA branches to educate themselves and their communities about human trafficking issues and laws that exist in their countries.
2. NFAs are urged to identify existing national laws and policies that support the UN Protocol Against Trafficking in Persons.  To the extent possible, evaluate the effectiveness of these laws at the national level. Propose better methods of implementation when necessary.