Franciscans International
Handbook on Human Trafficking
(Geneva: Franciscans International, 2004, 40pp.)

This 40 page document can be downloaded from the website :
www.franciscansinternational.org in the section resources/publications.

The recent increase in the scope, intensity, and sophistication of crime around the world threatens the safety of citizens everywhere and hinders countries in their social, economic, and cultural development.  The dark side of globalization allows multinational criminal syndicates to broaden their range of operations from drug and arms sales to trafficking in human beings.

The smuggling of migrants and the trafficking of human beings for prostitution and slave labor have become two of the fastest growing worldwide problems of recent years.  From Himalayan villages to Eastern European cities - especially women and girls - are attracted by the prospect of a well-paid job as a domestic servant, waitress or factory worker.  Traffickers recruit victims through fake advertisements, mail-order bride catalogues, casual acquaintances, and even family members.

Trafficking in human beings is not confined to the "sex industry".  Children are trafficked to work in sweatshops and men to work in the "three Ds jobs" - dirty, difficult, and dangerous.  As the Handbook points out, "The lack of economic, political and social structures providing women with equal job opportunities has also contributed to the feminization of poverty, which in turn has given rise to the feminization of migrations, as women leave their homes to look for viable economic solutions.  In addition, political instability, militarism, civil unrest, internal armed conflicts and natural catastrophes increase women's vulnerability and can contribute to the development of trafficking."

Over the past decade, human trafficking has reached epidemic proportions.  The search for work abroad is related to economic disparities and the disruption of traditional livelihoods.  In addition, traffickers take advantage of large numbers of refugees and uprooted people due to armed conflicts.

As the Franciscans International Handbook states "Human trafficking affects men, women and children in their deepest being.  It strikes what is most precious in them: their dignity and their values as individuals ... Trafficked persons experience painful and traumatizing situations that will certainly be with them for the rest of their lives.  From recruitment to exploitation, they lose their identity and desperately struggle against a situation that reduces them to beasts of burden."

The fight against human trafficking must be waged in a global and multidimensional way by the United Nations and regional security intergovernmental organizations, by national governments, and by non-governmental organizations.

At the intergovernmental level, the United Nations has facilitated through treaties the setting of norms on  trafficking as well as organizing a "Global Programme Against Trafficking in Human Beings" which should enable countries of origin, transit, and destination to develop cooperative strategies and practical action against trade in human beings.  The Handbook gives a useful chronological list of international instruments dealing with human trafficking as well as the list of UN member countries and the treaties they have ratified.

It is important that there be cooperation between the UN system, national governments, and non-governmental organizations.  Cooperation is ever-progressive inclusiveness in the interests of all parties involved.  One of the foundations of cooperation is mutual trust.  When mutual trust is established, cooperation becomes a natural way to act.

One of the aspects of trafficking in which non-governmental organizations can play a crucial role is the psychological healing of the victims.  Unfortunately, the victim's psychological health is often ignored by governments.  Victims often suffer a strong psychological shock that disrupts their psychical and psychological integrity.  The result is that they lack self-esteem after having experienced traumatizing moments.

Too often governments are more concerned with curbing illegal migration rather than the welfare of victims.  People arrested are sent back to their home countries, to the same conditions which led them to be trafficked in the first place.  The victims return home with a sense of failure, without the wealth that they had hoped for.

In our efforts against trafficking, we must combine two aspects: although the sexual exploitation is proportionally more important, it is necessary not to lose sight of economic exploitation, which increases in scale especially when it comes to forced labor and debt bondage.

For a fuller development of these twin aspects, we encourage you to read "UN and NGOs Struggle to Wipe Out Contemporary Forms of Slavery" in the Peace section of the TOS website.

We must not underestimate the difficulties and the dangers which exist in the struggle against trafficking in persons nor the hard efforts that are needed for the psychological healing of victims.  However, we have the opportunity of dealing with a crucial social issue.  This Handbook on Human Trafficking " can be a useful guide for action.

René Wadlow