A global platform needed to fight human trafficking

Human trafficking is one of the greatest crimes perpetrated to a lot of people on our planet, and today it is considered second to the drug trade --- the largest criminal activity in the world.  Human efforts and endeavour for betterment of life and enrichment of civilisation are hindered by human trafficking.  Human trafficking is not only a heinous offence, it is also a phenomenon which undermines value, worth, and dignity of the persons trafficked.
Migration and trafficking are often confused. Migration of humans has been continuing since the dawn of civilisation. People migrated from one place to another  for food and better shelter.
Human trafficking, however, is a complex phenomenon, resulting from involvement of diverse national and transnational factors. Although trafficking in persons is often identified as a part of organised and/or cross-border crime, it also occurs within national boundaries. In whatever form it may happen, it is inextricably linked to forced, fraudulent or involuntary migration/movement of people, and the end-object of this crime is commercial sex work, forced labour, organ removal or other forms of exploitation. As such, unsafe migration always runs the risk of becoming human trafficking. But modern technology has turned the world into a global village, where no citizen can be kept confined within a boundary.
Human trafficking, in fact, is an illegal trade in humans that at times assumes the form of slavery and makes way for all sorts of exploitation including forced labour.  According to the US State Department, "an estimated 600,000 to 820,000 men, women, and children are trafficked across international borders each year. Of them, approximately 80 per cent are women and girls and up to 50 per cent are minors."  Nearly 2.0 million children around the globe are currently victims of sexual exploitation; they are bought and sold away for this nasty work, as well as forced labour, street crimes, domestic servitude or even for sale of their vital organs.
The challenge for all countries, rich or poor, is to target the criminals who exploit the vulnerable people and to protect and help the victims of trafficking and the smuggled-out migrants. Trafficking in humans is a great crime and is virtually a modern form of slave trade, which is also a blatant violation of human rights. The US Department of State reported in 2013 that 27 million men, women and children became victims of human trafficking around the world in that year. Of 3,162 people prosecuted for human trafficking worldwide in the year, only half of them got convicted.
LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND POLICIES: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations in 1988 is one of the great declarations to address slavery and slave trade. It said, "State parties shall take the first international definition for trafficking and outlines a comprehensive law enforcement regime." This anti-trafficking protocol (2000) is a remarkable step in advancing human rights, especially of women and children, in the 21st century as it is a wide-ranging international agreement to address the crime of trafficking in persons on a transnational level. It defines that trafficking in persons shall mean recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. This protocol has encouraged organised cooperation by police, immigration authorities, social service agencies and NGOs against organised criminals such as traffickers, smugglers, pimps, brothel keepers, forced labour lords, enforcers and gangs, who are powerful forces.
Bangladesh has made commitments to combat trafficking in persons at the country level.
The Vienna Declaration and the Copenhagen Declaration called upon all countries to take measures against traffickers and to safeguard the security of migrant workers and their families (2007).
UNODC REPORT: A global report on trafficking in persons launched by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) provides new information on a crime that shames us all.
Based on data gathered from 155 countries, it offers the first global assessment of human trafficking and what is being done to fight it. It includes an overview of trafficking patterns, legal steps taken in response and country-specific information on reported cases of trafficking in persons, victims, and prosecutions.
At the launch of the report in New York, Executive Director of UNODC Antonio Maria Costa said, "Many governments are still in denial. There is even neglect when it comes to either reporting on, or prosecuting cases of human trafficking." The executive director pointed to the fact that while the number of convictions for human trafficking is increasing, two out of every five countries covered by the UNODC Report had not recorded a single conviction.
According to the report, the most common form of human trafficking (79 per cent) is sexual exploitation. Such victims are predominantly women and girls. Surprisingly, in 30 per cent of the countries which provided information on the gender of traffickers, women make up the largest proportion of traffickers. In some parts of the world, women trafficking women is the norm.
The second-most common form of human trafficking is forced labour (18 per cent), although this may be a misrepresentation because forced labour is less frequently detected and reported than trafficking for sexual exploitation.
Worldwide, almost 20 per cent of all trafficking victims are children. However, in some parts of Africa and the Mekong region, children are the majority (up to 100 per cent in parts of West Africa).
Although trafficking seems to imply people moving and taken across continents, most of the exploitations take place close to home. Data shows intra-regional and domestic trafficking are the major forms of trafficking in persons.
The United Nations Protocol against Trafficking in Persons - the foremost international agreement in this area - came into force in 2003. The report shows that in the past few years, the number of member-states seriously implementing the Protocol has more than doubled (from 54 to 125 out of the 155 states covered). However, there are still many countries that lack the necessary legal instruments or political will to implement it.
"This report increases our understanding of modern slave markets, yet it also exposes our ignorance," said Antonio Costa. "We have a big picture, but it is impressionistic and lacks depth. We fear the problem is getting worse, but we can not prove it for lack of data, and many governments are obstructing," Antonio Costa admitted. The head of UNODC, therefore, called on governments and social scientists to improve information-gathering and share those on human trafficking.  "If we do not overcome this knowledge crisis we will be fighting the problem blindfolded," Costa warned.
At a panel discussion on 'Exposing Denial and Benign Neglect', Antonio Costa called on governments, the private sector, and the public at large to step up the fight against trafficking in persons. "More must be done to reduce the vulnerability of victims, increase the risks to traffickers, and lower demand for the goods and services of modern-day slaves", the UNODC head said.
To increase public awareness of human trafficking and rally the world to fight it, Antonio Costa appointed Academy Award-winning actress Mira Sorvino as a Goodwill Ambassador to combat human trafficking. "We know that Mira's commitment to the plight of trafficking victims will move people to take action against modern-day slavery", said the Executive Director of UNODC.
The writer is a journalist