Child Trafficking: a contemporary form of slavery

Child trafficking is a pattern of human rights violations that is known to affect at least one million children worldwide and probably many more. It concerns the business of taking children away from their homes and families, transporting them elsewhere, often across frontiers and even to other continents, to be used by others – usually to make money. Trafficking in human beings is a very lucrative business. Children can be exploited over and over again. Those trafficking children often go unpunished because of lack of adequate law to prevent such activity, while trafficked children are often penalised as illegal migrant workers. The consequences of trafficking are devastating for children. They are at risk of both physical and mental damage, and are deprived of education and basic rights.

Children are trafficked for different purposes including commercial sexual exploitation, marriage, adoption, slavery or bonded labour, domestic work, begging, illicit activities and hazardous labour.

Causes of child trafficking include poverty, globalisation and restrictions on migration, lack of educational opportunities, discrimination, harmful cultural practices, crisis and natural disasters, demand for cheap labour and commercial sex with children, and simple indifference. While poverty is an important factor leading to child trafficking it is not the only cause; there are plenty of poor communities around the world whose children are not trafficked.

Terre des Hommes strategies are aimed at developing protective mechanisms within the communities of children at risk, and ensuring the long-term reintegration of trafficked children. It researches the causes and mechanisms of child trafficking in order to provide adequate responses that really improve the lives of affected children. Terre des Hommes also works with trafficked children’s countries of origin and destination to foster bi-lateral and regional cooperation.

Terre des Hommes launched its campaign to end child trafficking in 2001. The campaign combines research and field programmes to prevent child trafficking, support for children who have been trafficked, lobbying governments for appropriate national policies, and alerting the public to the existence and scale of the problem.

After eight years of campaigning against child trafficking, Terre des Hommes is seeing visible results. Child trafficking is now firmly on the international agenda, and some national legislation has improved. The international community has also gained knowledge and experience in combating child trafficking and in protecting victims. However these outcomes remain insufficient, as they have not yet reached hundreds of thousands of trafficked children. Terre des Hommes therefore continues to provide direct aid to child victims of trafficking through 72 field projects in 40 countries, and is active at a global level to improve human rights access and standards of care for children who have been trafficked or are at risk.

EU: 425 Members of the European Parliament Stand Against Child Trafficking

Written Declaration n.50 on combating the trafficking of children has been adopted, receiving 425 signatures from Members of the European Parliament, and will be the first and probably the only declaration adopted by the European Parliament under the 2004-2009 legislature.

The Declaration calls upon EU member states to recognize the fight against child trafficking as a priority in national child protection policy, to enhance transnational cooperation, and to support authorities and NGOs in shaping adequate responses to prevent, protect and provide adequate treatment for victims.

TDHIF took an active part in the promotion of this Declaration. "The formal endorsement of the Declaration is certainly a successful result of campaigning run by NGOs to put the issue of child trafficking on the EU political agenda", stated Raffaele Salinari, President of TDHIF.

For further information on the launch of this initiative, please click here

December 2007

The Terre des Hommes International Federation statement on the occasion of the United Nations Commemorative High-Level Plenary Meeting, devoted to the follow-up of the Special Session on Children

Progress Towards a World Fit for Children Five Years After – The Unsuccessful Conventional Approach to Child Trafficking and Recommendations for Future Actions

The Terre des Hommes International Federation would like to use the occasion of the United Nations Commemorative High-Level Plenary Meeting, devoted to the follow-up of the Special Session on Children on 11-12 December 2007 in New York, to raise its concerns about one of the worst and ongoing forms of child rights violation, child trafficking. Although there is a lack of correct and inclusive data, various sources from all regions describe a large number of children taken away from home and subsequently exploited within their country or across borders. The forms of exploitation to which children are subjected include, among other things: prostitution or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude, and illegal adoption.

Efforts during the last five years
Terre des Hommes recognizes that over the last five years some steps have been taken to address this modern form of child slavery. First, states have increasingly recognized child trafficking as an offence, punishable under national legislation. The entry into force of the Palermo Protocol has led to a commonly agreed definition of the elements of the crime, thereby facilitating trans-national collaboration in investigation, prosecution and other judicial matters. Some more recent regional developments, such as the Council of Europe Convention, have also sought to shift the legislative process from a mere prosecution approach to a more human rights based approach, focusing on preventive and protective measures. There is however a strong reluctance by states to endorse such developments, as demonstrated by the relatively low number of states signing these agreements.

In addition to legal developments, there has also been a considerable investment by a group of states and other actors in concrete actions and projects to address trafficking in human beings, including children. Regretfully such investments have not always supported rights based initiatives, often giving priority to migration prevention and border control projects. The identification of trafficked children has been built upon border control mechanisms, and there is a lack of investment in investigating and addressing the exploitation to which children are subjected.

At present, however, there are substantial research findings and lessons learnt from past interventions to guide the international community in addressing child trafficking from a child rights perspective. It is on this knowledge that the Terre des Hommes International Federation bases the recommendations below, which should be seen as priorities in any future actions addressing child trafficking.

Whilst these recommendations provide some practical guidance, their implementation and the overall progress in addressing child trafficking depends on state commitment to respect the rights of the child as prescribed in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and current international customary law.

Recommendations

- The importance of prevention

The measures to protect children and prevent them from being trafficked should be based on a good understanding of the factors that make the child vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking. Such factors might be economic, socio-cultural, institutional or conflict-driven in character.

- The rights based approach

Seeking to prevent child migration because of potential trafficking risks does not constitute a rights based approach. Instead, children in migration should be better protected against exploitation.

- Investing in child protection mechanisms and practices

The family and community operate their own mechanisms for protecting children against harm. The enforcement of such family and community mechanisms is a must in the fight against child trafficking. In addition, an institutional system monitored by the state should be able to intervene and provide solutions to every threat or case of child abuse according to the best interests of the child.

- Assisting the child to withdraw from the exploitative/trafficking situation

Measures to assist trafficked children should seek the empowerment of the child. The choices that children make play a role throughout the process, including withdrawal from exploitation. Empowerment means that more options are available to the child, helping them to make the right choice.

- Best interests of the child

It is mandatory for every intervention to guarantee the best interests of the child. Finding out what constitutes the best interests of trafficked children might be a difficult task. Involvement of child rights professionals is necessary in all decision-making processes.

- Listening to the child

Child participation is a necessary component of every rights based intervention. This means informing them, accompanying them in formulating their wishes and concerns, listening to them, and guaranteeing that they are part of the decision-making process.