Civil G8 2006

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Efforts against traffic-in-persons

Russia - the victim of traffic-in-persons


According to Helga Conrad, the OSCE special envoy for traffic-in-persons issues, annually 50 thousand Russians become victims of traffic-in-persons. “Annually from 200 to 500 thousand persons are carried to Western Europe within the framework of traffic-in-persons, - she said. – Among the victims about 6o percent are women, about 40 percent are men. The age is various to begin with very babies”.
Helga Conrad also stressed that it is very difficult to give exact figures, but according to the expert opinion, annually 20-50 thousand Russians become victims of traffic-in-persons. The aim of traffic-in-persons is the further sexual exploitation and the slavery, too. Today we witness new forms of traffic-in-persons, for instance, the traffic inside one country. “It’s a serious problem not only for big states such as Russia or USA, but also for small countries, such as Holland”, - she said.
Mrs Conrad said also that she visits Russia frequently and tries to keep in touch with Russian officials and responsible persons, who understand the importance of fighting this evil. According to her, Russia is a country which citizens are being carried out for criminal exploitation abroad and also a state where the labor of illegal immigrants is being used.
Today it is very important to find out such dangerous situations, to prevent it, to protect people who were victims of sexual or another illegal exploitation, to provide them with necessary help. The traffic-in-persons is one of the most globalized criminal businesses, a whole criminal industry. The annual profit out of the traffic-in-persons is about 10-15 billion dollars.

According to Helga Conrad, the OSCE organizes its work on the basis of the written obligation of 55 states-OSCE members. The OSCE has worked out a plan of joint activities. The best method to fight the traffic is to prevent it, of course. It is also necessary to protect the victims and to prosecute judicially those who are responsible for these crimes.

The OSCE special envoy supported the idea of creating the monitoring system able to bring to light all criminal cases, to appoint a national coordinator and a special group to coordinate joint efforts. All OSCE member states, including Russia, must participate actively in his process.
Mrs Conrad also stressed, that the efforts taken by Russia and other OSCE states within the framework of fighting the traffic-in-persons are insufficient. She also said one of the reasons the people tries to go abroad for a job is the unfavorable situation in their own states. But the traffic-in-persons is also based on women’s discrimination, low level of education, corruption, a large number of false advertising, fear of the powers.
“Traffic-in-persons is a criminal problem and at the same time a matter of human rights”, - she said.

Expert opinion

Halter Marek

02.12.06

Halter Marek
Le College de France
Olivier Giscard d’Estaing

02.12.06

Olivier Giscard d’Estaing
COPAM, France
Mika Ohbayashi

02.12.06

Mika Ohbayashi
Institute for Sustainable Energy Poliñy
Bill Pace

02.12.06

Bill Pace
World Federalist Movement - Institute for Global Policy
Peter I. Hajnal

01.12.06

Peter I. Hajnal
Toronto University, G8 Research Group


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