Thursday, April 21, 2011

Global human trafficking roundup (April 21, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

New York: U.S. State Department agrees to the UN resolution 86 to ensure the sex workers' access to public services paying attention to their vulnerability and human rights abuse. Sex workers' rights advocacy group argue that the resolution makes the distinction between the sex workers by their own choice and human trafficking victims. However, many anti-huamn trafficking activists argued that this is a political setback.

Hawaii: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission files lawsuit against a few Hawaiian and two other farms, including Global Horizon for trafficking Thai workers. EEOC argued that the defendant engaged in "a pattern or practice of national origin and race discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, when it trafficked over 200 Thai male victims to farms in Hawaii and Washington where they were subjected to severe abuse.” In one case, 60 Thai workers were crammed into one house sharing two bathroom with not enough beds, blankets, etc.

California: Community groups fighting against child prostitution in Oakland see progress. An example of the progress, according to the report, is the convictions of child abuser in connection with child prostitution. Also, for the past three jury trial, the prosecutor was able to receive verdicts for life long sentence conviction.

LATIN AMERICA

Jamaica: Police rescued 14 human trafficking victims including a minor. The victims are from Dominican Republic, Panama, Guyana, and India. Meanwhile, the government authority expressed its plan to further step up its effort to fight against human trafficking. Though Jamaica's rank on U.S. TIP report was improved from Tier 3 to Tier 2, a Senate said that it needs to do more including providing shelters and assistance to victims.

EUROPE

Denmark: Denmark's prostitution law promotes pimping and human trafficking of women. Currently, buying and selling sex are not illegal as long as both prostitute and a john are in the age of 18 or older, and they consented to the solicitation. However, national Police statistics reveal that such legislation with lack of punitive measure and stigma only fosters sex trafficking.

ASIA

UAE: An Uzbek woman appealed the lower court's decision to convict her of trafficking a Moldovan woman. In the lower court, she was convicted of sex trafficking a 21 year old Moldovan woman that she brought to UAE as her maid. The Uzbek woman argued that she has never known the Moldovan woman. The Uzbek woman was arrested when the police raid an apartment after receiving an emergency call asking for help from the victim.


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