Join the global fight on human trafficking

27 December 2007

The United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT) was conceived to join forces and coordinate the global fight on human trafficking.

UN.GIFT was launched in March 2007 by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) with a grant made on behalf of the United Arab Emirates. It is managed in cooperation with the International Labour Organization (ILO); the International Organization for Migration (IOM); the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF); the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR); the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

By encouraging and facilitating cooperation and coordination, UN.GIFT aims to create synergies among the anti-trafficking activities of UN agencies, international organizations and other stakeholders to develop the most efficient and cost-effective tools and best practices with which to combat human trafficking.

One of the ways to facilitate better coordination among stakeholders is to exchange and share knowledge and experiences. The UN.GIFT online Community of Practice, comprising of the website and an e-forum, aims to create a global platform, facilitating this exchange, in which all partners who are engaged in the process can play a pro-active role.

We would therefore, request members of this forum to join us in our efforts in making the UN.GIFT online community vibrant and exciting. Listed below are the areas in which we would request you to contribute.

The e-forum & Vox Pop

This is the section for you, as an individual, to express your views. Discussions will be held on designated topics (you can suggest a topic as well), related to human trafficking for a specified period of time.

The discussions will be moderated and we look forward to your active participation in this section. Our current discussion topic is 'Why are children more in demand for trafficking', for which you can read the background note and post a reply here.

Showcasing our partners

Every week, this section will feature an organization doing substantive work in the area of anti-human trafficking. Partners may include organizations from the civil society, the corporate sector, partner agencies and individuals.

It is an effective way to showcase your organization to a large number of like-minded individuals and organizations. Click here for an example.

Best practices

This section attempts to highlight positive initiatives made by our partners in combating human trafficking. This could include publications, project outcomes or even stories highlighting good practices in this area. Click here for an example.

Stories of courage

This section highlights personal stories of survivors of human trafficking, who have been able to come out and bring a positive change in their lives. We are hopeful that you would be having a number of such stories to share, from among the stakeholders that you work with. Read more for an inspiring example.

Resource section

This section includes publications, reports, websites, films, videos, etc. that would be useful to individuals and organisations working in the area of anti-human trafficking. Click here to view existing resources on the website.

For details, contact:

Bidisha Pillai
Project Officer
UNODC
Regional Office for South Asia
EP 16/17, Chandragupta Marg
Chanakyapuri
New Delhi, India -110021

Email: bidisha.pillai@unodc.org

User comments

"Fight Against Trafficking"

Author:

Time: 02.01.2008 09:09

Comment: �Few Things we could remember while we say we work on Trafficking�

Trade in humans is perhaps the greatest, and of course to those who engage in such crimes, happens to be the most profitable business in the newly globalized world. I have had the opportunity to work on the issue for a significant number of years in the Indian sub-continent and the fight took me to a greater understanding that trafficking is not an isolated transit, sell or purchase and violence against a human being. It is more of an expression of violence and use of opportunities to profit from existing social structure and political system in a country, mainly- patriarchy, globalization and lack of livelihood rights for marginalized social groups. However, I am quite disheartened by the efforts of agencies, organizations and even the governance who attempt to look at trafficking as isolated events or choose to address the event instead of the entire spectrum. I know it might get difficult for most to understand trafficking from a very complex point of view. We assume linearity so much in our approaches nowadays; however when we deal with trafficking and seek to address it as an issue, the linearity actually work as a barrier. Most NGOs for example are interested for very specific reasons to work on rescue and rehabilitation in homes.

The right of a trafficked person towards social mainstreaming is often left aside as a challenge and an impossible waste of time and resources. Shelter homes are the easiest way out. I agree to it but fail to see the logic as it is one way a simple means to isolate a person from society and his/ her rights to a social life for no fault of his/ her. Then many agencies seek to change policy and work on governance issue. This is an important area and perhaps the most significant one as in countries like India trafficking is lined with sex work and trafficking for sex work. We need to work on governance issue definitely as weak trafficking law and failure of government to address rights of trafficked persons will put any private or non-government work to nullity unless the government steps in. However problem remains if we do not look at prevention in a serious way. Prevention is most essential as it works both to stop trafficking from the community and also in a way helps in social reintegration of trafficked persons.

Working with international agencies and of course NGOs in India, Nepal, Thailand and Bangladesh and having been in discussion with them on several occasions, another area struck me more than often. Agencies and NGOs are greatly divided over the issues. While some are genuinely concerned with the definition of trafficking, others are concerned with working on shelter homes for trafficked persons. While some consider that trafficking concern only women, others look at how government should develop special cells to address rescue and repatriation. And even between governments understanding on the issue vary as the complex problem of migration is deeply related to trafficking in the Indian sub-continent.

In a nutshell I would like to request all those who like to address the issue and work on addressing the rights of trafficked persons to come out of these dilemma. Right when we are organizing workshops and engaging ourselves in countless debates over the definition or root cause of trafficking, a child, a woman or a man is getting trafficked some where. A stay amidst most of the marginalized groups will easily enlighten us on why people get trafficked. There is no need to believe that traffickers are aliens. They are mostly and most often a member of the same community or group. Women do get trafficked more than men, but not only for the purpose of sex work. So highlighting on the purpose among the community, while trafficking prevention campaign is on sway, actually helps in increasing stigma towards trafficked women. Governments needs to work on poverty, safe migration and trafficking law and decentralization local/ rural governments like the Panchayat in India has a major role to play in this. Putting up some special cells in some inaccessible government department will certainly be a good step to evoke governments' response to trafficking, but frankly by looking at the slow governance in the sub-continent and in most underdeveloped economies, could be miniscule and mostly out of reach of people who get trafficked. Lastly and not the least trafficking could happen for many end and does not mean that only poor and only from the developing countries need to be cautioned. Trafficking is happening all across the world. If the poor are most affected, it is because they have the poorest access to education, literacy, dignity, security, food or work. Hence if UN.GIFT or any other project wish to address genuinely, it has to come out of the conventional shell it carries around itself, be globalized, think aloud and work aggressively to bring about any change in the lives of the so called 'victims of trafficking' or 'trafficked person'.

And I wish my very best to anybody or any team who wish to face this challenge in the times to come.

Shantamay Chatterjee
E Mail: shantamay@gmail.com