Land Centre of Human Rights recently released a series of reports discussing economic and social rights, where they included report no. 72 titled: humans trafficking, Stigma of humanity. The report tries to focus on the phenomenon of human trafficking, which became the new slavery of the modern era. This issue is discussed according to a foreseeable view and three main axes, as the following: First axis: human trafficking; the modern era slavery. Second axis: humans trafficking; an epidemic that sweeps the globe. Third axis: Absence of official role, and inaction of civil role regarding to human trafficking in Egypt.
The Land centre started the report with an introduction, asserting that humanity knew different types of slavery. It is stated in the introduction that black slaves' trade was started by Romans, where slave was defined as nothing, and no rights were granted for him. Even worse, slaves were forced to fight beasts for citizens' entertainment. Masters had the rights to torture and abuse slaves.
The introduction of the report points also to the situation took place in Europe during the industrial revolution. Europe needed many humans as fuel for the success, advance and progress of its revolution, so black slaves were transported from Africa to colonial states, in order to serve those states. After discovering the American continents, slavery was more active; Africans were captivated and relocated to America. Many reports stated that past two centuries witnessed the transportation of more than 17 million people, who lived under hard circumstances.
The report illustrates that, trafficking of white slaves, started in Europe after the industrial development, was the most degrading and humiliating issue humanity had ever faced. White slaves were only used in dirty, immoral, anti-virtues acts, such as; Prostitution and many other acts. This trade included women, children and even men.
Centre affirms that spread and penetration of World Wide Web "INTERNET' everywhere has contributed to humans trafficking increase. Victims receive job offers through internet, and when they start working, they discover they became victims to humans' trafficking mafias. Mafias enforce victims to commit prostitution acts and pay money in order to gain their freedoms.
The report warns from the danger of this trade that became the third largest organized crime after weapons trafficking and drugs trafficking. This crime is committed in most countries of the world, if not all of them; whether they are the developed, or the developing states.
The report refers that women represent a great majority of the victims of human trafficking, where they rate from 80 to 90% of this trade. Majority of women trafficking takes place through international borders, where they are used for sexual purposes, like compulsory prostitution. Others are forced to serve in houses, where they are poorly paid. Men who lack skills are forced to do hard works.
The centre warns from the danger of organized criminal gangs that trade with humans because of this trade large profit. The centre refers, in its report, that illegal profits, which come out of compulsory trade with humans, exceeded 32 billion dollars annually, where human trafficking contributed with 28 billion dollars to those profits. The report refers to the existence of 12.3 million victims because of the compulsory work, nowadays.
Profits, as estimated, gained by those traders or brokers reached from 5 to 7 billion dollars yearly. Sometimes, profits reached 9.5 billion dollars in the year. Those tremendous profits are the real reason for the increase of this phenomenon, where profits are so high, and expenses are so low. Beside, element of risk in this trade is low, and period of abusing kidnapped persons is high.
In the first axis of this phenomenon, stated in the report and entitled "trafficking in humans; the slavery of recent era", trading humans, or the so called "human trafficking" is considered as one of the most dangerous crimes to be committed against humanity allover the world. It is a moral stigma in the history of the humanity, no doubt on that. But the real danger of this trade, nowadays, that it started to spread in an epidemic way allover the world. More than 150 states are involved in this trade. It became a famous profitable illegal trade. It is illegal, that it depends on humans as merchandises and commodities, bought and sold with low prices, and ordered to do indecent works. Therefore, it is considered as a kind of recent slavery.
This axis, also, discussed the following; identifying human trafficking, its factors, people used in this trafficking process, targets and elements that help the dissemination of this phenomenon, globalization and humans trafficking, internet and its role in the dissemination of this phenomenon, and the difference between human trafficking and unorganized immigration.
The report asserts that savage capitalism, resulted from globalization that swept the whole world; east and west, played a major role in widening the scope of this illegal and non-humanitarian trade. Report warns, also, that poverty in poor states increases because of the world financial crisis, thus, risk of exposure to humans trafficking increases, because citizens of those poor states need to travel abroad to work, as their states suffer unemployment, low incomes, and deterioration of living standards.
The report reviews in the second axis, entitled "Human trafficking; an epidemic sweeps the world", how this act is considered criminal from all its sides. Human trafficking is considered the world main challenge in the 21st century. In this axis, human trafficking is divided into two types; the first type is the human trafficking associated with abusing victims and forcing them to commit prostitution, which is considered as one of the oldest jobs in the world. While the second type of human trafficking is smuggling migrants, which occurs voluntarily by transporting persons from a country to another.
In this second axis, the land centre pays attention that human trafficking is having an international scope. There are various reasons that made human trafficking expands, starting with absence of democracy and human rights, disturbance of wealth distribution in world for developed world favor that leads to more poverty and unemployment in eastern European states, some Asian states, and most of African ones, ending with an international union that gathers all gangs of organized crime, and coordinate the relations between them. Those gangs use all new means that help them in their illegal work. The means, that gangs use, varies from various technologies, science and its application, to different ways of media that shows life in developed states as paradise.
In the same context, the report focused, in this axis, on what swept the entire world from east to west, and became a stigma on the international community and legitimacy. This is to be illustrated as following; firstly: Human trafficking in international conventions. Secondly: Numbers and statistics of human trafficking. Thirdly: America accusing others while ignores to accuse itself. Fourthly: Arabs and human trafficking.
Land centre assures, in the report, that United States of America is branded as a last resort country in the operation of human trafficking, as a report of drugs and organized crime, released by United Nations in 2006, reported. The report placed the United States in high rank. It stated that women constitute the majority of these operations, where children from both sexes come after them. The United Nations report stated that percentage of men trafficking in America and Canada is the highest in the whole world.
Report affirmed that 45 to 50 thousand children and women are brought to United States each year, by illegal means or false pretences. Those women and children are forced to work as servants, or in prostitution houses, or being sexually abused. The United States justice department reported that in period from February, 2001 till November, 2004, judgments were release in 168 human trafficking cases, and 366 investigations were opened.
The report pointed to the situation in Arabic states. It stated that since the stated department of the united state issued its reports in 2000 no Arabic country, nor Islamic one was free of human trafficking each year. Those stated were placed in the three categories, but there positions change from a year to another.
Although this miserable phenomenon in, almost, all Arab countries, societies don't realize the danger of this phenomenon. Even most of Arabic governments didn't take any action to confront or monitor this phenomenon.
In the same context, report refers to the kidnap of more than two thousand woman in Iraq, since the beginning of American occupation in 2002, for ransom or trafficking.
In the third axis of the report; "Absence of official role, and inaction of civil role in human trafficking in Egypt", experts see that according to its reaction towards humans trafficking, world governments are classified into three different types; the first type is the double standards government, which condemns humans trafficking despite its deployment over its territory, like; United States of America, and United Kingdom, which have been criticized for their inaction in combating this trade.
Second type is the negative government. Arab governments represent that type of governments. They did not take any action confronting this phenomenon, showing careless attitude. The third type is representing the governments that took serious effective steps to stop this misery, like; Japan that amended the law that confronts human trafficking, in response to civil society's pressure.
Land center believes that successive Egyptian governments are classified, according to the previous classification, as governments from the second type; those governments didn't show any careful attitude toward this phenomenon. There are no data or statistics that measure the phenomenon in Egypt, or its dimensions. Also, there is no strategic view of confronting it.
Moreover, this dimension highlights the phenomenon of humans trafficking in Egypt; its manifestations, its dimensions, Egyptian efforts to confront it, absent role of Civil Society Organizations, and the Israeli role in the dissemination of this phenomenon in Egypt.
Egyptian government and Egypt are accused for being one of the most important canters for humans trafficking, after many organized gangs, that work secretly, have broken into it. Also, Egypt is a transit country in the operation of trafficking women and girls to be abused in prostitution.
The report refers to the phenomenon of marriage of underage girls, who are younger than 18 years to the riches of the Gulf, in addition to the activity of some cities, which is a destination for sex tourism.
Egypt has witnessed many cases of humans trafficking in the last few years. In 2003, Egypt witnessed 52 cases for males, and 27 for females. In year 2004, there were 33 cases for males, and 34 for females. In 2005, Egypt scored 49 cases for males, and 23 for females. In 2006, Egypt scored 30 cases for males, and 12 females. It is noticed that males trafficking in Egypt scored higher rates than females.
Report refers also that, victims of smuggling individuals abroad, as classified by ages, were 6 ladies and 3 girls in 2003, means while in 2004 witnessed one case for boys, three for girls and five four ladies. In 2005, boys witnessed one case, 5 for girls, 4 for ladies and three cases for men. In 2006, 5 cases for girls, 3 for ladies and 3 for men, who were kidnapped, were scored.
The report illustrated, in its third axis, the role of civil society organization towards the phenomenon of humans trafficking, which is characterized by being an international phenomenon. The report states that real danger of the phenomenon lies in the absence of discussion of the phenomenon in Egypt. While International Labor Organization estimates the number of human trafficking victims in the world with 12,300,000 victims, Egypt doesn't have any official statistics or accurate estimation of the number of victims existed on it. Also, existing studies and statistics need to be reviewed. In addition, there is no statute in Egyptian law that criminalizes humans trafficking, and detects elements of the crime and punishes perpetrators.
The dominant idea in the Egyptian society towards this phenomenon, especially the governmental view, is that Egypt is a transit country, in the field of human trafficking. The phenomenon of human trafficking, internally in Egypt, is not recognized in a sufficient way the helps the movement and union of all efforts in order to treat it, despite Egypt was stated in many international reports as a pivotal state in humans' organs trafficking, but Egyptian government doesn't take any steps.
Therefore, situation in Egypt is taking a serious trend, because of the absence of clear and real recognition of the phenomenon by the governmental agencies. Those agencies are designated, predominantly, to monitor and treat that phenomenon. Thus, role of civil society organizations, which must focus on providing security from all levels to victims, appears. Civil society organizations must give legal and pecuniary aid to victims. By applying this role, awareness by media should be secured, especially for ladies who travel to work in gulf, where many times they get deceived and forced to work in indecent jobs that can, even, be sexual abuse. So, they should be aware of how to conclude contracts, and be sure of the veracity of work abroad. The land centre concludes its report with a future vision entitled: humans trafficking and need for concerted efforts. The centre asserted, on this conclusion, that we must united our efforts in all levels; the local, regional and international one, that varies from international organizations to international and regional bodies, local governments, and civil society organizations, to confront this dangerous phenomenon, which threatens the Social security of many countries.
According to international reports, 40 to 50% of the volume of trafficking is the trafficking of children. But the optimistic side of this report was the change of international organizations perspective towards human trafficking; from monitoring the negative aspects of child labor and its devastating future impact on physical and psychological levels of the child, the family and the society as a whole, to prepare studies on the integrated analysis of the costs and benefits of eliminating child labor around the world. But non-governmental organizations and international institutions, still, have to take many steps and measures to stop the crime of human trafficking, and to ensure safe and dignified life for all peoples of the Earth.
The full report will be published on our website as soon as we finish the translation.