Human trafficking

1563 Words4 Pages

Well within every country’s walls is an underground scene that exploits people in any way that it can. These exploitations happen with or without the consent of those being exploited. Human trafficking and migrant smuggling are two similar but also different issues that affect virtually every country in the world. Human trafficking is defined as “the acquisition of people by improper means such as force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them” (United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, 2012) while smuggling migrants is “the procurement for financial or other material benefit of illegal entry of a person into a State of which that person is not a national or resident” (United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, 2012). While migrant smuggling may be one aspect of trafficking, it is not an accurate illustration of the phenomenon(Obokata, 2006). Migrant smuggling is different from human trafficking in three ways; 1) it involves consent from the person being smuggled unlike human trafficking victims who are coerced in some form, 2) the exploitation of the person being smuggled stops as soon as they reach their destination country while human trafficking victims continue to be victimized even after reaching another country/area, and 3) human smuggling is transnational, whereas human trafficking can occur across borders but also within them. (United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, 2012)The similarities though, are that all of the people involved are victims. Whether it is from desperation or need, people who resort to smuggling are victims of their own lives and only want to secure a better future for themselves and both issues are geared towards those who are at risk. Human trafficking and smuggling are a form of human r...

... middle of paper ...

...ne day be eradicated.

References

Birkenthal, S. (2011-2012). Human Trafficking: A Human Rights Abuse with Global Dimensions. INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF HUMAN RIGHTS LAW , 6, 27.

Bogusz, B. (2004). Irregular Migration And Human Rights: Theoretical, European And International Perspectives. Leidel: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.

Kirkham, G., & Territo, L. (2010). International Sex Trafficking of Women & Children: Understanding the Global Epidemic. Connecticut: Looseleaf Law Publications.

Obokata, T. (2006). Trafficking of Human Beings from a Human Rights Perspective: Towards a More Holistic Approach. Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.

United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime. (2012, December 02). UNODC on human trafficking and migrant smuggling. Retrieved December 25, 2013, from UNODC: http://www.unodc.org/unodc/human-trafficking/index.html?ref=menuside

Open Document