My Visit to a Music Concert

Human Trafficking and its Implications on Businesses

Ebenezer Tetteh MATEY

Address: 16 Chemin des Ouches, 1203 Geneva Mobile No. : 076 639 59 73

Email:[e-mail]

Table of Contents
Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. 3 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 4 1.1Defining Human Trafficking ........................................................................................................... 4 2. Economic Implications .................................................................................................................... 5 3.Legal Implications ............................................................................................................................ 9 4. Measures to Eliminate/ Mitigate the Effects of Human Trafficking............................................... 10 Awareness Raising/Information Dissemination ................................................................................ 11 Empowerment of Vulnerable Groups ............................................................................................... 12 Improved Transparency & Accountability ........................................................................................ 13 Increased International Cooperation ................................................................................................ 15 5. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 18 6. REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................................... 19

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Abstract: Legal slavery ended close to two centuries ago as the entire community of civilised nations took a firm stand for justice by closing that painful chapter of injustice and indignity inflicted by man on his fellow man. Quite surprising and sad to say, there is a phenomenon going contrary to the will of the international community by reviving what has been put to rest. This phenomenon is no other than human trafficking or “trafficking in

persons.” Human trafficking is referred to as modern slavery, being acknowledged for the evil that it is yet proving elusive and difficult to contain. Human trafficking is estimated to be the third most lucrative criminal activity after drug trafficking and arms smuggling. Its effects cut across the economic, the political and social sectors of society thereby causing harm to the (human) security of all nations. This paper however lays emphasis on the implications of human trafficking on businesses, weaving into the argument the economic, e.g. loss of human capital/labour supply for businesses in the countries of origin, the socio-economic, e.g. violence when merged with drug trafficking, creating an unhealthy environment for business activities, the legal aspects. At the international level, trafficking in persons can lead to disruptions in diplomatic and economic relations between states, hampering the transfer of technology, sharing of best business practices, access to financial aid, among others. International conventions/laws dealing with human trafficking such as the Palermo Protocols and their role/impact in the fight against human trafficking are also taken into account. By way of solution, some measures to eliminate or mitigate the effects of this canker are proposed within a multilateral framework involving states, civil society organisations, businesses, religious/faith communities, not forgetting individual efforts. These measures include awareness raising/information dissemination, empowerment of vulnerable groups, stronger international cooperation, corporate social responsibility, investigative journalism and national integration of international anti-human trafficking conventions into domestic legal systems, etc. Finally, in view of the step-up in the fight against human traffickers, taking into account government interventions and increased awareness, the paper strongly asserts that human trafficking can be surmounted.

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Introduction
The international community of civilized nations clearly demonstrated a collective stand for justice through the abolition of one grave manifestation of human injustice, the enslavement of human beings by their (own) kind. In spite of this achievement and rather unfortunate, there is a form of slavery which is ongoing, proving elusive and resistant to attempts at eliminating it. This modern slavery goes by the name human trafficking, otherwise known as “trafficking in persons.” Trafficking in persons is estimated by the Polaris Project to be the third most lucrative criminal activity after arms and drug dealing.1 Trafficked persons are treated like ordinary commodities, are deprived of their human rights and dignity and subjected to all forms of inhuman treatment. In short, they are slaves to their owners, employers or “buyers” and are threatened with death or violence to themselves and/or their families should they attempt to resist their oppressors or get help. Human trafficking destroys communities, tears families apart and destroys the present and potential gains of the victims as well as those of their beneficiaries. Adding to its complexity, it occurs both within and across borders and can be merged with drug trafficking and arms smuggling. It is indeed a serious crime that is worth all the efforts being made to eliminate it and much more. This paper therefore discusses trafficking in persons by first defining what it is, proceeding to elucidate briefly how it impacts businesses beginning with the economic, then the legal and possibly the socio-economic implications. In the process, the main international conventions which address the phenomenon would also be examined looking at their implications for governments, traffickers and their victims. In the next section, the paper offers some recommendations on how to minimize the effects of and eliminate human trafficking all of which are grounded in a multilateral framework involving all stakeholders, from politicians/decision-makers, to business leaders, students, the victims and to the ordinary man on the streets. The next section concludes by briefly summarizing the main points discussed.

Defining Human Trafficking
Human trafficking has several definitions two of which are presented here for the purposes of this paper. Human Trafficking is, “The recruitment, harbouring, transporting, providing or obtaining, by any means, any person for labour or services involving forced labour, slavery or

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UrbanMinistry.Org, Human Trafficking: Definition, Prevalence and Causes, accessed January 19, 2012 http://www.urbanministry.org/wiki/human-trafficking-definition-prevalence-and-causes

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servitude in any industry, such as forced or coerced participation in agriculture, prostitution, manufacturing, or other industries or in domestic service or marriage.”2 The second and now standard definition taken from the (Palermo) Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, (Supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime) reads: “The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person for the purpose of exploitation.”3From these definitions, human trafficking broadly encompasses sexual slavery/forced prostitution, forced marriage, forced labour, and other forms of servitude. The paper now addresses the implications of human trafficking on businesses giving primary consideration to the economic aspect.

Economic Implications
To begin with, employing or using victims of trafficking in the course of production might compromise the quality of goods and services offered. Distressed, traumatized, fearful, physically and psychologically scarred-these are but some fitting descriptions of a trafficked person. Such persons are unprepared and unskilled for the services they are forced to render. Consequently, victims of trafficking cannot add quality to the production process. Compromising quality along the supply chain can affect a business’ profits especially if it is known for quality but has suppliers and labour contractors who disregard labour standards along the production line. Low quality can be costly in these times of increased consumer awareness and availability of substitutes. The affected company would most likely lose customers and make less profit. Secondly, human trafficking leads to stunted economic growth in the victims’ countries of origin. Whereas it provides cheap labor to businesses in receiving countries/countries of destination, it depletes the labor supply in the countries of origin. Young, energetic individuals, rendered vulnerable and gullible by unfavourable conditions like poverty or

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International Human Rights Law Group, Initiative Against Trafficking in Persons, accessed June 23, 2012 http://www.hrlawgroup.org/initiatives/trafficking_persons 3 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime And The Protocols Thereto, New York, 2004, P. 42 accessed January 19, 2012 http://www.unodc.org/documents/treaties/UNTOC/Publications/TOC%20Convention/TOCebook-e.pdf

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conflict situations in their countries, are lured under false pretexts, coerced and sometimes kidnapped out of their communities, thereby robbing those communities of the human capital for development. This development hinders expansion of businesses operations as a result of inadequate labour supply. Both public and private sector jobs would be affected in such a scenario. A severely depleted labour force would lead to economic stagnation for any country. Human trafficking also undermines fair competition by enabling businesses which employ the victims the benefit of producing at lower costs bringing them unusually higher profits. This is might be evident in productions further down the supply chains in the textile industry.4 A 2005 International Labour Organization publication estimates profits made from forced labourers exploited by private enterprises or agents at US$44.3 billion every year, of which US$31.6 billion from trafficked victims.5 The danger here is, those firms which adhere to (international) labour standards and good practices become losers to the non-adhering ones and may become tempted to do same, seeing that their compliance with good business/ labour standards has not prevented non-complying firms from free-riding. If this happens the antitrafficking fight becomes more difficult since there will be more “rogue” firms to deal with. Businesses also face the risk of operating in high crime environments especially when human trafficking becomes merged with drug trafficking. The victims could become drug users, couriers and dealers in the process of trafficking or be forced into such activities in the countries of destination. Some statistics of drug related deaths provide ample proof of the menace of the drug trade. For example, The Guardian, a United Kingdom based newspaper, had an article captioned: “Mexico drug wars have killed 35000 people in four years.”6 The drug trade can turn once peaceful areas where business transactions thrived into drug-battle theaters. Business transactions cannot proceed smoothly in environments of crime and

violence. Foreign investors and tourists would be scared off from investing in and visiting such areas. Hospitality/tourism sector businesses such as hotels, resorts, tourist attraction sites would be the most affected.

4

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT), An Introduction to Human Trafficking: Vulnerability, Impact and Action, Background Paper, New York 2008, p. 97 http://www.unodc.org/documents/humantrafficking/An_Introduction_to_Human_Trafficking_-_Background_Paper.pdf , accessed January 19, 2012. 5 Patrick Belser, Forced Labour and Human Trafficking: Estimating the Profits, Working Paper, International Labour Office, Geneva, March 2005, accessed June 27,2012, http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/--ed_norm/---declaration/documents/publication/wcms_081971.pdf 6 The Guardian, Thursday 13 January 2011, accessed January 21 2012 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/13/mexico-drug-deaths-figures-calderon

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Following from the above is the fact that victims of trafficking and their captors do not pay taxes into government coffers. Governments therefore lose that fraction of funds they could have used to finance public projects like better healthcare and education systems, maintaining law and order, etc. With regard to businesses, reduced government earnings could translate into cuts or complete removal of subsidies for production, with fledgling businesses/ infant industries likely to be the hardest hit. In developing countries, governments usually subsidize the cost of energy supply which is very necessary for smooth industrial production. Removal of energy sector subsidies could throw business operations out of gear. On the other hand, faced with tighter economic constraints and insufficient funds, governments may impose higher taxes on corporate bodies, which would lead to higher production costs and higher prices which diminish consumer demand and thus profits. Additionally, human trafficking can lead to loss of human capital for businesses through the spread of sexually transmitted diseases like HIV/AIDS. Most women and young girls who are trafficked end up becoming commercial sex workers who are simply money making tools in the hands of their captors without right or access to safe sex methods. Sexually active members of the workforce, irrespective of position, might go in for some of these women and end up contracting HIV. Treating and living with the disease becomes an almost impossible task, especially in countries where access to good medical care is inadequate and/or very expensive coupled with social stigmatization. Thus the productivity level of the labour force is diminished. Medical costs may also be borne by the business which drains its coffers of hard earned money. That aside, the loss of labour as a result of HIV/AIDS is a blow to any country’s economy as experience and skills are lost altogether. This loss cannot be easily quantified and might not be replaced fast enough. There could be a decline in multinational activity when a state is branded as corrupt and where human trafficking is unchecked or inadequately dealt with. This bad international reputation has the potential to discourage foreign companies from moving their operations into that state, either to save their corporate image or avoid becoming embroiled in

(potential) accusations of having being involved with human traffickers. Firms/companies within an accused state would not benefit from the technology transfer or the sharing of best practices had such foreign companies come in. Consumers would be deprived of the wider range of goods and services they would have enjoyed. Multinational corporations employ locals thereby reducing the unemployment rate in the host country. Though this role is sometimes marginal, it is still significant. Less multinational activity may increase the employment burden for the host state.
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Last but not least, human trafficking has the potential of pitting workers against their employers in their quest to consolidate their position at the workplace. Faced with an availability of cheap labor, workers may resort to forming stronger unions, becoming inflexible in their demands for better conditions of service from their employers. For example, they may demand more binding contracts and higher end-of service benefits. This trend may be more common in the countries of transit and destination where some victims become integrated into the work force. The converse effect is that, workers become weakened because there is access to cheap labor. Employers can afford to pay lower wages/salaries. Dissenting voices could be hushed through crafty schemes and summary dismissals. Since people, and workers for that matter, respond to incentives,7 low remuneration in an atmosphere of enforced silence and summary dismissals would decrease morale at work, resulting in low productivity. Trafficking in persons could as well trigger and sustain xenophobia. Since human traffickers are difficult to identify, it may be easier to blame the practice on foreigners. Natives may end up targeting innocent foreigners who had moved into their neighborhoods to transact genuine business. Foreign investors sometimes recruit residents and in the unlikely but possible event may become victims of xenophobia-driven attacks. Loss of lives and property are the usual outcome. This situation may prove unfavorable for businesses in both states of which the attackers and victims are nationals. There could be retorsions involving strains in diplomatic and economic relations between states. Retaliatory attacks by aggrieved individuals in the victims’ countries could further complicate the situation. Doubtless, business transactions would be stymied in a climate of fear and violence made worse by diplomatic and economic wrangling. Another dimension to this is that citizens in destination countries might become alarmed at the increasing number of foreigners within their territory and resort to violence to scare them away. Foreign workers may be caught in the melee and have to be either transferred, provided with extra security or give up their posts altogether, at the expense of their employers. This would not be in the best interest of their employers especially if they cannot be easily replaced because of the role they play or positions they occupy.

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N. Gregory Mankiw and Mark P. Taylor, Economics, Special Edition, South-Western, CENGAGE Learning, 2010 p. 7

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These are but a few economic implications of human trafficking on businesses. The distinction between the economic and legal areas of impact is not so clear-cut since these are more or less inter-connected. The next section presents some legal implications.

Legal Implications
In the first place, human trafficking is an international crime which falls within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. Part 2 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court captioned Jurisdiction, Admissibility and Applicability lists the four crimes over which the ICC has jurisdiction of which the second is “Crimes against Humanity.” Article 7 then enumerates the crimes against humanity which include Enslavement, and Rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, etc. Enslavement is explained further as the exercise of any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership over a person and includes the exercise of such power in the course of trafficking in persons, in particular women and children.8 Obviously, victims of trafficking are held against their will (enslaved), female victims usually suffer rape and end up as sex slaves or are forced into prostitution. Thus, employees, labour contractors, suppliers, etc. who employ victims are liable of committing a crime against humanity and could find themselves before the International Criminal Court. Criminal proceedings can be initiated by national referral, Security Council referral to the Prosecutor, as well as the Prosecutor initiating an investigation based on knowledge that such crimes have been or are being committed. Secondly, companies and their partners engaged in human trafficking or employing victims are in violation of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, and can be duly prosecuted by a national court. The Protocol empowers as well as encourages governments to recognize human trafficking as a crime and punish perpetrators accordingly. Human trafficking as defined by the Protocol above covers situations involving, the recruitment, and receipt of persons, as well as the giving or receiving of payments or

benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person for the purpose of exploitation. These conditions broaden the scope of the law and would make it difficult for guilty firms to escape punishment. Businesses could be heavily fined and have their assets confiscated as mandated by the courts. Moreover, governments might enact tighter immigration laws which can make it difficult for expatriate workers legally engaged to travel freely to work across borders. Businesses stand
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Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Jurisdiction, Admissibility and Applicable Law, accessed June 19, 2012, http://untreaty.un.org/cod/icc/statute/romefra.htm

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to lose in terms of the number of man-hours that would be lost from workers passing through very elaborate immigration procedures. Governments might as well require that companies introduce very detailed measures to ensure and be able to prove that workers are not victims of trafficking. These requirements might entail taking on additional costs brought on by mandatory tracking and screening systems and maintaining worker databases. At the end of the day, cash-strapped enterprises may be forced out of operations. One other significant consequence of human trafficking on businesses can be examined within the context of the World Trade Organization. WTO/GATT Article XX (General Exceptions) empowers member states to apply sanctions or other measures in disapproval of trade practices involving several malfeasances which include slavery or forced labour.9 The Article XX Preamble, together with sections (b) and (e) read: “Subject to the requirement that such measures are not applied in a manner which would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination between countries where the same conditions prevail, or a disguised restriction on international trade, nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to prevent the adoption or enforcement by any contracting parties of measures: (b) necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health.(Emphasis added) (e) relating to products of prison labor. Member states are mandated to apply these two clauses to impose trade restrictions on suspicion of forced labour. They could also argue that those measures are necessary to protect the lives of victims of trafficking. Though such actions are challengeable under WTO law, the bottom line is that states can legally impose barriers on trade involving trafficking including child labour and/or forced labour. A state whose nationals are accused of or found guilty of human trafficking risks undercutting its import/export trade benefits to the detriment of domestic industries.

Measures to Eliminate/ Mitigate the Effects of Human Trafficking.
This section proposes some measures to offset the effects of and possibly eliminate trafficking in persons. These measures broadly involve raising awareness, public recognition of individuals and businesses involved in the anti-trafficking movement; empowerment of vulnerable groups especially women, girls and children, national integration of international

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Andrew T. Guzman, Joost H.B. Pauwelyn, International Trade Law, (2009-2010 Documents Supplement), Aspen Publishers, Kluwer Law International, 2009, p. 136.

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anti-human trafficking laws/conventions, among others. These measures overlap and should be considered as complementary. Awareness Raising/Information Dissemination: To begin with, one way to increase public awareness is to make punishments for human trafficking public. Article 6.1 of the Palermo Protocols enjoins state parties to protect the identity of victims by among other things making legal provisions relating to such trafficking confidential. Nonetheless in order to get the public informed about what is happening, it would be better to publish prison sentences and/or other forms of punishment which should be stiffer so as to make a lot more people aware that such a crime exists, that it is punishable and deter would-be traffickers. Legal proceedings per se may or should be kept secret for the sake of the victim(s) but punishment for the crime should be made public. In low literacy countries, mass education/sensitization campaigns could be carried out in the vernacular to get more people informed. Governments and partners such as civil-society groups could spend a little bit more money in getting vernacular interpreters where necessary to get the message to the grass-root level or rural communities. This is very important since one of the vulnerable groups of victims or potential victims are the uneducated, poor and low skilled who are therefore likely to be ignorant of the existence of such a menace and the various ways it is carried out. Showing documentaries on human trafficking might help to disseminate information on the practice to the public. As in the fight against sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in which graphic pictures of symptoms/patients are shown to inform and deter irresponsible sexual behavior, documentary films based on victims stories should be shown so as to inform people, especially vulnerable groups, about the various ways in which traffickers lure their victims. As may be expected, the feeling of sympathy as well as horror could leave an indelible imprint on the minds of the viewers thereby helping to make them more vigilant in protecting themselves and others from being trafficked. Given that education is championed as a major key to the empowerment of individuals, designing and incorporating modules on human trafficking in academic curricula from basic school to the tertiary level can go a long way to help eliminate human trafficking. This is because students would get introduced to the notion of human trafficking at younger ages; they would be challenged to come up with ideas to fight it should there be evaluations on it. Teachers should be encouraged to use local examples in their lessons to make the students regard the menace as near to but not far away from them. Further up the academic ladder, schools and civil-society organizations can collaborate to organize seminars, essays, debates
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and other thought-provoking activities in which the non academic public may participate. Reports and recommendations would then be published in the related journals in hard and electronic versions which should be made accessible to all. Besides, students can be encouraged to form clubs, societies and associations to brainstorm on the issue, serve as peer-group educators, watch out for one another, inform their parents, and carry the message across to their communities. Teachers should also be encouraged to pay close attention to pupils and students attendance to classes and follow up on sudden and/or continuous inexplicable absenteeism. Teachers and pupils/students who help to thwart any trafficking attempt should be publicly rewarded by the respective Parent-Teacher Associations and the state. This may prove vital especially in preventing or reducing child trafficking. In addition, governments, civil-society groups and media houses can liaise to fight this crime by running special broadcasts during major, sports and entertainment events (e.g. World Cup, UEFA Champions League, Miss Universe, etc.) when it is certain that a large proportion of viewers would get the message. If nations, and for that matter the entire society really want to curtail this crime then all major events of public interest should be used to get the world’s attention to human trafficking. Media houses and journalists who report on human trafficking should be awarded to motivate them to keep reporting on the issue and also get others within the profession to add their voices in spreading the message. Engaging the religious community is another avenue which should be explored to raise awareness on human trafficking. This is because religion is a very powerful rallying force which cuts across race, gender, culture and economic classes. Significantly, religious beliefs and teachings do shape the behavior of followers/adherents to some extent. For this reason government agencies and civil society organizations can partner with religious leaders to combat human trafficking by using times of religious activity to inform the people, either by encouraging the leaders to do so themselves or inviting resource persons over. This measure, if properly undertaken with the specific cultural and religious contexts taken into consideration would make the crime (morally) unappealing and unacceptable to lots of people and could equally foster unity and cooperation among the various authorities to address not only human trafficking but other socially and economically detrimental practices like female genital mutilation, honor killings, drug trafficking, etc. Empowerment of Vulnerable Groups: Women and children especially girls are at a greater risk of being trafficked because of the booming (international) pornography industry and the (over) projection of feminine sexuality
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or sex appeal in the media. Therefore implementing policies empowering women and girls through vocational training, apprenticeships, and educational subsidies should be pursued as part of national development agendas to reduce the number of disadvantaged and poor women and girls who fall prey to the enticements of traffickers. At the community level, rolemodeling by successful women and peers might also help women and girls develop a sense of worth and have hope for the future. Admittedly, financial constraints could hinder the implementation of empowerment programs but states should aim at reducing costs by imposing heavier fines on persons and firms caught in human trafficking. Other categories of vulnerable groups are disadvantaged persons like the disabled, visuallyimpaired and orphans. Governments should strive to enact measures to meet the needs of these particular groups. Employable skills training should be held for the disabled and visually-impaired and their family members encouraged to look out for them and be more responsible for their security. Social welfare institutions and adoption agencies should be well-monitored and resourced to cater for orphans and abandoned children. There is the need to maintain databases on such persons to help track their movement. Trafficked persons are also vulnerable especially to re-trafficking and should be well- catered for. To this end, rehabilitation camps and skills acquisition programmes need to be set up to meet their needs. Victims should be helped to get over their experiences through counselling programmes and other healing sessions so as to facilitate their reintegration into society, whether within the countries of destination or if they prefer, back in their home countries. Adequate security should be devoted to such persons to prevent them and their loved ones from being attacked by their former “owners.” Improved Transparency & Accountability: At the corporate level, peer accountability a concept explained by Robert Keohane as ways in which organizations may criticize the operations of similar organizations, often through multilateral organizations,10 could be one way of getting businesses to ensure that they are all competing on a level playing field. Since private businesses and corporate entities are generally averse to external or governmental scrutiny, allowing a level of self regulation among such entities could be one way to foster cooperation among firms in eliminating human trafficking. The UN Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate citizenship and sustainability initiative is a voluntary intergovernmental/multilateral standards setting and accountability
10

Robert O. Keohane, Accountability in Global Politics, Nordic Political Science Association, Scandinavian Political Studies, Vol. 29- No. 2, 2006

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body. With more than 8000 participants including over 6000 firms in 135 countries,11 it should be the forum of choice in promoting peer accountability. One advantage of the Global Compact is that, at the very least, membership bestows a certain measure of credibility on a firm since that implies its willingness to be transparent and be scrutinized whilst transparency in turn connotes corporate responsibility and “clean hands”. These attributes could boost public support, generating interest in the goods and services offered by the business in question. On the other hand, consumers/ the public become more aware of and willing to act as partners in the fight against social evils like human trafficking. Since the information on the activities of the Global Compact is available for public access, public-spirited individuals and groups can identify their areas of expertise/interest and participate in the initiative to help achieve its goals. In addition, the Global Compact has an annual “Communication on Progress” obligation which members commit to honour. The Communication on Progress is a public disclosure session during which members inform stakeholders (governments, civil-society, investors and consumers) on progress made in implementing the ten principles of the Compact. These ten principles are summarized into four main areas namely human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption with at least two of them, human right and labour closely related to the issue at hand, human trafficking. The human rights principle based on the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly proclaims freedom from servitude, slavery, torture and cruel treatment. The labour principles, based on ILO’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work also engages members to work to eliminate all forms of forced and compulsory labour as well as abolish child labour, etc. By upholding and obliging firms to report on how they implement these provisions , the Global Compact has developed a good means to check corporate malpractices like human trafficking, forced labour and other forms of servitude. Moreover, the public recognition of business leaders who champion the fight against human trafficking and actually follow best practices is an initiative which should be encouraged. In this regard, international awards such as the “Business Leader Award” instituted by “End Human Trafficking Now” in collaboration with partner organizations is a step in the right direction which if given the due media attention and governmental support can go a long way to encourage businesses to become transparent to their peers, thereby serving as a disincentive to dealing with human traffickers. The award aims at rewarding a business leader who has vision and (proven) commitment to combating human trafficking, has demonstrated
11

United Nations Global Compact, “Participants and Stakeholders” , accessed June 22, 2012 http://www.unglobalcompact.org/ParticipantsAndStakeholders/index.html

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a socially responsible initiative to combat human trafficking, been able to influence the company’s management and operations in identifying and combating human trafficking and, has successfully engaged a wider community/audience in preventive measures against human trafficking.12 Investigative journalism or accountability reporting can as well be encouraged and undertaken by civil-society organizations and supportive governments in regions noted for (high) incidences of human trafficking. This could bring offending firms and their corrupt power-wielding partners under pressure by exposing their activities. This undertaking might be highly risky though, considering the targeting of environmental campaigners in recent times as shown in media reports. To minimize the risk to investigative journalists, they may need to operate using pseudonyms; partner with foreign missions/embassies of powerful nations, independent pressure/interest groups, not stay too long in one place and keep low profiles as much as possible. Investigative journalists can help expose corrupt border guards and government officials, travelling agencies involved in trafficking, businesses involved in forced or child labour and countless other cases of illegal transactions. Their role should therefore be appreciated and given the necessary support. Increased International Cooperation: Increased international cooperation in the form of joint-border patrols and other security measures like the use of surveillance cameras and high-tech tracking systems across borders can prove beneficial in dealing with trafficking and re- trafficking of persons. An example is the Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection (SENTRI), a joint program by the United States and Mexico along their borders. To cite other examples of collaboration, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) noted in its 2010 World Migration Report that, “many countries deploy immigration officials to work with foreign governments and airline personnel to identify persons travelling with fraudulent documents and to combat migrant smuggling and human trafficking operations.”13 Developed countries with the technology could assist developing countries with equipment and personnel training so as to better track the movement of persons within but more especially, across borders. Other measures which could be shared among governments include the work of the Technical Advisory Group on Machine Readable Documents (TAG-MRTD) and the Personal

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Business Leader’s Award to Fight Human Trafficking, accessed June 30, 2012 http://businessleaderaward.org/nominations.html 13 World Migration Report 2010, The Future of Migration: Building Capacities for Change. WMR_2010_ENGLISH.pdf. p. 33

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Identification and Registration System (PIRS), which allows for the capturing of biographical data of travelers entering and exiting border points.14 International non-governmental organizations and other civil society groups can act as watchdogs and advocacy groups in the fight against human trafficking and should be encouraged to do so. They may be the first point of call for escaped victims and offer them protection. They also report instances of trafficking, and inform the public about businesses and corporations involved in trafficking, keeping public pressure up and holding the latter accountable. However there is the need for such groups to be impartial in their naming and shaming. On a more subtle note, international cooperation can be induced by soft pressure in the form rankings accompanied by the loss of certain favours. This is evidenced by the 2012 United States Trafficking In Persons Report, which has classified state partners into four tiers according to their achievements coupled with efforts they put into the fight against human trafficking. These are: Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 2 Watch List and Tier 3, with Tier 1 being the best performing rank in terms of meeting minimum anti-trafficking standards. Examples of countries in the various Tiers are: Tier 1, Australia, Denmark, New Zealand; Tier 2, Argentina, Ghana, Switzerland; Tier 2 Watch List, China, Kenya, Russia and in Tier 3, Cuba, Congo DRC, Thailand.15Tier 3 countries risk the withholding/withdrawal of nonhumanitarian and nontrade related assistance and also risk US opposition to their getting assistance from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Tier rankings are not permanent and sanctions can also be waived to avoid adverse effects on vulnerable populations, which include women and children.16 Governments should set up victim support centres where victims can get help when they escape from their captors. Such centres should be run by personnel who are trained to be able to deal with the specific needs of victims based on gender and other differences. Getting victims to seek help from foreign sources may be difficult because of fear of detention and repatriation or even lack of trust for strangers due to the victim’s previous experiences. Security agencies should be encouraged to treat victims with empathy and understanding so as to help them learn to trust again, which is one step in their healing process. Any violence or heckling may aggravate the situation leaving the victims more traumatised, fearful or even hostile to their rescuers. At the regional level, The European Union, being a major destination point, is also engaged in the fight against human trafficking. To deal with this challenge, the European Commission
14 15

Ibid, p. 34 Department of State, United States of America, Trafficking in Persons Report, June 2012, p. 52, accessed June 20, 2012 http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/192587.pdf 16 Ibid, p. 44

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has drawn a strategy, the “EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings 2012-2016” in which several policies have been identified including Directive 2011/36/EU (on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims) expected to come into force by 6th April 2013 and the “EU Internal Security Strategy in Action.” The Commission urged Member States which had not ratified the UN Palermo Protocols and the Council of Europe Convention on Actions against Trafficking in Human Beings to do so, emphasizing the fact that the main responsibility in dealing with the problem lies with Member States. A remarkable feature of the Strategy is that it explicitly identified five priority areas the EU intends to focus on namely: a) Identifying, protecting and assisting victims of trafficking, b) Stepping up the prevention of trafficking in human beings, c) Increased prosecution of traffickers, d) Enhanced coordination and cooperation among key actors and policy coherence e) Increased knowledge of and effective response to all forms of trafficking in human beings. 17 This outline is commendable because it states the priority areas in narrow and precise terms which would make national implementation uniform and easy to monitor. Hopefully when these policies become promulgated, human trafficking would be dealt a severe blow in the European Union, contributing to its eventual elimination worldwide. Last but not the least, a pragmatic way of demonstrating national will and commitment in this fight is for the states parties to the international anti-human trafficking conventions, protocols and treaties to integrate the provisions thereof into their legal systems. This makes it easier to punish those involved and ensure that victims get justice and are also well-protected. Merely ratifying international conventions or protocols does not automatically translate into national adherence and implementation unless decision-makers consciously do so. To this end, states which have adopted anti-human trafficking measures should encourage states which have not done so to pass similar laws. This would make states know that they are together in the fight against human trafficking and would embolden their efforts. If selective national integration of anti- trafficking provisions is not discouraged, the efforts of states which had passed the necessary legislations would be rendered ineffective since the perpetrators could simply shift their operations from those more effective legal systems to weaker, less effective ones.
17

European Commission, EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings, 2012-2016, p. 5 accessed June 26, 2012 http://ec.europa.eu/homeaffairs/doc_centre/crime/docs/trafficking_in_human_beings_eradication-2012_2016_en.pdf

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Conclusion: The legal enslavement of persons ended a little over two centuries ago yet human trafficking has emerged as the modern (illegal) variant. Human trafficking affects all spheres of societal life ranging from the individual, communal, economic, political, legal, the national, extending to the international. This paper however focused on its implications for businesses bringing out some economic, legal and socio-economic dimensions. In the process, some aspects of the standard international anti-human trafficking instrument, the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, were discussed. In the international trade regime, the application of WTO sanctions aimed at slavery and forced labour could also be effective in combating the crime. By way of solution, some recommendations were made such as awareness raising and information dissemination, improved transparency and accountability within the framework of the UN Global Compact, the empowerment of vulnerable groups especially women, girls, disabled persons as well as orphans and abandoned children, among several others. In addition, increased international cooperation such as border measures, regional efforts on the part of the European Union and the African Union were discussed. In brief, mankind has proved its capability to surmount problems, surviving many devastating events including two world wars, diseases such as small pox, poliomyelitis and evolved with significant success. Human trafficking may appear unyielding at the moment, nevertheless if these measures as well as others which circumstances dictate are put in place, it is bound to be eliminated.

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REFERENCES Belser Patrick, Forced Labour and Human Trafficking: Estimating the Profits, Working Paper, International Labour Office, Geneva, March 2005. Accessed June 27, 2012. http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/--declaration/documents/publication/wcms_081971.pdf Business Leader’s Award to Fight Human Trafficking, Accessed June 30, 2012 http://businessleaderaward.org/nominations.html Department of State, United States of America, Trafficking in Persons Report, June 2012, Accessed June 20, 2012. http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/192587.pdf European Commission, The EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking 2012-2016, Accessed June 26, 2012. http://ec.europa.eu/homeaffairs/doc_centre/crime/docs/trafficking_in_human_beings_eradicat ion-2012_2016_en.pdf Guzman T. Andrew and Pauwelyn H.B. Joost, International Trade Law, (2009-2010 Documents Supplement), Aspen Publishers, Kluwer Law International, 2009 International Human Rights Law Group, Initiative Against Trafficking in Persons, Accessed June 23, 2012. http://www.hrlawgroup.org/initiatives/trafficking_persons Keohane O. Robert, Accountability in World Politics, Nordic Political Science Association, Scandinavian Political Studies,Vol. 29 – No. 2, 2006 Mankiw Gregory N. And Taylor P. Mark, Economics, Special Edition, South-Western, Cengage Learning, 2010 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Jurisdiction, Admissibility and Applicable Law, Accessed June 19, 2012. http://untreaty.un.org/cod/icc/statute/romefra.htm The Guardian, Thursday 13 January 2011, Accessed January 21, 2012. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/13/mexico-drug-deaths-figures-calderon United Nations Global Compact, “Participants and Stakeholders” Accessed June 22, 2012. http://www.unglobalcompact.org/ParticipantsAndStakeholders/index.html

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United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime And The Protocols Thereto, New York, 2004. Accessed January 19, 2012. http://www.unodc.org/documents/treaties/UNTOC/Publications/TOC%20Convention/TOCeb ook-e.pdf United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT), An Introduction to Human Trafficking: Vulnerability, Impact and Action, Background Paper, New York 2008 Accessed January 19, 2012. http://www.unodc.org/documents/humantrafficking/An_Introduction_to_Human_Trafficking_-_Background_Paper.pdf World Migration Report 2010, The Future of Migration: Building Capacities for Change,
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References: Belser Patrick, Forced Labour and Human Trafficking: Estimating the Profits, Working Paper, International Labour Office, Geneva, March 2005. Accessed June 27, 2012. http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/--declaration/documents/publication/wcms_081971.pdf Business Leader’s Award to Fight Human Trafficking, Accessed June 30, 2012 http://businessleaderaward.org/nominations.html Department of State, United States of America, Trafficking in Persons Report, June 2012, Accessed June 20, 2012. http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/192587.pdf European Commission, The EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking 2012-2016, Accessed June 26, 2012. http://ec.europa.eu/homeaffairs/doc_centre/crime/docs/trafficking_in_human_beings_eradicat ion-2012_2016_en.pdf Guzman T. Andrew and Pauwelyn H.B. Joost, International Trade Law, (2009-2010 Documents Supplement), Aspen Publishers, Kluwer Law International, 2009 International Human Rights Law Group, Initiative Against Trafficking in Persons, Accessed June 23, 2012. http://www.hrlawgroup.org/initiatives/trafficking_persons Keohane O. Robert, Accountability in World Politics, Nordic Political Science Association, Scandinavian Political Studies,Vol. 29 – No. 2, 2006 Mankiw Gregory N. And Taylor P. Mark, Economics, Special Edition, South-Western, Cengage Learning, 2010 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Jurisdiction, Admissibility and Applicable Law, Accessed June 19, 2012. http://untreaty.un.org/cod/icc/statute/romefra.htm The Guardian, Thursday 13 January 2011, Accessed January 21, 2012. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/13/mexico-drug-deaths-figures-calderon United Nations Global Compact, “Participants and Stakeholders” Accessed June 22, 2012. http://www.unglobalcompact.org/ParticipantsAndStakeholders/index.html 19 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime And The Protocols Thereto, New York, 2004. Accessed January 19, 2012. http://www.unodc.org/documents/treaties/UNTOC/Publications/TOC%20Convention/TOCeb ook-e.pdf United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT), An Introduction to Human Trafficking: Vulnerability, Impact and Action, Background Paper, New York 2008 Accessed January 19, 2012. http://www.unodc.org/documents/humantrafficking/An_Introduction_to_Human_Trafficking_-_Background_Paper.pdf World Migration Report 2010, The Future of Migration: Building Capacities for Change, WMR_2010_ENGLISH.pdf. 20