Written by Aida Cahya Ardani
On March 28th – April 2nd, 2021, Morocco hosted an Operation called Operation Weka, which means “Stop” in Swahili. Twenty-four nations exchanged intelligence and support from the International Organization for Migration and other international organizations. They represented source, transit, and destination locations progressed investigations to dismantle criminal networks behind key routes. Coordinated by INTERPOL’s Vulnerable Communities unit, a total of 195 people were arrested, 88 of them were accused of human trafficking, and 63 were for smuggling charges, while the rest were on charges such as document fraud, theft, drug-related crimes, and environmental offenses.[1] International Organization for Migration is taking a role and leading this joint operation in victim assistance with supports from a number of partners. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime also took part and provided judicial support, AIRCOP took part as well by generating intelligence, and lastly, the ROCK-AU-Horn of Africa initiative on Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling.
Here, Operation Weka demonstrated how human trafficking and migrant smuggling are closely related to each other, especially in the current global health crisis. Those who are the most vulnerable are desperate to escape their hardship, while the criminal networks are acute to turn a profit. “These victims could not simply walk away from the horrific situation they found themselves in and the suffering they endured,” said the INTERPOL’s Secretary General Jürgen Stock, then continued. “This is why INTERPOL’s work does not stop here. We will continue to help countries untangle sensitive and complex cases, generate more arrests in the months to come.” For example, one case involves a 15-year-old Congolese girl who, with the ‘assistance’ of smugglers, managed to flee a forced marriage. She then suffered from sexual abuse along the journey before being identified and rescued by authorities in Tunisia, who are also investigating whether she was sexually exploited.
THE DICHOTOMY OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND MIGRANT SMUGGLING
In 2000, the United Nations adopted two separate Protocols on trafficking in human beings and migrant smuggling (Gozdziak and Collett 2005). The Protocols, which are based on the Europol Convention of 1995, describe human trafficking as “Control over another person for the purpose of exploitation” (UN 2000a: 2), including sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, servitude, and organ removal. On the other hand, smuggling is defined as the procurement of an illegal entry into a country (UN 2000b). The Protocols state unequivocally that prostitution and smuggling are two separate phenomena. Since then, the UN Protocols’ definitions have dominated the discourse on human trafficking and smuggling. This dichotomy, however, is increasingly being questioned. Salt and Stein (1997) proposed a different model based on a general concept of human trafficking, which they described as “An intermediary part of the global migration business facilitating the movement of people between origin and destination country.” Although salt and Stein do not see the need for a distinction between trafficking and smuggling based on whether a migrant is coerced into the movement against her will, they maintain that “there is increasing evidence that migrants are turning to the service of traffickers.” [2] As a result, the words smuggling and trafficking are used interchangeably, and the issue of agency elided altogether.
STATISTICAL DATA PROBLEM OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND SMUGGLING
Mostly the statistical data made by countries that are experiencing human trafficking are held by organizations based on countries concerned. They collected it numerous times and with many kinds of terminologies, thus each country is incomparable. However, the absence of statistical data regarding human trafficking and smuggling is still transcending the whole field of trafficking/smuggling itself. The conceptual and definitional problems referred to earlier in this paper are linked to the availability – or rather lack – of statistical data on trafficking and human smuggling. How can we define what we are not sure how to measure and vice versa? Not only is it unclear what data might be collected but under whose auspices. One review of the statistics on trafficking collected by governments produced a list of reasons for their current inadequacy (IOM, 1998).
First, different from other migrations, trafficking is a clandestine activity, and most of the information collected is utilized for operational purposes inside the criminal system. However, trafficking crimes are not particularly characterized in numerous nations, and so they have no promptly accessible database. Some countries reported that they don’t have any trafficking legislation. Thus it would appear that trafficking is still a new problem and should be established within the national legislation. Second, by not having any trafficking legislation, cases may be dealt with under associated legislation, so trafficking cases are not defined as such. Third, information collection strategies in person nations are ad hoc rather than systematic, since every individual authority collected their statistics using their definitions of trafficking and their purposes. Fourth, in most nations, no single office acts as a central point for collecting, collating, or harmonizing measurements on trafficking. Discussions about data availability – or rather the lack of it – mostly focus on the scale of trafficking/smuggling as measured by the number of migrants involved. Statistical data on the characteristics of those trafficked are in even shorter supply and almost without exception are derived from surveys. The most detailed information comes from the succession of IOM surveys during the 1990s (see IOM, 2000), most notably in Poland, Hungary, and Ukraine (Okólski, 1999; Juhász, 1999; Klinchenko et al., 1999). The lack of complex data, combined with the fact that many commentators on trafficking repeat estimates derived from interviews with officials, means that many of the statistics quoted are in (often large) round numbers, are uncheckable and are frequently rehearsed[3].
HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND SMUGGLING WITHIN THE INTERNATIONAL LAW
As of 2008, there are 143 parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, 119 parties to the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, and 112 parties to the United Nations Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea, and Air.[4]. The Trafficking Protocol is one of a kind from other treaties since it was made as a law instrument, which, in theory, gives it more influence than aspirational agreements. Provisions within the Trafficking Protocol state that parties must: take action to penalize trafficking, protect victims of trafficking, and grant victims temporary or permanent residence in the countries of destination. Therefore, if a state is a party to the Convention and its Protocols, it should create legislation that supports these provisions at the domestic level.
Based on International Instruments Concerning Trafficking in Persons [OHCHR]
- The most important international instrument to combat trafficking is the Palermo Protocol, a supplement to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (2000). Article 5 of the Protocol requires States to criminalize trafficking, attempted trafficking, and any other intentional participation or organization in a trafficking scheme. The purposes of the Protocol are prescribed in article 2:
- To prevent and combat trafficking in persons, paying particular attention to women and children;
- To protect and assist the victims of such trafficking, with full respect for their human rights; and
- To promote cooperation among States Parties to meet those objectives.
- Two International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions focus on forced labor or services: The ILO Forced Labour Convention (Convention No. 29 of 1930) and its newly adopted Protocol, which defines forced or compulsory labor, and the ILO Abolition of Forced Labour Convention (Convention No. 105 of 1957).
- The Slavery Convention (1926) defines slavery, and its Supplementary Convention describes “practices similar to slavery,” including debt bondage and institutions and practices that discriminate against women in the context of marriage.
- The UN Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (1949) requires States to punish any person who exploits the prostitution of another.
- The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) prohibits a number of practices directly related to trafficking, including slavery, the slave trade, servitude, and forced labor.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the definition of human trafficking and migrants smuggling itself is interchangeable. Based on the case that happened according to Operation Weka hosted by Morocco, human trafficking and migrant smuggling are closely related. However, the collection of data regarding human trafficking and migrants smuggling is still a big problem internationally. Numerous countries still lack legislation for human trafficking and smuggling, thus making it harder to collect the data since each country still doesn’t have any specific definition. Thus, trafficking cases are not defined as such. Additionally, if a particular country still doesn’t have any human trafficking and smuggling legislation, they have no promptly accessible database. Some several conventions and protocols are concerning human trafficking and migrants smuggling in person, and those are the Palermo Protocol, a supplement to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (2000), International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions, The Slavery Convention (1926), The UN Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (1949), The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). As mentioned above, even though there are already laws regulating human trafficking and migrants smuggling internationally, each country that is a party to the conventions has an obligation to create legislation that supports these provisions at the domestic level.
Read this oracle offline at
[1] Five hundred rescued and 195 arrested following INTERPOL human trafficking and migrant smuggling operation. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.interpol.int/News-and-Events/News/2021/Operation-Weka-mobilized-24-source-transit-and-destination-countries
[2] Campana, P., & Varese, F. (2015). Exploitation in Human Trafficking and Smuggling. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 89-105. doi:DOI 10.1007/s10610-015-9286-6
[3] Salt, J. (2000). Trafficking and Human Smuggling: A European Perspective. International Migration, 38(3). doi:10.1111/1468-2435.00114
[4] King, L. (n.d.). International Law and Human Trafficking. TOPICAL RESEARCH DIGEST: MAN RIGHTS AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING.