Chairs: Liting Chen, Hallie Liang, Novi HS Model UN
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Combating Trafficking of Women and Girls
Chairs: Liting Chen, Novi HS MUN: litigamos@gmail.com
Hallie Liang, Novi HS MUN: felidae101189@yahoo.com
Introduction
Hello delegates! Let us welcome you to the background guide for the UNCSW. Before we introduce the topics we will be discussing in committee and how you should prepare for them, let us introduce ourselves. We are both seniors at Novi High School with four years of Model UN experience. Last year, we chaired the UNHCR committee at SEMMUNA and loved the experience (which is why we’re back this year). Besides being actively involved in Model UN, we also enjoy playing around in Photoshop and listening to Jack’s Mannequin, Something Corporate, and various other random bands in our spare time. We’re here to help you learn about how committee procedures and parliamentary procedure, so don’t hesitate to speak up and ask us questions!
This year is the 11th annual SEMMUNA Conference, held at Farmington High School. In the CSW committee, we will hopefully be able to discuss both topics (time permitting) and we strongly urge you to research both thoroughly. Since SEMMUNA is a teaching conference, where new members are given a great opportunity to learn the basics, we will encourage everyone in committee to speak. How fun SEMMUNA will be for you, individually, depends on how much you participate. This guide will provide some basic background information on the topic and what we hope to discuss in committee. In addition, there is a page of questions you should consider when researching, as well as resources/links to some websites which can help you get started with your research. Keep in mind that you should accurately represent your country’s viewpoint; please research not only the topic in general, but how it is relevant to your country’s unique situation. Hope you all enjoy (or at least learn from) your research, and we’ll see you in committee!
Topic 1: Combating Traffic of Women and Girls
Trafficking is a global issue that transcends regional borders – over a million people are trafficked each year. Human trafficking is essentially the modern day equivalent of a slave trade, one that leads to prostitution, rape, disease and countless other human rights violations. The majority of people trafficked are children and women, the latter usually forced into prostitution. For example, in the countries of Thailand and Myanmar, families often sell young girls in order to make some money to survive. In addition, targets are often women in poverty stricken areas with little access to political assistance. With no government to watch over them, they are unlikely to be missed. The trafficking of women often is a result of organized crime, huge prostitution/trafficking rings being orchestrated throughout several regions, or even countries. While trafficking has inherently been centered in regions like Asia and South America, it is a problem that affects all countries. Europe, North America, Japan, Australia, and the Middle East are among the major destinations of trafficked persons. Trafficking is hard to expose and prosecute, especially in those countries where organized crime has a lot of power.
Where did the problem of human trafficking arise? “The UN defines trafficking in persons, also known as human trafficking as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons by means of the threat or the use of force or other forms of coercion, or 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” (Boe). “Entertainment girls, hospitality girls, prostitutes, massage girls, it all means the same thing. They're part of the globalization of the world's economy. Goods to be shipped across borders, through one airport to another, sometimes overland. Commodities in a multibillion dollar industry. Only the products are women and children being sold for profit. We're talking here about international sex trafficking” (Mirkinson). Human trafficking involves not only prostitution, but also those workers who are sold and exported to foreign countries as cheap labor. Often times, capital earned from these workers is sent back to their homes, the families that essentially sold them into slavery.
While there have been measures put in place to combat human trafficking, we are still far from a solution. The 2000 UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime was created to combat these human rights abuses. The Global Programme against Trafficking in Human Beings (GPAT) and The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons have been created by the UN to specifically address the issue. However, the effectiveness of these actions has yet to be proven and these conventions have little effect if countries do not ratify the protocol. Even those countries whose governments are aware of the problem with trafficking and prostitution often chose to turn the other cheek, unwilling to risk their country’s economic strength. In countries such as India, prostitution has caused a steep growth in the number of HIV cases. The prostitutes themselves are abused and live a life of indentured servitude; few return to their families after they have been tricked into being trafficked. To stop the trafficking of women throughout the world, organized crime must be stopped and programs put in place providing aid to those in impoverished areas, so they do not have to resort to selling their relatives to human traffickers. Education and organizations such NGOs and the ILO may be utilized to ease the situation.
Questions to Ask when Researching
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What type of government does my country have?
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Which countries share similar positions on the issue?
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Which relevant treaties has my country ratified?
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Are there any national programs which my country has instituted which could work on an international scale?
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What is the current state of human trafficking/women in armed conflict with regards to my country?
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Is there a unique situation in my country relevant to the topic?
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What kind of contribution does my country make to the CSW?
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How can current regulations and legislature be strengthened?
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What kinds of resources or funding are needed to effectively combat the issue?
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Are there NGOs or other organizations which can be utilized?
Resources
General Preparation:
Position Papers, Resolutions, ParliPro:
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Position Papers http://www.unausa.org/site/pp.asp?c=fvKRI8MPJpF&b=457141
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Resolutions http://www.unausa.org/site/pp.asp?c=fvKRI8MPJpF&b=457161
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Parli Procedure http://www.unausa.org/site/pp.asp?c=fvKRI8MPJpF&b=457155
Topic 1:
Topic 2: