First of all, on behalf of IOM, I would like to express my condolences to the families of the Canadian, British and Afghan victims of this week’s horrific incidents, as well to all our friends in ISAF [International Security Assistance Force].

Today’s release of IOM’s report on Trafficking in Persons in Afghanistan is particularly timely coming one day after the entry into force of the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, an issue that is related to trafficking.

To ensure we all have the same understanding of trafficking, I would like to begin by reading the definition taken from the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially women and children:

“The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring 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. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.”

Trafficking in human beings is a global problem, with an estimated 800,000 to 900,000 people trafficked across international borders each year and an untold many trafficked within their own countries. Unfortunately, Afghanistan is confronted with a significant trafficking problem, as recognized by the June 2002 “Declaration of the Essential Rights of Afghan Women.”

With funding from the U.S. Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons and with the support of the TISA, particularly the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior, IOM has conducted a study to assess the trends and responses to trafficking in Afghanistan.

Researching trafficking in any country is a difficult enterprise, but it is especially so in Afghanistan. Not only has general insecurity made some parts of the country practically inaccessible to the research team, but Afghans have deep rooted disinclinations to report trafficking crimes. Police forces are sometimes seen to be complicit in these crimes and, more importantly, trafficking and crimes of sexual violence are seen to dishonour the victim and her or his family rather than the perpetrator, making reporting of these crimes seem to some as a second violation. Despite these obstacles, a combined approach of written survey forms, structured interviews, case studies, and a literature review have produced a substantial body of information about trafficking in Afghanistan.

Based on specific cases and trends and employing the legal framework of the Trafficking Protocol, it was found that the following forms of trafficking are taking place:

» Exploitation of Prostitution;
» Forced Labour;
» Slavery and Practices similar to Slavery;
» Servitude; and,
» Removal of Organs.

Although the bulk of information on trafficking received is internal and among Afghans in neighbouring countries, there have also been cases of cross-border trafficking – Afghanistan as a country of origin, transit, and destination.

This report documents examples of many forms of trafficking. A range of “trafficking-related” trends is also documented. Though these incidents may not constitute “trafficking” as defined in the Protocol, they still raise serious human rights concerns and share many causes and possible counter measures with more traditional trafficking practices. The report also explores the legal, social, economic, and security environment to establish how trafficking has taken root and to point to early recommendations for addressing the problem.

Afghan trafficking victims are drawn from the most vulnerable communities. Displaced, destitute, and indebted persons and families, young people seeking economic opportunity abroad, and rural women are all targets for trafficking crimes. The role of women and girls as objects for dispute resolution, the power of local assemblies which often apply customary rather than civil law, and the limited autonomy of women in marriage decisions, are additional factors that contribute to trafficking and make it difficult to combat.

IOM’s report makes recommendations in a variety of areas including:

» Legislation
» Coordination
» Awareness raising
» Push factors
» Security
» Protection
» Assistance

The problem of trafficking in Afghanistan is deeply intertwined with the country’s other problems as it emerges from decades of lawlessness. As such, there can be no easy or fast solutions to these disturbing human rights abuses, but measures can be taken to begin to combat trafficking.

IOM believes that the report we’re releasing today represents a major step toward combating trafficking in persons in Afghanistan. And we look forward to continue working with the government, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission and UN partners in addressing this grave human rights problem.

Now if you have questions, I am going to ask a colleague of mine to help answer them. Thank you.

Question & Answers

Question: How did you collect the data for the report? Was it from all over Afghanistan?

IOM: I’ll explain the methodology of the research. In many countries there is an existing pool of NGOs that assist trafficked victims but there wasn’t a group of NGOs here in Afghanistan assisting trafficked victims to query. The design was based on first a literature review. We researched all UN situation reports on Afghanistan over the past five years, Afghan and international NGO reports addressing broader human rights issues, and then from there we designed questions and placed them into a survey which was distributed to international organizations in Afghanistan, in Iran and Pakistan, as well as to the IOM offices Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and India where there are high concentrations of Afghans as well as traditional migration routes.

The same questions that were in the survey were posed to Afghan NGOs, community leaders, human rights activists, medical professionals as well as men and women shuras in provinces across Afghanistan. For the internationals the questions were placed on paper in a survey, and for Afghans they were posed directly within an interview.

Question: Does the report offer specific support for combating the problem?

IOM: There are many different angles to tackle trafficking. Worldwide, people have categorized the different angles into prevention, protection and assistance, and prosecution of victims. Prevention could include becoming signatory to international law, including the protocol on smuggling that went into force yesterday, and there is also a protocol on trafficking in persons, neither of which Afghanistan is signatory to or has ratified. There is the drafting of local laws making trafficking illegal in Afghanistan. We encourage dialogue with other countries, with other law enforcement officials who have developed counter-trafficking measures in their countries because trafficking, especially cross-border, does affect security in terms of criminal elements inside the country. We encourage that dialogue between countries, protection and assistance to victims, training to law enforcement officials and health officials shelters for victims, and prosecution. I do want to emphasize when I say trafficked persons, not just women, but men, women, children – boys and girls.

Question: Many countries have toughened their laws for Afghans to become asylum seekers. Do you think this has decreased the trafficking of persons from Afghanistan?

IOM: First I would like to bring to your attention that there are two different crimes that we are talking about: trafficking and smuggling. There are two different treaties under international law, two different crimes. Smuggling is the illegal crossing of an international border. Somebody gains money from that illegal transportation and then it ends. Trafficking is an exploitation of the victim from the start to the either province or country of origin, and the exploitation continues. The traffickers gain either money or some other benefit from that person. It is a continued exploitation. When migration laws are made more strict that has a reverse effect on smuggling because people turn to illegal means to enter that country so I would say that it is actually the reverse of what you had mentioned – not necessarily deterring but people are looking for illegal means to enter and unfortunately that is more dangerous.

Question: [inaudible]

IOM: We did not look at Australia. We did look at neighboring countries such as Iran, and there is a flow of Afghan youth going to Iran for labor migration… [Portion of response inaudible due to technical failure]

…Last year, 864 minors were deported and many of the interviews that we performed showed that these were repeat crossers so it doesn’t seem to deter them from going back.

Question: Do you think that the increase in drug trafficking in Afghanistan is related to human trafficking?

IOM: Internationally, criminal networks tend to engage in different sorts of activities. It depends on what you are making the money from; it’s an economic gain. We’ve seen in other countries that often there is a correlation between drugs and trafficking. According to the UN it is the third biggest money making industry for organized crime globally under guns and drugs.

Question: There are many children trafficked to work in carpet factories in Pakistan. Do you know the number of children? What is being done for them?

IOM: Because trafficking is illegal and clandestine, it is very difficult to put a number on the amount of victims. This study was qualitative, not quantitative. We wanted to get information on the specific types of trends. However, I would say that in the north, police officials have started a task force against smuggling and trafficking, and they have intercepted 171 children from the age of 7-17 since January 2002 until January 2004. These children are intercepted before crossing an international border. But IOM interviews with the police indicate that these traffickers were headed to neighboring countries with various purposes.

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