Human trafficking

[Al-khiyal]

Given the opportunity to rank Israel's performance in implementing Western standards on a given human rights issue, many Israelis would likely place it above countries such as Bosnia, Colombia and Tajikistan. After all, not only do Israelis take pride in Israel as the Jewish state, built on values Judaism has espoused for millennia such as human dignity and protection of the weak' but also as a bulwark of Western-style liberty and enfranchisement in a region of the oppressed.

Unfortunately, if the issue is human trafficking, those Israelis should think again.

The US State Department's sixth annual Trafficking in Persons Report, released Monday, placed Israel in the third of four categories used for rating foreign governments' efforts to eliminate human trafficking - behind the aforementioned countries and 102 more, including such beacons of human rights as Congo, Ethiopia, Niger and Yemen.

Worse still perhaps is being judged by the company we keep. In the same Tier [3] "Watch List" category in which Israel has been placed are Algeria, Cambodia, China and Egypt. Furthermore, Israel ended up with this unsavory bunch after being downgraded from its Tier 2 standing of the preceding year for "failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to address... the conditions of involuntary servitude allegedly facing thousands of foreign migrant workers," according to the State Department report.

The news is not entirely gloomy. The report states that while "the government of Israel does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking... it is making significant efforts to do so."

In particular, Israel has built upon its progress over the past several years in combatting the trafficking of women for sexual exploitation by prosecuting traffickers and providing victims with shelter and legal aid.

However, the State Department's assessment, along with April's UN report which found that Israel is among the top 10 destinations for human trafficking, must be perceived as an alarming wake-up call.....


Continue reading..... A rank ranking

2-page article

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India is one of four countries to be placed on a “watch list” for the second year running on account of having fallen behind in efforts to control human trafficking, according to a report issued here on Monday by the State Department.

The other three are Russia, China and Mexico.....

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[Al-khiyal]

Link to discussion and access to full copy of report.

[Al-khiyal]

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday submitted a wide-ranging report on international migration, saying that migration benefited both the origin and host countries at the same time.

The report offers a comprehensive review of recent trends in international migration, focusing particularly on the impact that it has on both countries of destination and origin.

According to the report, migration has become a major feature of international life. People living outside their home countries numbered 191 million in 2005, with 115 million in developed countries.

The report found that one-third of all current immigrants in the world have moved from one developing country to another, with about the same number from the developing world to the developed.

In other words, "South-South" migration is roughly equivalent to "South-North", the report states.

But migration to countries designated as "high-income" - a category which includes some developing countries, such as South Korea, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - has grown much faster than to the rest of the world, it observes.

"Migration is not a zero-sum game," the report concludes, stressing that it can benefit both origin and host countries at once.

The report takes Ireland, South Korea and Spain as examples, saying that many countries once known for emigration now boast thriving economies and host large numbers of immigrants.

Addressing the General Assembly when presenting the report, Annan also emphasized that the report made a strong case that international migration, supported by the right policies, could be highly beneficial for the development of both countries of origin and destination.

"But it also stresses that these benefits are contingent on the rights of the migrants themselves being respected and upheld," he added.

Annan proposed a standing forum led by all 191 member states. Governments could use the forum to share ideas and discuss best practices and policies related to international migration. The forum could also be devoted to how this phenomenon ties in with global development.

On Sept. 14-15, the General Assembly will hold a high-level dialogue to explore one of migration's most promising aspects: its relationship to development.

UN report backs growth of international migration

'New era of mobility' as UN counts 200 million migrants

[Al-khiyal]

U.S. taxpayers financed human trafficking, report says