The IPU and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) recently launched a Handbook for parliamentarians on Combating Trafficking in Persons. Launched in early April during the 120th IPU Assembly in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), the Handbook begins by stressing that trafficking in persons is a form of modern-day slavery – a human rights violation that constitutes a crime against the individual and the State. It must be recognized as such and punished by adequate legislative means.
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Speaking during the launch, IPU President Dr. Theo-Ben Gurirab pointed out that legislators have a major role to play by adopting the laws needed to prosecute traffickers and protect the rights of victims. They should also ensure that commitments entered into by their governments are implemented at the national level. The Executive Director of UNODC, Mr. Antonio Maria Costa, pointed out that millions of people around the world, usually women and children, are trapped in human trafficking. He sees parliamentarians as 21st-century abolitionists who need to enact laws and take measures to set victims of trafficking free and stamp out a crime that shames us all.
The Handbook, the 16th in the series of IPU handbooks, is intended to encourage parliamentarians to take an active part in halting human trafficking. It contains a compilation of international laws and good practices developed to combat human trafficking, and offers guidance on how national legislation can be brought in line with international standards by, for example, defining trafficking in persons and criminalizing all its forms. It outlines measures to prevent commission of the crime, to prosecute offenders and to protect victims. It also contains advice on how to report on human trafficking and how to enlist civil society in the cause.
As public awareness of human trafficking grows, people are demanding that action be taken to end it. As their elected representatives, parliamentarians have a responsibility and the power to ensure that laws and other measures are put in place and implemented to that end. The Handbook is intended to inspire them to enact sound laws and adopt good practices that will strengthen national responses to human trafficking.
Soon after the launch of the handbook, the United Nations General Assembly held an interactive thematic dialogue on "Taking collective action to end human trafficking." The IPU Secretary General, Mr. Anders B. Johnsson, was invited to address the session and present recent efforts made by the IPU and national parliaments to step up action against this heinous crime.
As part of the UN debate, the various panels and speakers examined the regional initiatives already under way and the proposals for scaling up efforts to a global level. The dialogue served as a catalyst for discussion and possible action on a Global Plan of Action to combat trafficking on persons. Throughout the discussions, the importance of enacting, strengthening and enforcing anti-trafficking laws was frequently stressed.
