International: statements and reports on human trafficking

DHS Open Source Enterprise 

Daily Human Trafficking and Smuggling Report  

6 July 2011 

Spain's Hot Spot For Human Trafficking: Barcelona is one of the most popular tourist destinations in southern Europe and the largest city in Spain's Catalonia region. The location's beauty and mild weather  draw tourists, but traffickers like the region, too: Vacationers can become clients for prostitution and traffickers also use tourist visas to bring people into the country. The human trafficking unit for the region's police agency, Mossos d'Esquadra, stays busy. Xavier Cortes heads up the unit, which works undercover. … "There are parts of Barcelona controlled by Nigerian groups ... Within Barcelona there are also areas controlled by Albanians...and now we are finding that the most extensive phenomenon is in an expanding phase and is now generating our most worry, is in the arrival of Chinese controlling prostitution." Fighting these groups is one of the biggest challenges for the human trafficking unit. [HSEC-3.6; 

Date: 5 July 2011; Source: http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/05/spains-hot-spot-for-human-trafficking/] 

Libyan War Scales Down Human Trafficking From Nigeria: Nigeria is now recording fewer cases of human trafficking since the beginning of the war in Libya. Investigations revealed that those who transport their victims via Sokoto, northwest Nigeria through Niger Republic to Libya and from there cross over to  Europe, have not been finding it easy because of the ongoing Libyan war. Sokoto has been the major route of traffickers who use the porous border between the state and Niger Republic to carry out their nefarious business of exporting young Nigerians, especially women, to Europe as sex slaves. Libya which for years served as the gateway to Europe is now embroiled in war thus making it extremely dangerous for the human traffickers to stay in the country or cross to Europe. The Zonal Coordinator of National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and Other Related Offences, NAPTIP, Alhaji Shehu Umar, said before the Libyan crisis human traffickers especially those from Edo, Delta, Rivers and some other states in the Southwest of the country used Sokoto as their first transit point while transporting their victims to Libya. He said since the beginning of the crisis in Libya, number of arrest of such people has reduced drastically in the zone. [HSEC-3.10; Date: 4 July 2011; Source: http://news2.onlinenigeria.com/news/102860-libyan-war-scales-down-human-trafficking-from-nigeria.html]

Complaints Of Growing Abuse By Placement Agencies In Delhi [India]: A 14-year-old girl is raped by  the owner of a placement agency who 'bought' her from her relatives for a paltry sum for being employed as a domestic help. In the past two months, there have been more than 100 such cases of abuse in the capital of young girls/boys by owners of mushrooming unregistered placement agencies, according to NGOs. … Even after working for almost two years, she was paid nothing; instead she was raped and forced to work. 

Her case points to the grave problem of mushrooming of such illegal agencies in the capital. 'These agencies buy minor girls and boys - who basically hail from poverty-stricken regions of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Bihar - for just Rs.2,000-20,000 [$45-$450] as soon as they land up in the Delhi stations. With a dream of earning and living a good life, every year thousands of such children are cheated and made bonded labours,' Rakesh Senger, a social activist, told IANS. [HSEC-3.8; Date: 3 July 2011; Source: http://in.news.yahoo.com/complaints-growing-abuse-placement-agencies-delhi-103601484.html]

Flesh Trade Racket Busted, Two Touts Held In Haryana [India]: The crime branch of Delhi Police, along with Rohtak police, arrested two persons who allegedly brought three girls to the capital and sold them to  touts in Haryana. They accused are part of a gang involved in sex tourism. The arrests come after the anti- human trafficking units of Haryana and Delhi rescued a 16-year-old girl who was brought to Rohini after  being promised a job as a domestic help and later forced into prostitution. Police said the girl, who hails from Karimpur in North 24 Parganas, was brought to a flat in outer Delhi where she was raped by several men. "The girl was taken to Mussorie by a customer who paid the pimps Rs 8000 [$180] of which she did not receive a penny..." said a senior officer. [HSEC-3.6; Date: 3 July 2011; Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-07-03/delhi/29733041_1_girl-placement-agencies-rohtak-police]

Two More Mizo Girls Rescued From Sex Trade [India]: Mizoram Police rescued two more Mizo girls,  who were trafficked and forced into the flesh trade, from Mumbai. A person suspected to be the kingpin of the gang behind the girls' trafficking was also arrested by Mumbai Police. The girls hail from south Mizoram's Lunglei district. … Gopal Dhokal Mandal (32), was arrested by Mumbai Police on June 27 and the Mumbai special court booked him under the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act (PITA) and remanded him to judicial custody till July 7. … Mandal reportedly purchased the Mizo girls from Zodingliani and again sold them to the sex trade. The rescued girls were taken to a rehabilitation centre and will be free to go their own ways after counselling at the centre, police said. [HSEC-3.6; Date: 5 July 2011; Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/CCIS-0407-Two-more-Mizo-girls-rescued-from-sex-trade/articleshow/9104618.cms]

Human Trafficking Rife In Zimbabwe: Human trafficking is reportedly rife in Zimbabwe with young women and girls being lured to China, Egypt, Britain and Canada under false pretences, and then subjected to prostitution. A human trafficking report for 2011 released by the United States last week said Zimbabwean men were the worst victims as they were being lured into exploitative labour to countries like Malaysia, Nigeria, Angola, the United Arab Emirates and South Africa. The report said Zimbabweans were mostly  being trapped by false offers of employment in agriculture, construction, information technology, and hospitality and some subsequently become victims of forced labour. The report said Zimbabwe did not fully comply with the minimum standards for elimination of trafficking and was not making significant efforts to do so. [HSEC-3.6; Date: 3 July 2011; Source: http://www.newsday.co.zw/article/2011-07-03-human-trafficking-rife-in-zimbabwe]