Protecting workers' rights can prevent human trafficking

Fecha: 29/04/2011 - 16:24

Work field: 

• Trafficking / Smuggling
 

The OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, stressed today that promotion of decent work and protection of workers' rights, including freedom of assembly and association, can help prevent and combat trafficking in human beings for labour exploitation.

In her International Labour Day message, Giammarinaro emphasized that trafficking for labour exploitation is a gross violation of human rights and human dignity. 

“On 1 May we must think of millions of men, women and children worldwide who on daily basis are deprived of their rights, forced to work day and night in inhuman and degrading conditions, without pay or for a salary which barely allows them to survive,” said Giammarinaro.

The OSCE Special Representative stressed that the celebration of the International Labour Day is an opportunity to raise awareness about this intolerable form of exploitation. “Trafficked persons are vulnerable because of their economic and personal circumstances, or as a consequence of conflict or post-conflict situations. They are often migrant workers, asylum seekers, unaccompanied and separated children, seeking for a better life and falling prey to unscrupulous intermediaries and employers, and often to organized criminal groups,” she said.

She also called for the protection of domestic workers’ rights, which will be a key topic of a forthcoming experts’ roundtable organized by the German Institute for Human Rights in partnership with her office on 2-3 May in Berlin.

New steps to prevent trafficking in human beings for labour exploitation, with a focus on decent work and social justice, will also be discussed at the 11th High-Level Alliance against Trafficking in Persons Conference hosted by the OSCE Special Representative in Vienna on 20-21 June.

http://radio1812.net/es/node/5397

OSCE: Launch of publication on trafficking for the purpose of domestic servitude

On 28 February 2011, the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, launched the fourth in a series of Occasional Papers focusing on trafficking for labour exploitation.

The paper, Unprotected Work, Invisible Exploitation: Trafficking for the Purpose of Domestic Servitude, is based on desk research, field work and case study analyses in order to shed light on one of the most invisible forms of modern-day slavery, and provides a policy tool for decision makers and practitioners dealing with trafficking in human beings in terms of prevention, prosecution and protection of trafficked persons’ rights, including assistance and support. 

Read the report: http://www.osce.org/cthb/75804

Europe Alliance Expert Co-ordination Team submits joint statement at OSCE review conference

12 Oct 2010

Warsaw, October 8, 2010:During the first part of the ‘Review Conference’ ahead of the OSCE Summit, held in Warsaw, the Alliance Expert Co-ordination Team submitted aStatement on Child Protection, during the Working Session on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, with Particular Focus on Trafficking in Children.

In the statement Alliance members called on governments toimplement a child rights approach to child trafficking, enhance child protection to respond to the specific needs of vulnerable and excluded children, ensure the appointment of an independent guardian and provide free legal assistance to victims, strengthen identification mechanisms by training of professionals, and implement a durable and safe solution for each child based on individual case assessment

OSCE Special Representative calls for enhanced partnership among international organizations and civil society to better tackle human trafficking

STRASBOURG, 13 September 2010 - Partnership among public institutions, non-governmental organizations, and international organizations is essential to effectively fight trafficking in human beings, said the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, addressing a high-level meeting at the Council of Europe today.

During the meeting of the Committee of the Parties to the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, Giammarinaro announced the plans to expand the Alliance against Trafficking in Persons, a unique platform of over 40 partner organizations, to address more effectively the new features of trafficking.