This Working Group wishes to highlight elements concerning trafficking in women and children for inclusion in the ESCAP Declaration and Report to be drafted on 28 October 1999 from 7pm:
Any strategies to address the problem of trafficking should not jeopardise the already vulnerable situation of women concerned.
Trafficked persons should be treated as holders of rights rather than as objects of government actions.
We call for governments:
- to adopt a rights-based approach to policies and programs in regard to trafficking in women, to protect and promote the human rights of trafficked persons and provide redress for trafficked persons.
- To adopt a comprehensive definition of 'trafficking' that
a) includes deceit, abuse of authority or coercion as a core element
b) makes a distinction between trafficking and prostitution as such,
c) concerns trafficking for purposes other than within the context of the sex industry eg trafficking for domestic work, marriage, sweatshop labour. - To develop and implement comprehensive strategies to tackle trafficking in women and children. These must address the areas of prevention, protection and redress for trafficked persons.
- To undertake studies of relevant existing laws on trafficking and the impact of those laws on the women concerned. Most existing policies and measures regarding trafficking in women have employed a largely repressive approach that has had a negative impact on the women concerned.
Strategies to combat trafficking must include remedies and redress for trafficked women and protection and promotion of human rights.
Endorsed by:
- the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW), Secretariat in Thailand
- Asian Women Human Rights Council (AWHRC), Philippines
- Women's Federation for World Peace
- Joint Women's Programme, India
- International Women's Development Agency (IWDA), Australia
- Asian Women's Conference Network, Japan
- Mitra Perempuan, Indonesia
- Women for Prosperity, Cambodia
