COMMITTEE

UN WOMEN

TOPICS

Global Bioethics and Reproductive Rights

Human Trafficking and Smuggling of Migrants

PRESIDENT

Laura Amaya Soto

AISMUN XVII
Table of Contents

Letter from the Chair

Introduction to UN WOMEN

Topic A: Global Bioethics & Reproductive Rights

Introduction
Key Terms
Global Bioethics & Reproductive Rights
Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD)
International Surrogacies
Conventions and Treaties
The Oviedo Convention
Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights
International Bioethics Committee
Guiding Questions

References

Topic B: Human Trafficking and Smuggling of Migrants

Letter from the Chair

Dear delegates,

My name is Laura Amaya, it is an honor to preside over a committee as important as UN

WOMEN, that tackles such a relevant and imperative discussion: gender equality and all its

derivatives. My hopes are for this to be an enriching, eye opening experience for all the

delegations involved. It is expected that all delegates come prepared with full background

knowledge on their country’s position in order for the committee to flow in a productive yet

challenging way.

In the following guidelines I have laid out information which I hope will be a useful starting

point for your research. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or doubts you may

have, I’ll be pleased to answer.

Welcome to AISMUN XVII!

Best regards,

Laura Amaya Soto

lamaya@altamira.edu.co
Introduction to UN WOMEN/FEMCOM

Established in July 2010 by the UN General Assembly, UN Women is an entity

dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. Its primary purpose is to carry

out and accelerate progress on meeting women and girl’s needs worldwide. UN Women also

coordinates and promotes the UN system’s work in advancing gender equality, and in all

deliberations and agreements linked to the 2030 Agenda; to position gender equality as

fundamental to the Sustainable Development Goals, and a more inclusive world.

Gender equality is not only a basic human right, but its achievement has enormous

socio-economic ramifications. Empowering women fuels thriving economies, spurring

productivity and growth. Yet gender inequalities remain deeply entrenched in every society.

Women lack access to decent work and face occupational segregation and gender wage gaps.

They are too often denied access to basic education and health care. Women in all parts of the

world suffer violence and discrimination. They are under-represented in political and

economic decision-making processes.

Over many decades, the United Nations has made significant progress in advancing gender

equality, including through landmark agreements such as the Beijing Declaration and

Platform for Action and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination

against Women (CEDAW), but it wasn’t until almost a decade ago that an official entity to

address gender equality was established.

Topic A: Global Bioethics & Reproductive Rights

Introduction

Global Bioethics is the study of ethical issues emerging from advances in biology and

medicine; it relates to medical policies and practices. Recently it plays a big role in

safeguarding stakeholders involved based on four bioethical principles, weighing pros and

cons. Additionally, reproductive rights are the legal rights or freedoms related to reproduction

and reproductive health that may vary across the globe. World Health Organization (WHO)

defines them as “Reproductive rights rest on the recognition of the basic right of all couples

and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their

children and to have the information and means to do so, and the right to attain the highest

standard of sexual and reproductive health. They also include the right of all to make

decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence.”. Taking

into account the rapid evolvement of science, biology, and medicine these terms have become

rapidly evolving fields that pose numerous questions and limited answers.

Key Terms

1. Bioethics: Refers to the medical implications and applications of health-related life

sciences. Separated in fields, such as health policies, genetics, neuroethics, precision

 medicine, reproductive ethics, research ethics, shared decision-making, and social

determinants of health.

2. Health Policies: Governmental efforts to manage healthcare as a public service.

Governments should keep health systems accessible for everyone, which is what

bioethicists make questions such as: Should these programs be directed towards those

with the capacity to pay for them, or should governments fund them? Should

genetically healthy or fortunate people help pay healthcare costs for the unhealthy or

less fortunate?

3. Genetics: Genetics relates to fields such as prevention of diseases, diagnosis,

treatments, and reproductive decision-making. Thus, genetic technologies arise

questions regarding values, like: Is it appropriate to produce mutations in case of

untreatable genetic disorders? Should genetically modified persons continue to have

children? Should social policies hold these decisions?

4. Neuroethics: Ability to understand and manipulate the human brain in order to

engage different stakeholders and discuss the future of neuroscience. It involves

drugs, memory dampening techniques, neural prostheses, neuroimaging, pain, deep

brain stimulation, and enhancement in clinical settings.

5. Precision medicine: Can be ethically ambiguous due to the fact that it analyzes and

predicts the effectiveness of medicine in individuals. A field highly involved could be

cancer healthcare; Governments and everyday citizens spend mind-bending amounts

of money on some kinds of medicine that are proven to be highly effective (around

70% of users extend their expected lifetime). If precision medicine were to be applied,

hospitals would know which patients benefit the most from this investment. But is it
 ethical to deny drugs from patients who are not likely or not certain to benefit as much

from them?

6. Reproductive Ethics: Provoke social and legal controversy due to the fact that it may

assist fertility, restrict fertility, terminate pregnancies, etcetera. Deals with questions

such as Should we enable people to reproduce after they die? Should we keep a

brain-dead pregnant person that way to allow a child’s birth? Should we harvest

sperm from dead men? Should we manipulate offspring’s DNA not only to eliminate

genetic disorders but to manipulate superficial traits like intelligence, athletic ability,

or body types?

7. Research Ethics: Addresses all ethical questions that arise from research using

animals or humans or clinical trials that are not answered by established policies.

8. Shared Decision-Making: A process in which medical decisions are discussed,

deliberated, and negotiated between the provider and the patient.

9. Social Determinants of Health: The complex social circumstances that limit

healthcare as a result of physical and social environment or access to resources.

10. Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD): A procedure used before implantation

in order to check for genetic defects within an embryo. It serves to prevent certain

genetic diseases and disorders that could be passed to offspring. It is normally

practiced during the process of in vitro fertilization.

11. Embryos: A stage of development starting from conception until the start of the third

month of pregnancy.

12. In Vitro Fertilization (IVF): A complex series of procedures used to treat fertility or

genetic problems and assists in the conception of a child. During IVF, which is the

most effective form of assisted reproductive technology, eggs are retrieved from a
 woman’s ovaries and fertilized by sperm in a lab. Later, the embryo is implanted in

the uterus.

13. Surrogacy: A method of assisted reproduction in which intended parents work with a

gestational surrogate that will carry, care, and deliver their baby since they can not do

so on their own.

14. Reproductive Tourism: Contemporary practice in which people cross geographic

borders in order to access fertility services such as IVF, egg donation, surrogacy, sex

selection, and PGD, which enables people with fertility problems, homosexual

couples, and single people to conceive and bear biological related offspring with the

involvement of third parties. They also reduce the threat of any genetic disorder and

select traits such as sex. Reproductive tourism also helps with issues such as abortion,

contraception, or adoption.

15. Reproductive Rights: The rights of individuals to decide whether to reproduce and to

have reproductive health. This comprises their right to plan a family, end a pregnancy,

or have access to sexual education and products. However, in light of the new

technologies surfacing, this movement has been full of controversies due to the moral,

ethical, and religious undertones these topics have. Aspects like men’s rights in

pregnancies, minor’s rights, pro-life vs pro-choice, and more are discussed under this

movement.

16. Stakeholder: A person or group that might be affected by an organization, from

inside or outside the business. Include employees, customers, stockholders, suppliers,

non-profit groups, governments, the local community, etcetera.

Global Bioethics & Reproductive Rights

Bioethics is the study of ethical issues that may arise with issues such as healthcare,

health science, and health policies. Its goal is to protect the rights of stakeholders and keep

track or benchmark for future cases with similar conditions. In order to protect the rights of

these stakeholders, four bioethical, non-hierarchical principles have been put into place:

● Autonomy: Assumes that rational agents are involved in making informed and

voluntary decisions. In health care decisions this implies that patients have the

capacity to act intentionally, with complete understanding, and no coercion that would

limit a voluntary and free act. This is the principle behind the process of “informed

consent”.

● Beneficence: Requires that no harm or injury is intentionally done to the patient.

Providing a proper standard of care that avoids or at least minimizes the risk of harm

is supported not only by Bioethics but also by commonly held moral convictions and

laws of society (Law and Medical Ethics). This principle intensifies or presents a need

for medical competence. It is understandable that medical mistakes are not avoidable,

but care professionals must protect their patients from harm.

● Non-Maleficence: Health care providers must benefit the patient and remove possible

risks. Non-Maleficence is a constant duty, while beneficence is limited. This can

apply to individual patients and the good of society as a whole. For example, the good

health of a patient is a goal, and the prevention of diseases through research and

vaccination would be the same goal expanded for society as a whole.

 ● Justice: A form of fairness, or in Aristotle's words “giving to each that which is his

due”. Includes the fair distribution of goods and services, taking into account different

criteria. One of the most important issues in Bioethics is: How do we provide a

minimum level of decent health care regardless of the ability to pay?

A medical decision is considered truly ethical when all four principles are fulfilled. If

there is conflict between two or more of them, discussion extends further, and pros and cons

are weighted accordingly.

Bioethics has become even more controversial regarding topics such as reproductive

rights, while new discoveries and technologies keep revolutionizing our societies. This

involves aspects such as reproductive medical tourism, PGD, and surrogacies become

prevalent and induce multi-billion dollar companies globally. Reproductive tourism clients

seek new assisted reproductive technologies such as Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis

(PGD) and surrogacies. And even though these technologies have helped improve human

health care and quality, their commercialization has also led to the exploitation of individuals

and the violation of human rights.

Countries belonging to the international community have mixed feelings about the

effects these reproductive-assisting technologies bring to the table. For example, if we look

into some countries’ policies, 13 countries (Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Greece,

Iceland, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Australia, Spain, and Victoria

Australia) permit technologies such as PGD by law. 6 (Canada, Israel, Japan, Singapore,

South Africa, and UK) allow it under professional guidelines; and others prohibit it by law
(some of them are Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Western Australia). The same thing

happens with other procedures like IVF, surrogate pregnancies, or genetic screenings.

Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD)

PGD genetically screens early human embryos and chooses one before implanting it

into the mother’s uterus. Most couples undergo the process in order to detect and avoid

unhealthy children and avoid the inheritance of diseases that run in the family. Nevertheless,

issues arise for those couples who wish to use this medical process as a sex-selection method.

Parents from Western cultures tend to want to balance the number of boys or girls in a family.

In fact, PGD is legalized in the United States of America, making it a spot of interest for

Eastern couples who tend to favor boys instead of girls. This causes the masses to travel in

order to seek this service. Apart from the issue of gender discrimination, this gender

imbalance might reduce the birth rates of the next generations. Currently, China, South

Korea, and India show an imbalance of a 10%-20% excess of males. This is precisely why

Eastern governments opt against the banning of PGD and sex-selective abortions.

PGD is mostly used during In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) processes, which helps

distinguish the healthy embryos from the ones with hereditary genetic diseases. It is

suggested as a way to reduce the costs of treating such diseases, when a couple has a history

of grave genetic diseases, at least one is a carrier of chromosomal abnormality(ies), the

mother has an advanced age or a history of miscarriages. This doesn’t ensure that all couples

who use it go after the medical insurances; in some countries, a trend shows preference for a

gender (India, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, and China prefer sons), like said above. Couples

might also change specific preferences, and this issue raises moral doubts regarding the
legality of this practice. This further promotes the “need” of couples to travel abroad in

search of those countries that do provide them.

India, UK, and China have implemented loose policies regarding the restriction of

non-medical sex selection practices in social application. Unlike them, South Korea has

completely banned laws regarding sex-selection regarding the purpose. Finally, the USA has

made sex selection legal. However, few clinics offer this diagnosis for family balancing. The

Chinese government passed The Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Maternal and

Infant Health Care (MIHCL) in 1995, which concludes that ex identification is strictly

prohibited unless needed on medical grounds. India also allows this practice only for medical

purposes (detection of genetic disorders) in a stricter way. Their Prenatal Diagnosis

Techniques Act (1994) regulates and limits this technique only for: “the purposes of detection

of any of the following disorders: chromosomal abnormalities, genetic metabolic diseases,

hemoglobinopathies, sex-linked genetic disease, congenital anomalies, and any other

abnormalities or diseases as specified by the Central Supervisory Board.”, preventing female

feticide. United Kingdom legislated their Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act in 1990,

which accepts sex selection for social reasons.

Furthermore, South Korea has banned PGD and abortions for every case. Their

Bioethics and Biosafety Act (BBA) regulates diverse types of gene testing with no detailed

information and only permits it in cases of extreme necessity and severe risks. Selecting

particular sperm or eggs, or using gene diagnostics for a sex-selection purpose is strictly

punishable. This is the cause of many couples leaving to other countries that permit PGD,

these cases are NOT punished by any constitution. If this trend or phenomenon continues, sex

imbalance will become severe in certain hotspots around the globe with a tendency towards

males.
International Surrogacies

International surrogacy has become a trend among couples in developed countries,

who hire surrogates from under-developed countries. Surrogacy can be either traditional or

gestational; the latter one is more common since the child shares DNA from both parents,

while in traditional surrogacy only the father’s DNA will be inherited. Not only because of

the genetic connection, but the convenience it brings in case of any legal battles if the

surrogate wishes to claim the child as her own.

An important issue this brings, is the power imbalance between the couple and the

surrogate, since the latter ones tend to come from uneducated backgrounds or women who

choose to do so in order to cash an easy payment instead of taking on daily wage laborers.
Thousands of dollars per year through surrogacy may seem huge for them. This power

imbalance typically happens for surrogates from countries such as India, that gain around

33% of what an American surrogate would. Besides this underpayment, data shows how

couples take advantage of surrogates due to a lack of proper legal representation or

regulations coming from governments. Not being enough, children born with disabilities or

with ambiguous VISA status are abandoned. Or if a couple is especially interested in

improving their chances of conception of a healthy child, they might hire more than one

surrogate and terminate pregnancies with less viable fetuses, blaming the surrogates for not

being fit enough. All of these exploitations are human rights violations and further actions

and implementation of policies should be done in order to protect surrogate mothers. These

women still accept these deals due to the surrogacy fee, which helps them support their

families and they act against governments that might do the surrogacy that hurts their

livelihoods so badly.

For instance, India’s policies have become stricter in the last few years. In 2012, the

government only allowed heterosexual, married couples to hire surrogates in their country,

and then restricted it even more to only married couples. The Indian Cabinet is currently

drafting a law to ban commercial surrogacies and only allow altruistic surrogacies from

married Indian couples who have been together at least five years and have trouble

conceiving children. In order to counter these paid surrogate problems, Canada, Australia,

and the UK have allowed surrogacy only for altruistic couples who involve intended parents

or close friends.
Conventions and Treaties

The Oviedo Convention

Is the first and only legally-binding international document that prioritizes and

protects human rights and freedom from the misuse of bio-medical innovations and

technologies. Addresses important topics such as biomedical research, consent, and organ

transplantation. Regarding PGD, the document clearly and strictly prohibits any kind of

discrimination based on a human’s DNA. Therefore, it can only be used to prevent hereditary

genetic diseases. Couples have no right to pursue areas such as sex selection or change any

part of the embryo’s genes to fit their preferences.

Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights

Adopted by the 29th UNESCO General Conference in 1997 and endorsed by the GA

in 1998.

● Article 1: The human genome underlies the fundamental unity of all members of the

human family, as well as the recognition of their inherent dignity and diversity. In a

symbolic sense, it is the heritage of humanity.

● Article 2: (a) Everyone has a right to respect for their dignity and for their rights

regardless of their genetic characteristics. (b) That dignity makes it imperative not to

reduce individuals to their genetic characteristics and to respect their uniqueness and

diversity.

● Article 3: The human genome, which by its nature evolves, is subject to mutations. It

contains potentialities that are expressed differently according to each individual’s

 natural and social environment, including the individual’s state of health, living

conditions, nutrition, and education.

● Article 4: The human genome in its natural state shall not give rise to financial gains.

● Article 6: No one shall be subjected to discrimination based on genetic characteristics

that are intended to infringe or has the effect of infringing human rights, fundamental

freedoms, and human dignity.

● Article 10: No research or research applications concerning the human genome, in

particular in the fields of biology, genetics, and medicine, should prevail over respect

for the human rights, fundamental freedoms, and human dignity of individuals or,

where applicable, of groups of people.

● Article 11: Practices that are contrary to human dignity, such as reproductive cloning

of human beings, shall not be permitted. States and competent international

organizations are invited to co-operate in identifying such practices and in taking, at

the national or international level, the measures necessary to ensure that the principles

set out in this Declaration are respected.

● Article 12: (a) Benefits from advances in biology, genetics, and medicine, concerning

the human genome, shall be made available to all, with due regard for the dignity and

human rights of each individual. (b) Freedom of research, which is necessary for the

progress of knowledge, is part of freedom of thought. The applications of research,

including applications in biology, genetics, and medicine, concerning the human

genome, shall seek to offer relief from suffering and improve the health of individuals

and humankind as a whole.

International Bioethics Committee

Created in 1993, it is made up of 36 autonomous experts that discuss scientific

evolution taking into account the bioethical point of view. It encourages reflection on ethical

and legal issues and coordinates exchange and awareness of information so that collaboration

between international bodies becomes easier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmxkNOmaK0g

Guiding Questions

❏ Are the 4 bioethical principles sufficient on their own to determine ethical issues

regarding reproductive rights? Can they be improved in order to benefit stakeholders

even more?

❏ Where does your country stand regarding PGD not only for medical reasons but also

for non-medical stances? Does your country need or take steps to alleviate the issue of

sex imbalance due to sex selection procedures?

❏ Should parents be allowed to choose their children’s future since they affect things

such as gender, intelligence, or physical characteristics? Is this ethical?

❏ If countries ban PGD in their territory, should they also ban their citizens from having

access to these procedures in countries where it is legal?

❏ What is your stance on surrogacy? What policies are in place?

❏ Should paid surrogacy be legal? What policies could be implemented to protect the

rights of stakeholders? Or what alternatives can be taken to solve the issue?

References

1. About. (n.d.). UN Women. Retrieved January 9, 2021, from

https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/about-un-women

2. McDaniel, L. (n.d.). What is Bioethics? Retrieved from

https://www.bioethics.msu.edu/what-is-bioethics

3. Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis: Benefits & Concerns. (2019, January 11).

Retrieved from

https://americanpregnancy.org/infertility/preimplantation-genetic-diagnosis/

4. In vitro fertilization (IVF). (2018, March 22). Retrieved from

https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/in-vitro-fertilization/about/pac-2038471

5. What are Reproductive Rights? (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://family.findlaw.com/reproductive-rights/what-are-reproductive-rights-.html

6. Audibert, C., & Glass, D. (2015, December 09). A global perspective on assisted

reproductive technology fertility treatment: An 8-country fertility specialist survey.

Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4673849/

Topic B: Human Trafficking and Smuggling of Migrants

Introduction

Human trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery that involves the illegal trade of human
beings for the purpose of some form of forced exploitation. It is internationally recognized as
a serious crime and a severe violation of human rights. The United Nations Office On Drugs
and Crime (UNODC) defines the practice as any form of recruiting, transporting,
transferring, harboring or receiving a person by means of threat or use of force or other forms
of coercion, abduction, fraud, or deception. To smuggle migrants, on the other hand, involves
the procurement for financial or other material benefit of illegal entry of a person into a State
of which that person is not a national or resident. Both practices tend to relate to each other in
that they both consist in the illegal transfer of people for ransom, they can commonly occur at
the same time, and each can be a consequence of the other.

The two most common purposes for human trafficking are sexual exploitation and forced
labor. Other purposes include organ extractions (for profit), forced marriage, and forced
begging. Nevertheless, sex trafficking has shown to have growing demand, which presents a
threat not only to human rights, but to women’s rights specifically, given that although
victims of sex trafficking can be of any age and of either sex, the majority are women and
adolescent girls. While most nations have outlawed the trafficking of females, it is still
widely prevalent on a global scale.
The degree of trafficking and smuggling among countries and continents is variable, virtually
every country in the world is affected by these crimes. The challenge for all delegations is,
through effective international cooperation, to create legislation that allows each country to
create an effective domestic policy that targets the criminals who exploit vulnerable people
and to protect and assist victims of trafficking and smuggled migrants, many of whom endure
unimaginable hardships in their bid for a better life.

Key terms

1. Human trafficking: Trafficking in persons is the recruitment, transportation, transfer,

harboring, or receipt of people by improper means such as force, fraud, deception,
abuse of power, or abuse of a position of vulnerability, with the aim of exploiting
them.

Elements of Human Trafficking:

2. Modern slavery: Modern slavery is the severe exploitation of other people for
personal or commercial gain. Human trafficking and slavery are not the same thing,
human trafficking is just one form of slavery.
 3. Sex trafficking: Sex trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery in which individuals
perform commercial sex through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. Minors under the
age of 18 engaging in any kind of commercial sex are considered to be victims of
human trafficking, regardless of the use of force, fraud, or coercion.

4. Forced labor: Forced labor can be understood as work that is performed involuntarily
and under the menace of any penalty. It refers to situations in which persons are
coerced to work through the use of violence or intimidation, or by more subtle means
such as manipulated debt, retention of identity papers, or threats of denunciation to
immigration authorities.

5. Smuggling of migrants: The Smuggling of Migrants Protocol defines the practice as

the "procurement, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other
material benefits, of the illegal entry of a person into a State Party of which the
person is not a national or a permanent resident." Although the practice is heavily
linked to Human Trafficking, its purpose is not always limited to it.

Trafficking of women and girls

Trafficking victims are often lured by false promises of decent jobs and better lives. They
commonly experience physical and psychological abuse, including beatings, sexual abuse,
food and sleep deprivation, threats to themselves and their family members, and isolation
from the outside world. Because of this, vulnerable populations are the most targeted.
Worldwide, women and children suffer disproportionately from trafficking. Poverty, gender
discrimination, illiteracy and low levels of education, regional conflicts, and a lack of job
opportunities affect women in great numbers. Such conditions pressure women to migrate
and make them particularly vulnerable to trafficking that is, to unscrupulous recruiters or
employers who, through force, fraud, or coercion, place women in job situations to which
they did not consent and from which they cannot freely escape. Accordingly, an estimated 80
percent of trafficking victims worldwide are women and children. Furthermore, the
inequalities women face in status and opportunity worldwide make women particularly
vulnerable to trafficking.
In addition, it is the case in most developed countries that immigrants are the most targeted
demographic when it comes to trafficking. Their lower levels of education, inability to speak
the local language, and immigration status make them extremely susceptible to cunning and
deceptive ways to lure them into exploitive situations. Further, they are vulnerable because
they often work in jobs that are hidden from the public view and unregulated by the
government.

Sex Trafficking

Sex trafficking involves some form of forced or coerced sexual exploitation that is not limited
to prostitution and has become a significant and growing problem in the global community.
The costs to society include the degradation of human and women’s rights, poor public
health, disrupted communities, and diminished social development. Victims of sex trafficking
acquire adverse physical and psychological health conditions and social disadvantages. Thus,
sex trafficking is a critical health issue with broader social implications that requires both
medical and legal attention.
There are several recurrent tactics of manipulation used to coerce victims into situations of
sex trafficking. Most commonly, victims are promised a good job, education, or citizenship in
a foreign country or offered a false marriage proposal that is turned into bondage. Many
victims are sold into the sex trade by parents, husbands, and significant others, whereas
others are unwillingly and forcibly kidnapped by traffickers.
Once women and girls become involved in the sex trafficking industry, it becomes very
difficult for them to escape. Victims may face legal barriers, where the traffickers will
confiscate or sequester all forms of immigration and citizenry documentation. Language
barriers, fear, limited knowledge, and lack of money are other barriers that women and girls
may face to prevent them from escaping the sex trafficking ring. In many parts of the world,
legacy prostitution, or the involuntary enslavement of future generations of girls in the sex
trafficking industry, becomes an expected societal norm.
About sex trafficking:

● There are approximately 800,000 people trafficked across international borders

annually and, of these, 80% are women or girls and 50% are minors.
● The global sex trade is the fastest growing form of commerce, worth $32 billion
annually. In fact, human trafficking is the fastest-growing area of organized crime and
the third largest income revenue for organized crime after narcotics and arms sales.
● Victims of sex trafficking acquire adverse physical and psychological health
conditions and social disadvantages.
● Victims may face legal barriers, where the traffickers will confiscate or sequester all
forms of immigration and citizenry documentation. Language barriers, fear, limited
knowledge, and lack of money are other barriers that women and girls may face to
prevent them from escaping the sex trafficking ring.
● Health care professionals can work to improve the screening, identification, and
assistance of victims of sex trafficking in a clinical setting and help these women and
girls access legal and social services.

Governmental action

Slavery is illegal in every country in the world yet still runs rampant. In 2018, although more
than 170 countries had made public commitments to eradicating it, just 122 had criminalized
human trafficking in line with the UN Trafficking Protocol, and only 38 countries had
criminalized forced marriage, according to the Global Slavery index. The US, Scandinavia,
and Europe are rated as the top 10 governments responding to slavery, yet convictions are
low – in fact, convictions in Europe fell 25% in 2016 from 2011 levels, despite an increase in
the number of victims.

Tackling the issue

● Domestic policies have been enacted in countries that legalize/decriminalize

prostitution. Research has shown that trafficking increases in countries with legalized
or decriminalized prostitution. Most countries have different policies which they use;
for example, Denmark has decriminalized prostitution but, brothels are illegal…Brazil
has legalized prostitution but, the use of pimps is illegal. Now the issue, should there
be international laws dictating trafficking issues, or do domestic policies hold
 more precedent? As of currently, articles 3 and 5 of Trafficking in Person Protocol
requires that domestic policies of states regulate trafficking.
● States have taken anti-trafficking measures but it remains hard to enforce.
Globalization has made the trafficking of persons often complex and hard to track
due to multiple suppliers operating in many locations around the world. Trafficked
persons often get caught in various aspects of the supply chain. This can be seen in
global companies (Multi or Transnational Corporations) which have constant
violations- for instance, global clothing companies are accused of exploiting workers
in areas like Asia. As delegates how will you address the issue? How can it be proven
that these people are being exploited? Should there be a more specific criterion?
Should companies get penalized? If so, what will these penalties be?
● Bride Trafficking has increasingly been on the rise. Women are promised a life out
of the ‘sex industry’ and one within the matrimony of marriage. They leave their
homes to marry the wealthiest bidder and their ‘glorious’ lives they were promised
seldom meets their expectations. Is this a legal business? Many brides get physically
or sexually abused in their homes, their husbands go through little to no screening
process, and they have little education on their rights in their new homes/countries.

Smuggling of migrants

Migrant smuggling affects almost every country in the world (whether as an origin, transit, or
destination country for smuggled migrants by profit-seeking criminals). It undermines the
integrity of countries and communities and costs thousands of people their lives every year.
Currently, data is too scattered and incomplete to paint an accurate picture of the numbers of
people who are smuggled each year and the routes and methods used by those who smuggle
them. Still, available evidence reveals the following trends and patterns:

● Criminals are increasingly providing smuggling services to irregular migrants to

evade national border controls, migration regulations, and visa requirements. Most
irregular migrants resort to the assistance of profit-seeking smugglers. As border
controls have improved, migrants are deterred from attempting to illegally cross them
themselves and are diverted into the hands of smugglers.
 ● Migrant smuggling is a highly profitable business in which criminals enjoy a low risk
of detection and punishment. As a result, crime is becoming increasingly attractive to
criminals. Migrant smugglers are becoming more and more organized, establishing
professional networks that transcend borders and regions.
● The modus operandi of migrant smugglers is diverse. Highly sophisticated and
expensive services rely on document fraud or 'visa-smuggling'. Contrasted with these
are low-cost methods which often pose high risks for migrants, and have led to a
dramatic increase in loss of life in recent years.
● Migrant smugglers constantly change routes and modus operandi in response to
changed circumstances often at the expense of the safety of the smuggled migrants.
● Thousands of people have lost their lives as a result of the indifferent or even
deliberate actions of migrant smugglers.

Concentrated areas:

COVID impact:
Criminal networks that smuggle migrants for profit continue to thrive during the COVID-19
pandemic; as their methods become riskier and the demand for their services looks set to rise.
Due to border closures, migrants —including pregnant women and children— are being
abandoned by their smugglers in transit countries.
Restrictions at country entry points and increased patrols are leading smugglers to revert to
more dangerous routes in harsher conditions, where migrants are exposed to violence, abuse,
and the risk of contracting coronavirus.

UNODC protocols:

The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime:

● The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially

Women and Children
- The first global legally binding instrument with an agreed definition on trafficking in
persons. (to facilitate convergence in national approaches with regard to the
establishment of domestic criminal offenses that would support efficient international
cooperation in investigating and prosecuting trafficking in persons cases).
- Protects and assists the victims of trafficking in persons with full respect for their
human rights.
 ● The Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air
- Deals with the growing problem of organized criminal groups who smuggle migrants,
often at high risk to the migrants and at great profit for the offenders.
- For the first time in a global international instrument, a definition of smuggling of
migrants was developed and agreed upon.
- Aims at preventing and combating the smuggling of migrants, as well as promoting
cooperation among States parties, while protecting the rights of smuggled migrants
and preventing the worst forms of their exploitation which often characterize the
smuggling process.

Guiding Questions

❏ How is your country affected by human trafficking or migrant smuggling?

❏ What has your country done to alleviate the threat of human trafficking? What

legislation has been established in your country to denounce these crimes?

❏ Is your country a place of origin, transit, or destination for smuggled victims?

❏ How is your country affected by migrant smuggling?

❏ Is your country currently dealing with a refugee crisis?

❏ Could the demand for migrant smuggling business be alleviated by having less

regulated frontiers?

References

OHCHR | Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons. (n.d.). UNITED

NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS.

https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/protocoltraffickinginpersons.aspx
American Civil Liberties Union. (n.d.). Human Trafficking: Modern Enslavement of

Immigrant Women in the.

https://www.aclu.org/other/human-trafficking-modern-enslavement-immigrant-women-united

-states

United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. (n.d.). United Nations :

Office on Drugs and Crime.

https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/organized-crime/intro/UNTOC.html

Impact of the COVID crisis on migrant smuggling. (n.d.). United Nations : Office on Drugs

and Crime.

https://www.unodc.org/unodc/frontpage/2020/September/impact-of-the-covid-crisis-on-the-cr

ime-of-migrant-smuggling.html

Page not available. (n.d.). NCBI. Retrieved January 9, 2021, from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3651545/#:~:text=There%20are%20approxi

mately%20800%2C000%20people,girls%20and%2050%25%20are%20minors.&text=The%

20two%20most%20common%20purposes,3).

What is Human Trafficking? (n.d.). United Nations : Office on Drugs and Crime.

https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/what-is-human-trafficking.html

MUN Trafficking in Persons & Smuggling of Migrants. (n.d.). Promoting a Culture of

Lawfulness.

https://www.unodc.org/e4j/en/mun/crime-prevention/trafficking-in-persons-and-smuggling-of

-migrants.html
Hodal, K. (2020, October 15). One in 200 people is a slave. Why? The Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/feb/25/modern-slavery-trafficking-persons-one-in-2

00

School, H. L. (2014, September 9). Does Legalized Prostitution Increase Human Trafficking?

Harvard Law and International Development Society.

https://orgs.law.harvard.edu/lids/2014/06/12/does-legalized-prostitution-increase-human-traff

icking/#:~:text=On%20average%2C%20countries%20with%20legalized,incidence%20of%2

0human%20trafficking%20inflows.&text=Democracies%20have%20a%20higher%20probab

ility,a%20democratic%20country%20than%20otherwise.