UN’s ‘Global Initiative Against Human Trafficking

As you may well know, some dimensions of trafficking in human beings are simply staggering. The illicit trade in humans is valued at an estimated $32 billion, $10 billion of which is derived from the initial "sale" of individuals. The remaining $22 billion comes as profit from the activities or goods produced by the victims of this crime. According to UN estimates, 600,000 – 800,000 individuals are trafficked across international borders each year. South Asia is home to the second largest population of these internationally trafficked persons, while India in particular is a country of origin, transit and destination.

What exactly is trafficking?

Human trafficking is an organized crime transcending borders and jurisdictions.It involves buying and selling

of human beings like commodities and is, therefore, one of the gravest violations of human rights. Trafficking takes place for different types of exploitation which could be generally classified into three:

Trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation (which includes for prostitution, pornography, child sex tourism, etc.)

Trafficking for forced labour or exploitative labour (in domestic industrial labour, entertainment industry, etc.)

Trafficking for other kinds of exploitation, for eg., organ transplant, illegal adoption, marriage, etc.

All forms of human trafficking are commercial in nature because of the very fact that the traffickers and exploiters commercially exploit the trafficked person. The demand for trafficked persons has exacerbated the dimensions and extent of trafficking. More young women are being trafficked and more young children, both male and female, are being trafficked internally within the countries and across borders.

Though trafficking has been in existence for long, the negative impacts of growing economic disparities and the exploitative nature of certain sections in power and position have accentuated the dimensions of trafficking in the recent past.

Much is being done to contain and reverse this exploitative trade in human beings. UNODC has been working in South Asia helping States to improve preventive measures against trafficking. UNODC also works with law enforcement to more effectively dismantle criminal groups and increase conviction rates. It also supports victims during their rescue, rehabilitation and repatriation. These efforts, however, need to be strengthened. Public-private partnerships can expand the scope of these efforts tremendously.

Governments and consumers are becoming more and more conscious that business and industries should put ethical practices in place. Sarovar has decided to join in this effort to fight human trafficking.

Many organizations across industry participated in the United Nations GIFT conference for South Asia, held in October in New Delhi which was an effort in this direction.