UN Special Rapporteur on Human Trafficking visits OAS

The issue of human trafficking in the Americas was the focus of a meeting between the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, and Sigma Huda, United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.

During the meeting, the Secretary General and the UN Special Rapporteur reviewed the various activities the OAS is undertaking in this area and discussed the conclusions and recommendations that came out the “Meeting of National Authorities on Trafficking in Persons,” which took place earlier this year in Venezuela. They also touched on the establishment of information exchange mechanisms between both organisations and the possibility of Huda addressing the OAS Permanent Council in the future.

Insulza and Special Rapporteur agreed that the problem of human trafficking in the Americas has a global reach, as in many cases women and children are trafficked to Asia and Europe, and that trafficking in persons takes many forms, including commercial sexual and labor exploitation, sex tourism and illegal adoptions.

Also present at the meeting were Christopher Hernandez-Roy, Director of the OAS Department of Public Security, and Fernando Garcia-Robles, Coordinator of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Section.

Sigma Huda was appointed to her post by the UN Commission on Human Rights to focus on the human rights aspects of trafficking in persons and particularly to take action to protect victims. She also undertakes country visits to study the situation and formulate recommendations to prevent and combat trafficking, and reports on human trafficking activities.

In recognition of her work against human trafficking, she was appointed to the National Council for Women in Development in Bangladesh. She is currently a Board Member of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW), Asia Pacific, and organised its Conference on Combating Trafficking in Women, Globally and Regionally, held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in 1999.

 

 

 

 

pdf: http://www.oas.org/main/main.asp?sLang=E&sLink=http://www.oas.org/OASpag...

Tags: 

Please note that these reports are hosted by CRIN as a resource for Child Rights campaigners, researchers and other interested parties. Unless otherwise stated, they are not the work of CRIN and their inclusion in our database does not necessarily signify endorsement or agreement with their content by CRIN.