Trafficking in Human Beings and Peace-Support Operations. Pre-deployment/In-service Training Programme for International Law-enforcement Personnel

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This manual aims to help International Peacekeeping personnel integrate Trafficking in Human Beings-awareness into all their activities. This increased awareness among the international police and judicial personnel serving with Peace Support Operations can help to counter the activities of organised crime and criminal networks involved in Trafficking in Human Beings in Peace Support Operation areas.

Irregular migration has increased exponentially in recent years and the growth in trafficking in human beings (THB) has reflected this trend. From Himalayan villages to Eastern European cities, people - especially women and girls - are attracted by the prospect of a well-paid job as a domestic servant, waitress or factory worker. Traffickers recruit victims through fake advertisements, mail-order bride catalogues and casual acquaintances. Upon arrival at their destination, victims are placed in conditions controlled by traffickers and exploited to earn illicit revenues. Many are physically confined, their travel or identity documents taken away, and they or their families are threatened if they do not cooperate. Women and girls forced to work as prostitutes are blackmailed by the threat that traffickers will tell their families. Trafficked victims are dependent on their traffickers for food, shelter and other basic necessities. Traffickers also play on victims’ fears that authorities in a strange country will prosecute or deport them if they ask for help. THB in Peace Support Operation (PSO) areas is an aspect of this trend. Unfortunately, this issue affects all PSOs. Aided by the migration caused by armed and post-armed conflict situations, the intrinsic political and economic insecurity and the booming sex industry in PSO areas, established criminal networks have grown aware of the extraordinary profits to be made from trafficking, particularly for sexual exploitation. Three observations characterize the relations between PSOs and THB. First, in contemporary PSOs, the international community is usually the primary or sole source of law enforcement, and therefore the primary authority for combating trafficking. Second, because PSO staff are paid a high wage in the context of the localities they serve in, they can knowingly or unknowingly serve as a source of demand for trafficking victims in brothels and domestic labour. Finally, in some cases, members of PSOs have been implicated in trafficking themselves.

It is essential that peacekeepers of all nations, whether military, civilian or civilian police, understand the impact their presence may have in these areas and how it attracts the development of organised crime. Peacekeepers who lack this understanding, or who act contrary to the principles and standards established by the UN, weaken the effectiveness of PSOs. The implementation of successful anti-trafficking programs is hampered by a lack of training. There is an urgent need for a transparent and effective anti-trafficking training framework for all members of PSOs and corresponding local institutions, in order to raise visibility/awareness of the issue in PSOs and to create and/or bolster anti-trafficking capacities. It is vital that the criminal justice response to THB is strengthened through legislative reform, awareness-raising and training, as well as through national and international cooperation. Training can deliver the information necessary to create a level of awareness about this issue. Training can also ensure that the right people receive the knowledge and tools necessary to achieve change.

This training programme on THB is aimed at international police and justice administration personnel deployed - or to be deployed - in PSOs.

The manual is divided into two modules. The Core Module contains the basic topics that participants should cover in order to develop full awareness of the issues relating to THB:

  • Trafficking in human beings: An introduction
  • Root causes of THB: Women and minors as the most vulnerable victims
  • THB as a transnational organized crime
  • The identification of trafficking victims
  • The protection of the rights of victims of THB
  • THB and the responsibilities of PSO staff

The Module on Law Enforcement Specificities covers specific information for THB investigation and prosecution:

  • Victims’ protection and residency status
  • The re-active investigative option
  • The pro-active investigative option
  • The disruptive option

The Training Manual is accompanied with a list of relevant international, regional and domestic legislation; an accurate description of the NGOs working on the field; a brief report of the situation of the country/areas of PSO; and a further list of bibliography on the topic, including UN and other international or regional organisations' reports as well as author books and articles.

The Manual contains two evaluation forms, one to be filled in at the end of the training and a follow-up evaluation to be delivered, if possible, 2/3 months after attendance on the training programme to get a final feedback on the quality of the course and its real use in trainees' daily working routine.

To access the manual, which is free of charge, write to: information@unicri.it

Further information

Organisation: 
United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute

Countries

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