The UN Protocol prohibits trafficking for the purpose of organ removal. Organ removal not only means the removal of kidneys for sale on the black market, it also includes the removal of organs and body parts for use in traditional medicine. In South Africa this practice is called "muti", in West Africa it is called "huju" or "juju". No matter what it is called, in all cases it is the same: the abduction of men, women and children for the ritual removal of organs and body parts while the victim is still alive. Traditional healers who use human muti believe that the organs and body parts must be removed while the victim is still alive because the screams of the victim infuses the body parts with the victim's life force, thus increasing the potency of the muti.
People pay traditional healers for muti to increase their luck, prosperity, business opportunities or their chances of wining an election or some one's heart. The traditional healer will choose a victim and remove the body parts or will pay a muti syndicate to abduct a victim and harvest the body parts. Genitals are used to increase virility, body fat to increase luck, lips or the tongue to seduce a lover, hands are buried near businesses to bring in customers, eyes to see into the future, brains to improve performance in college. Ears, eyelids and legs are also used for muti. The organs and body parts are eaten, drunk, smeared over the person using the muti or buried near the person's home or business in order to secure the desired results.
People are afraid to come forward with information against traditional healers who use human muti and the police are reluctant to investigate these crimes out of fear of having a curse placed upon them by the traditional healer.
Human trafficking for the purpose of ritual organ removal occurs in many African countries and is on the rise. Countries must enact and implement anti-trafficking laws to stop this terrible practice.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Do Not Forget The Men
Human trafficking literature focuses primarily on women and girls as the only victims of human trafficking to the detriment of men and boys who also fall victim to human trafficking. Anti-trafficking laws, awareness raising and rehabilitation programs are specifically tailored to women and girls. Anti-trafficking laws in many countries limit the definition of a victim of human trafficking to women and girls. As a result, awareness raising programs are designed to raise awareness solely among women and girls about the dangers of human trafficking. Shelters only accept victims of human trafficking. Education and job skills programs are only available to women and girls.
The International Herald Tribune recently reported on the trafficking of Cambodian men for forced labor on Thai fishing boats at sea. The men were kept at sea for long periods, in some cases years, and often received severe beatings.
There were obstacles to rescuing the men and prosecuting the traffickers. The anti-trafficking laws of both Thailand and Cambodia were written to specifically protect women and children from being trafficked into prostitution and forced labor. Men who may have been victims of human trafficking were treated as illegal immigrants under the law and were deported back to their home countries. Understandably, the men were reluctant to come forward and cooperate with authorities out of fear of being treated as criminals.
Another obstacle is the problem of jurisdiction. Jurisdiction over crimes committed at sea is determined by a complex patchwork of international treaties. Countries are only able to assert jurisdiction in specific circumstances. For example, the United States asserts jurisdiction if four instances: (1) if the ship is U.S. owned, regardless of the nationality of the victim or perpetrator; (2) if the crime occurs in U.S. territorial waters; (3) if the victim or perpetrator is a U.S. national on a ship that departed or is arriving at a U.S. port; or (4) an act of terrorism against the U.S.
It is easy to see how U.S. jurisdiction can be circumvented by traffickers. If the crime of human trafficking occurs on a ship that is not U.S. owned, not in U.S. territorial waters, and neither the victim nor the perpetrator are U.S. nationals, the traffickers cannot be prosecuted by the U.S.
In order to end human trafficking, anti-trafficking laws must include men, women and children in the definition of a victim of human trafficking, and international treaties must allow countries to assert jurisdiction over cases of human trafficking at sea.
The International Herald Tribune recently reported on the trafficking of Cambodian men for forced labor on Thai fishing boats at sea. The men were kept at sea for long periods, in some cases years, and often received severe beatings.
There were obstacles to rescuing the men and prosecuting the traffickers. The anti-trafficking laws of both Thailand and Cambodia were written to specifically protect women and children from being trafficked into prostitution and forced labor. Men who may have been victims of human trafficking were treated as illegal immigrants under the law and were deported back to their home countries. Understandably, the men were reluctant to come forward and cooperate with authorities out of fear of being treated as criminals.
Another obstacle is the problem of jurisdiction. Jurisdiction over crimes committed at sea is determined by a complex patchwork of international treaties. Countries are only able to assert jurisdiction in specific circumstances. For example, the United States asserts jurisdiction if four instances: (1) if the ship is U.S. owned, regardless of the nationality of the victim or perpetrator; (2) if the crime occurs in U.S. territorial waters; (3) if the victim or perpetrator is a U.S. national on a ship that departed or is arriving at a U.S. port; or (4) an act of terrorism against the U.S.
It is easy to see how U.S. jurisdiction can be circumvented by traffickers. If the crime of human trafficking occurs on a ship that is not U.S. owned, not in U.S. territorial waters, and neither the victim nor the perpetrator are U.S. nationals, the traffickers cannot be prosecuted by the U.S.
In order to end human trafficking, anti-trafficking laws must include men, women and children in the definition of a victim of human trafficking, and international treaties must allow countries to assert jurisdiction over cases of human trafficking at sea.
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