As we commemorate the International Women’s Day, the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW) join in solidarity with all who continue to work towards women’s empowerment and fight for the rights of all women. Each year, International Women’s Day is observed with themes that recognise the significant changes and actions in favour of women’s rights, yet we are still a long way in addressing the issues of protection, access to justice and compensation for those whose rights have been violated.

Despite there being a number of UN instruments on women’s rights, namely the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, which affirms and reaffirms that the rights of women should be protected; many countries have yet to internalise these important instruments.
 
In the current global socio-political-economic reality, policy makers overlook human rights protection in favour of law enforcement approach to human trafficking. Oftentimes trafficked persons do not have access to justice, compensation and supports from states are conditional to the trafficked persons’ full cooperation with the goal to criminalise the perpetrator while, minimal action is taken for redress. Opportunities for work in destination countries, which in turn would make migration safer, are often limited if not non-existent. To address these serious shortcomings in the responses to tackle trafficking, GAATW recently launched a campaign entitled “Recognise Rights” to call on governments to recognise the human rights of trafficked persons and guarantee their right to protection and assistance. Human rights of trafficked persons and migrant workers especially women and children should be at the core of every anti-trafficking measure.

In the spirit of International Women’s Day, the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women, in solidarity with women’s and human rights groups all around the globe, calls for fair labour practices for women especially in the informal sector, the availability of access to justice for trafficked persons and, to recognise women as agents of change.

In solidarity,

GAATW International Secretariat

Statement of the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW), to the UN.GIFT Vienna Forum to Fight Human Trafficking

GAATW is an alliance of 84 NGOs working in more than 50 countries to promote the rights of trafficked persons and migrant women. The membership includes organisations that provide direct assistance to trafficked persons, policy and research organisations, self-organised groups of women with direct experience of trafficking or migration into the informal sector and community development organisations. The International Secretariat of GAATW was established in 1994 in Bangkok, Thailand.

In 2007, GAATW published Collateral Damage, a study into the impact of anti-trafficking initiatives on the rights of trafficked persons and migrant workers, covering eight countries. The following statement and recommendations are drawn from this report. This statement is written on behalf of the members of the GAATW Alliance.

A. Vulnerability, Prevention and Human Trafficking

Effective prevention of trafficking requires recognition of the migration-trafficking nexus and efforts to facilitate and promote safe migration and fair work for all. Migration and labour policies are discriminating against poor people and in particular poor women. Such discrimination creates opportunities for dishonest brokers, corrupt officials and ruthless employers to exploit or traffic migrants. Those people who need to migrate for work in order to survive or to improve their well-being are facing increasingly severe restrictions on their ability to migrate legally and safely. Similarly, their access to fair and reasonable working conditions is increasingly limited.

To determine what makes people vulnerable to trafficking, it is essential to work closely with economic migrants. Although most trafficked persons are economic migrants, the vast majority of economic migrants are not trafficked. Migrants can also, therefore, inform policy-makers about the safeguards that are instrumental in protecting them from a trafficking situation. Policy-makers should explore the factors that increase vulnerability on the one hand and protection on the other, in countries of origin, countries of destination and also in immigration policies.