Vienna, 25 July 2024. Human trafficking for the removal of organs, child trafficking, assistance measures for smuggled migrants and ways to address the root causes of migrant smuggling: these were some of the key topics discussed at the recent Constructive Dialogues on Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants which took place in Vienna respectively on 10 and 15 July.
Through panel discussions and interactive Q&A sessions, civil society and States exchanged key information and experiences regarding these concerns and forged synergies to strengthen the fight against trafficking in persons and the smuggling of migrants.
Constructive Dialogue on Trafficking in Persons
Discussing measures to prevent and counter trafficking in persons for the removal of organs and national priorities to tackle child trafficking was the main focus of the 2024 Constructive Dialogue on Trafficking in Persons.
On the issue of trafficking of persons for the removal of organs, the aspect of double criminality was raised and recommendations were put forward in order to address this concern. “Criminal liability around organ sales needs to be clarified. Brokers are targeting migrants in particular because of the issue of double criminality,” emphasized Sean Columb from the University of Liverpool. “All States parties to UNTOC and national criminal courts across the world need to make it clear that if you've sold your kidney, you'll be recognized as a victim as opposed to being culpable in your own exploitation,” he added.
Regarding existing loopholes in the implementation of the Trafficking in Persons Protocol, the contribution of civil society is critical, including to helping recognize indicators of human trafficking. “Civil society organizations are in a unique position to identify trafficking and the different forms of trafficking, but also to identify gaps in the implementation of the important Protocol to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime,” highlighted Professor Conny Rijken, Chair of 2024 Constructive Dialogue on Trafficking in Persons.
In fora such as the Constructive Dialogues, civil society organizations can bring real value to the discussions at the global level by giving a voice to the experience of survivors and sharing good practices developed at the grassroots level. “If we are to succeed in our fight against transnational organized crime, we need more engagement with civil society organizations, particularly those that are doing the work at the grassroots level,” underlined Victoria Ibiwoye from the One African Child Foundation. “Their voices need to be elevated at the decision-making table because they are the ones that have the lived experiences with survivors of trafficking or of migration or of other forms of organized crime,” she further emphasized.
Constructive Dialogue on the Smuggling of Migrants
Preventing and combating the smuggling of migrants starting from its root causes and assistance measures for smuggled migrants were issues at the core of the discussions of the Constructive Dialogue on the Smuggling of Migrants.
The value of the cooperation between civil society and States cannot be underestimated in terms of the impact that it brings to the implementation of measures and policies. “I hope that this collaboration between civil society and States parties is further strengthened over time, to be able to develop appropriate and long-lasting responses,” said Vasiliki Kakosimou, Co-Chair of the 2024 Constructive Dialogue on the Smuggling of Migrants.
Civil society is essential to providing assistance to smuggled migrants at the national level across the world. “We all have experienced in our countries how relevant is the role of NGOs in providing a set of assistance measures to all smuggled migrants and here in our Constructive Dialogue today, we have heard of the many dimensions underlying this reality,” highlighted Francesco Testa, Co-Chair of the 2024 Constructive Dialogue on the Smuggling of Migrants.
During the Dialogue, gender perspectives and their value in developing a comprehensive analysis of migrant smuggling was also underscored. “We need to mainstream gender perspectives into the analysis of migrant smuggling and we need to convince criminal justice practitioners of the need to look at how issues like age, race, gender, sex intersect and lead people and communities to participate and engage in migrant smuggling,” highlighted Gabriella Sanchez from the Georgetown University. “Unless we take a closer look at how all these factors come together and create inequality, we are never going to be able to stop or to contain the levels of violence and abuse that we get to see in the market and that are experienced by everyone who is involved,” she further emphasized.
The summary of the discussions of both Constructive Dialogues prepared by the Co-Chairs as well as the written contributions from participants will be published online on the webpages of the Dialogues as they become available.
