United Nations' Human Rights Council, Passes Resolution For Human Trafficking Victims

The U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report 2012 tells us that we are making a lot of progress. Twenty-nine countries were upgraded from a lower tier to a higher one, which means that their governments are taking the right steps. This could mean enacting strong laws, stepping up their investigations and prosecutions, or simply laying out a roadmap of steps they will take to respond.

Another good news, is the passage of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council resolution for victims of human trafficking. This HRC resolution is sponsored by the Philippines, with its main partner Germany, led 68 countries on July 5 in successfully pushing for the adoption of the resolution.

 The said resolution encouraged states to recognize trafficked persons as victims with specific protection needs and to ensure the promotion, protection, and fulfillment of their human rights.

From the statement of Ambassador Evan Garcia, Philippine permanent representative to the UN Offices in Geneva, data show that there are at least 2.4 million people who are victims of trafficking at any time. At least 66% of the trafficked victims are women and 16% are girls.

The passage of the resolution is a victory for the estimated 27 million people around the world who are victims of modern slavery, what we sometimes call trafficking in persons. 

As for the Philippines, the US State Department has placed the country under Tier 2 of its 3-tier metric system this year. Tier 2 countries are officially defined as "countries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA’s (Trafficking Victims Protection Act) minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards."

(Photo source: MercoPress)