Transcript Document

S E R V I N G
C A N A D I A N S
AU SERVICE DES CANADIENS
Child Trafficking in Canada
International Bureau for Children’s Rights Conference:
“Making Children’s Rights Work:
National and International Perspectives”
Montreal, Quebec
November 20, 2004
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Human Trafficking: Global Phenomenon
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Trafficking in humans – modern day slavery, unprecedented in scope, incidence and impact.
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Victims: primarily women and children for sex trade but also for forced labour or as drug
mules; children also trafficked for forced begging, body organs, child soldiers and camel
jockeys.
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Incidence: UNICEF estimates 1.2 million children worldwide are trafficked each year.
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US (June 2004) – estimates 600,000-800,000 persons trafficked globally as follows:
 Girls: 23% into commercial sex trade; 11% into other forms of exploitation
 Boys: 10% into commercial sex trade; 6% into other forms of exploitation
 Women: 33% into commercial sex trade; 14% into other forms of exploitation
 Men: < 1% into commercial sex trade; 3% into other forms of exploitation.
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Human Trafficking: Global Industry
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Trafficking into Canada: estimated 800 persons are trafficked into Canada and
between 1,500 - 2,200 persons are trafficked from Canada to the U.S. each year.
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Flow: predominantly from developing to developed nations; and within countries.
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Profit: TIP generates billions of dollars annually and ranks 3rd behind drugs and
firearms as top revenue generator for organized crime.
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International Organization for Migration - estimates illegal trade in trafficking and
smuggling of persons produces close to $10 billion U.S. per year globally.
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Children: Risk Factors
 Children’s physical, economic, social and legal dependency on adults.
 Greatest risk of sexual abuse: from someone known to child or family member.
 Commercial sexual exploitation of children – fuelled primarily by local demand,
exacerbated by child sex tourism.
 Demand: UNICEF estimates 1-2 million children, worldwide, exploited annually
in multi-billion dollar sex trade industry.
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International Legal Framework
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International legal response addresses TIP as human rights, criminal, immigration and labour
issues and includes following child-specific instruments:
• Convention for the Suppression of Traffic in Women and Children, as amended by the
Protocol to Amend the Convention for the Suppression of the Trafficking in Women and
Children, 1947;
• Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989;
• Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children,
child prostitution and child pornography, 2000;
• Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of
children in armed conflict, 2000;
• ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, 1999;
• Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry
Adoption, 1993;
• Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, 2000 and its Protocol to Prevent,
Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially women and children, 2000; and
Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, 2000.
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International Legal Framework (cont’d)
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Related international measures include: First (1996) and Second (2001) World Congresses
Against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children: Declaration and Agenda for Action.
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Trafficking Defined: U.N. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons,
Especially Women and Children (Trafficking Protocol), three elements of human trafficking:
1. Recruitment, transportation, or harbouring of person (cross-border or domestic);
2. By means of threat or use of force, coercion or deception; and
3. For the purpose of exploitation, such as forced labour, sexual exploitation or other forms
of servitude.
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Trafficking vs. Migrant Smuggling: Human smuggling involves illegal movement of
persons across international borders who are usually free to go upon their arrival at the
destination country: UN Protocol Against Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air
(Smuggling Protocol).
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Canada’s Responses
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Complex and multiple dimensions of human trafficking and trafficking-related conduct
requires broad, comprehensive and coordinated response that includes:
 Legal Framework: to effectively criminalize conduct;
 Comprehensive policies, programs and other measures to combat trafficking;
 Training and education/awareness: law enforcement, immigration and other
officials and public;
 International cooperation and collaboration; and
 Partnerships.
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Canadian focus: ensuring that traffickers are held accountable; supporting and protecting
victims of trafficking; and prevention of human trafficking.
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Canada: Prosecution of Traffickers - Legal Framework
Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, 2002 (IRPA)
• trafficking in persons offence (s. 118): maximum penalty of life imprisonment and/or a $1 million fine
and includes list of extensive aggravating factors for sentencing purposes;
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new smuggling in persons offence (s. 117): maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and/or a
$500,000 fine for a first offence and a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment and/or a $1 million
fine for a subsequent offence.
Criminal Code of Canada:
• Addresses trafficking and trafficking-related conduct through various provisions including:
kidnapping, forcible confinement, uttering threats, extortion, robbery, assault with a weapon, sexual
assault, prostitution-related prohibitions (including against soliciting, procuring, living on the avails of
prostitution, keeping a common bawdy house); organized crime; and forfeiture and restitution.
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Children: specific prohibitions against sexual abuse of children, including obtaining or
communicating with anyone for purpose of obtaining sexual services of person under 18 years; and
against child sex tourism.
October 5, 2004: Government Commitment to table legislation to better protect against trafficking in
persons (Speech from the Throne).
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Canada: Protection of Victims
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Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, 2002, victims of trafficking may be entitled to
remain in Canada and/or subsequent access to services, including:
 Person in need of Protection
 Temporary Residence Permit
 Humanitarian and Compassionate Grounds
 Temporary stay of removal order where judicial proceeding
 Refugee status
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Canada: Protection of Victims (cont’d)
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Protection of victims of crime - shared responsibility between federal and
provincial/territorial governments. Federal, Provincial and Territorial Attorneys General
endorsed the 2003 Canadian Statement of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime
which affirms that:
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safety and security of victims should be considered at all stages of criminal justice
process and appropriate measures should be taken when necessary to protect victims
from intimidation and retaliation.
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information should be provided to victims about available victim assistance services,
programs, and means of obtaining financial reparation.
Proposed criminal law reforms before Parliament (Bill C-2 - Protection of Children and other
vulnerable persons) propose numerous reforms to facilitate the receipt of testimony by child
victims/witnesses and other vulnerable victims/witnesses.
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Canada: Prevention
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Recent prevention and awareness raising initiatives on TIP include:
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“One person, one passport policy” requires children to use their own passports, thereby
reducing opportunities for traffickers to traffic children by posing as parent of child;
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March 2004 Training Seminar for Canadian police, prosecutors, immigration, customs
and consular officials on trafficking in persons;
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Anti-trafficking poster and pamphlet (14 languages) broadly distributed including to
Canadian Embassies and NGOs with access to potential trafficking victims in source
states;
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Government of Canada TIP website (http://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/fs/ht/index.html);
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March 2004, Government of Canada and Canadian Ethnocultural Council co-hosted
community-awareness TIP forum;
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Canada: Prevention (cont’d)
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March 2004: federal policy makers met with NGOs and academics to discuss anti-trafficking
measures;
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Canadian International Development Agency – e.g., Child Protection Action Plan supports
programming in developing countries and focuses on war-affected children, exploitative child
labour and children exploited in sex trade.
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Other related initiatives addressing commercial child sexual exploitation and child sex
tourism:
• revised Government of Canada’s tourism materials including “Bon Voyage”;
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Developed pamphlet: “What No Child Should Endure”;
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developed guidelines for Canadian Consular officers; and
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hosted “Out from the Shadows: International Summit of Sexually Exploited Youth”
(1998).
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Next Steps
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February 2004 – Federal Interdepartmental Working Group on Trafficking in Persons,
representing 17 federal departments and agencies, established and mandated to
coordinate federal efforts to address human trafficking and develop comprehensive
federal anti-trafficking strategy.
Summary:
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Complex and global nature of human trafficking requires concerted efforts at local,
national and international level, by governments and civil society and across all sectors.