WUNRN
EUROPEAN WOMEN'S LOBBY - EWL
The
EWL
participated in the
13 - 15 February 2008, which is part of the United
Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT). The UN.GIFT was
conceived to join forces and coordinate the global fight on human trafficking,
on the basis of international agreements reached at the United Nations. To date
over 110 countries have signed the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish
Trafficking in Persons. The Vienna Forum brought
together more than 1000 delegates from governments, international
organisations, private sector (business & corporations) and few NGOs to
strategize on ways to end human trafficking and facilitate a global exchange of
strategies and best practices.
EWL issued a joint statement with the Coalition against Trafficking in Women (CATW), Equality Now to express concern that the Forum was not fully addressing the causes and specific dimensions of trafficking in women for sexual exploitation and shying away from addressing the commercial sex industry and its dependence on human trafficking. Grassroots women’s groups around the world have been at the forefront of the fight against trafficking in women, with very little financial support. While reports indicate that the Vienna Forum costs over $4million, very little consideration was given to survivors of sex trafficking or to the groups on the frontline who advocate for, rescue and assist these women.
While
reports indicate that the Vienna Forum costs over $4million, very little
consideration was given to survivors of sex trafficking or to the groups on the
frontline who advocate for, rescue and assist these women, like the Nordic
Baltic pilot project.
The Statement stresses that in order to combat the trafficking in women, governments and the United Nations must address sex discrimination and put into place and adequately fund measures that ameliorate the socio-economic, political and legal conditions of women and girls. States must also exhibit the political will to develop effective tools to prosecute traffickers, protect trafficking victims, and fully address the demand for women and children for sexual exploitation. As is set out in the UN Palermo Protocol, governments are obliged to adopt or strengthen legislative or other measures to discourage the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation of persons, especially women and children, which leads to trafficking. The Statement also underlines that criminalizing the demand for prostitution, as has been done in Sweden, South Korea, and Nepal, is, the most effective way to address the problem of sex trafficking. For more information, please contact centre-violence@womenlobby.org
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