A 14 year old Guatemalan girl who had been sold by her parents at the age of 12 and trafficked into the US is now being cared for by the authorities because of the awareness of a neighbour. The neighbour had recently attended an anti-trafficking seminar and noticed signs of abuse and servitude so she contacted the FBI. The girl, whose first language is Quiche spoke no English, only a little Spanish. She was imprisoned in a Florida home, forced to work as a maid, was raped, abused and had a still born baby when she was punched in the stomach. Amazingly the police were alerted to her plight in 2003, but concluded that there was not enough information to make a case. It is not known if they interviewed the girl in her own language. The extent of the abuse became apparent when a neighbour took her in after she became pregnant a second time and went to hospital. The Cape Coral police will investigate why more was not done sooner, but were unwilling to comment as the case was still on going.

The situation for the Shan people in Burma is worsening with many more people becoming displaced as the Burmese army attacks insurgents near the border with Thailand. The NGO Human Rights Watch issued an appeal yesterday that the Burmese army plan to move 68 Shan families and an orphanage with 208 children away from the border be halted. The more people who become internally displaced, the greater the risk of human trafficking and abuse. The Thai authorities have now said that no more Shan people will be allowed across the border for humanitarian reasons. This will lead to people hiding in Thailand illegally without any protection. This will again make them much more vulnerable to being trafficked into forced labour or the Thai sex industry.
Brad Adams, speaking on behalf of Human Rights Watch said;
“In the name of counterinsurgency, the Burmese army and its proxies are executing, torturing, raping and forcibly displacing Shan civilians, especially those living near Shan State Army (SSA) in Doi Tailaeng, across Mae Hong Son province, who have been under heavy attacks by the United Wa State Army (UWSA), including shelling, since March,'’

Turkey amended its penal code last Friday to include more rights for women and children and also harsher penalties against rape, paedophilia and human trafficking. The government had to rush the changes through as a prerequisite for the start of accession talks with the EU on October 3rd. The reform drew criticism from secularists in the country who objected to the softening of laws banning unauthorised teaching of the Koran. The move is the first overhaul of legislation that was first passed 79 years ago. It is a step forward in the fight against human trafficking. There is still much to be done however, as Turkey is a major destination for women trafficked out of former soviet republics for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

According to the Irish newspaper Sunday Business Post, Irish Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell is drafting new legislation to combat the trafficking of “foreign nationals” for exploitation by forced labour and prostitution. Although it is claimed that this legislation will “take into account” the new Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, Ireland has not signed the convention yet. It is also disappointing that the new legislation seems to be focused only on foreign nationals, when trafficking can also involve a country’s own citizens, a fact included in the recent convention. It is good news that there may be an eight year sentence for human trafficking, but there does seem to be significant confusion in the reports between human trafficking, which always ends in slavery, and illegal immigration. The Irish government would do better signing and ratifying the Council of Europe convention and applying it in full. For the full article, please click here. For a summary of the council of Europe treaty, click here.

Thai government sources have told the NGO Human Rights Watch that there is a major Burmese army offensive going on in Shan State, over the border from northern Thailand. The operation is a counter-insurgency measure against the Shan State Army. There is evidence, however, that the Burmese army and other allied organisations are targeting civilians, setting fire to villages, executing men and raping women. As a result of this, between 200 and 500 Shan people are attempting to flee into Thailand every day. At the moment the Thai government does not allow Shan people to claim asylum in the country. This results in Shan people either remaining as internally displaced people in Burma or living illegally in Thailand. In both situations women and children become very vulnerable to human traffickers who sell them into the Thai sex industry. In order to reduce this threat, Human Rights Watch has asked that the Thai government allow official asylum to Shan people. To read the full report, please click here.