Mrs Amna Imran Khan Deputy Secretary Ministry of Interior

Mrs Amna Imran Khan
Deputy Secretary
Ministry of Interior
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
TRAFFICKING
SITUATION
IN
PERSONS:
AN
OVERVIEW
OF
THE
Human trafficking has become a global business, reaping huge profits for
traffickers and organized crime syndicates, generating massive human rights violations,
and causing serious problems for governments. Despite the magnitude of the problem,
however, it has only recently seized the attention of policy makers. Over the years
trafficking in human beings has become a global phenomenon, leaving no country
immune to it.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) global trafficking
generates up to 8 billion US dollars every year, making it the third largest International
Organization Crime after arms and drugs trafficking.
The United Nations has taken an important step by coordinating an international
response to trafficking.
The General Assembly has adopted instruments against this
crime. Various UN agencies like UNICEF, ILO, UNDP, UNODC are active in AntiTrafficking activities.
Pakistan has been facing the brunt of human trafficking for quite some time. The
present government realized the gravity of the situation, and initiated a number of
proactive measures to combat this challenge.
Prior to 2002, there was no specific law in Pakistan to deal with the offences
related to trafficking in persons, including women and children. Various local laws were
being applied both against the culprits involved and for the security and welfare of the
victims of trafficking, as there were no provisions catering to this situation.
In order to meet the national and international requirements and obligations, the
present Government of Pakistan promulgated a comprehensive law and a set of rules to
overcome the menace of trafficking in all its forms and manifestations called Prevention &
Control of Human Trafficking Ordinance (P&CHTO) 2002 and rules. It clearly differentiates
trafficking from other offences and defines it as under: -
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Definition
“Human trafficking means obtaining, securing, selling, purchasing,
recruiting, detaining, harbouring or receiving a person, notwithstanding his
implicit or explicit consent, by the use of coercion, kidnapping, abduction, or
by giving or receiving any payment or benefit, or sharing or receiving a
share for such person’s subsequent transportation out of or into Pakistan by
any means whatsoever for any of the purposes laid down by law.”
Rules under PCHTO 2002 have also been notified in 2005 and mainly relate to the
protection of victims of human trafficking, especially vulnerable groups, including women
and children.
However before proceeding further in the matter let us differentiate between
trafficking and smuggling for which it is essential to first understand the concept of
migration.
The following diagram explains the dimensions of regular and irregular migration
leading to trafficking/smuggling situations.
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Poverty and gender discrimination are two major factors that contribute towards
human trafficking in Pakistan. In addition, there are other contributing factors such as
illiteracy, lack of knowledge/information and increasing population pressures.
The globalisation of the world economy and the increasing competition in the
industrial sector have created a high demand for cheap labour from developing countries
that lead to situations where the poor are trapped and manipulated by traffickers.
Given below are lists of factors that influence human trafficking
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The process and flow of trafficking can be clearly understood through the following
diagram which explains the whole scenario of trafficking from the source to the
destination.
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The consequences of Human Trafficking
The consequences of human trafficking can be observed at two levels i.e. at the
victim level and at the country level.
At the Victim level
Human trafficking has devastating repercussions on the physical, mental and
psychological disposition of the victim, that is if s/he is able to come out of a trafficking
situation alive. The victim suffers serious human rights violations.
At the Country Level
Human trafficking creates security hazards for a country also as the traffickers and
their victims are made to travel on forged/fake documents. The illegal entry of trafficked
victims into a country implies a breach of laws and intrusion into the national borders of a
country by illegal border crossings.
In addition to this, trafficking is generally linked to trans-national organised criminal
networks and is also invariably connected with drugs and arms trafficking. It therefore
poses serious threats to a country’s national security as well.
Keeping in perspective the harmful effects of trafficking at the individual as well as
the national and international level, the government has decided to take a firm and
resolute stand against this trans-national crime. The Ministry of Interior has assumed the
lead role for eradicating this menace in all its forms and manifestations from Pakistan. It
has taken a large number of steps to combat this crime. Starting with the criminalisation of
this act in 2002 through an enactment called Prevention and Control of Human Ordinance,
we have consolidated our response strategy through a series of policy, administrative,
legal, institutional and technical measures. The notification of the National Plan of Action
is an important stride in the direction to further solidify our efforts. The Ministry of Interior
is charged with the responsibilities of providing protection, security and a peaceful and
enabling environment to the citizens of Pakistan. The Ministry of Interior is not alone in its
crusade against this crime which also transcends international borders. The security,
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magnitude, diversity, complexity and devastating impact of illegal migration, both human
smuggling and human trafficking, cannot be denied or underestimated.
In order to effectively deal with this menace an integrated approach to combat
human trafficking is required based on prevention, prosecution of traffickers, and
protection for the victims. The Ministry of Interior has taken a very wide range of policy,
legal, administrative and technical measures to reduce and eventually eradicate human
trafficking from Pakistan. These are briefly stated as under: -
SYNOPSIS OF STEPS TO COMBAT
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Policy level
♦ Conceptual clarity: Trafficking Vs Smuggling.
♦ National Plan of Action.
♦ National Inter-Ministerial Committee for Policy.
♦ Migration Management Policy under process.
♦ Establishment of NADRA to control documentary fraud, forgery and impersonation.
♦ Immigration & Passport to control passport fraud.
♦ Establishment of NARA for registration of Aliens.
Legislative/legal Level
The first essential step was enacting appropriate and comprehensive counter trafficking
legislation and instituting an effective law enforcement mechanism. Human trafficking has
been criminalized through the enactment of the Prevention and Control of Human
Trafficking Ordinance 2002 (PCHTO 2002)
Salient Features of P&CHTO 2002
i.
It clearly defines the offence of human trafficking in all its forms and
manifestations (Section-2).
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ii.
All offences under this Ordinance have been declared cognisable, nonbailable & non-compoundable. (Section-8).
iii.
It provides a mechanism for the security and welfare of the victims of
trafficking with the assistance of NGOs (Rule-4).
iv.
It provides compensation to victims (Section-6).
v.
It provides severe punishments against the offenders, repeaters and
organised gangs, which may extend to a maximum punishment of 14 years
(Section-3).
The Government of Pakistan has also notified Rules under this Ordinance called
Prevention & Control of Human Trafficking Rules 2005, which provide guidelines for
dealing with issues relating to support to the victim.
™ Previous Laws (Foreigners Act 1946, Emigration Ordinance 1979, Passport
Act 1974, Exit from Pakistan Control Ordinance 1981, PPC, etc) covered only
human smuggling and related offences.
™ Further amendments to improve the law under process, these include
expansion of the definitions of “victim” and “fake agent”. Another feature is the
creation of Special courts.
Administrative Steps
™ Formation of National Inter-ministerial Committee on Human Trafficking
headed by the Minister for Interior, for policy making.
™ Inter-ministerial Committee on Human Trafficking headed by the Secretary
Ministry of Interior, for inter-agency coordination.
™ Establishment of a national sub-committee for oversight of implementation of
decisions taken by the National Committee.
™ Establishment of a Steering Committee on Human Trafficking headed by the
Additional Secretary, Ministry of Interior.
™ Establishment of Inter-Agency Task Force headed by DG FIA, consisting of
members of all law enforcement agencies.
™ Anti-Trafficking Units have been established at all zonal headquarters to
register cases under PCHTO 2002, with a central ATU Monitoring &
Coordination Cell at the FIA HQs.
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™ Capacity building and training of law enforcement officers.
™ Initiation of a public awareness campaign.
™ A website to create public awareness against human trafficking and a help line
have been established by the FIA.
9 Anti-Human Trafficking Cell
™ The latest important intervention is the establishment of the ANTI-HUMAN
TRAFFICKING CELL in the Ministry of Interior as a national nerve centre to
coordinate efforts, conduct research and to collect, collate, disseminate
and analyse data for generating policy parameters. The Cell monitors
progress and disseminates information to all stakeholders including
international partners.
9 Capacity building of LEAs.
) Training
) Equipment
) Increase in manpower.
) New passport cells.
9 Awareness Campaign
# Print Media
# Seminars/Workshops
9 Raids (based on reliable information) on hotels, Inns & Guest houses, bus stands,
railway stations etc.
9 Action against Camel Jockeys.
9 Electronic Border Pass.
9 Focus on border areas.
9 Indexation of National Database.
9 Human trafficking Intelligence Gazette.
9 Case Monitoring System.
9 Immigration Monitoring System.
9 SOP Travel Guide for Passengers.
9 Investigation Manual.
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Technical Level
A comprehensive technical package has been developed to control document fraud,
forgery and impersonation, and to ensure automation and speedy processing at various
checkpoints.
Technical Measures
a. Establishment of Personal Identification Secure Comparison Evaluation System
(PISCES) at all major air, land and sea routes/checkpoints.
b. To control document fraud computerised National Identity Cards have been issued
replacing the old manual NIC.
c. Similarly, a new Machine Readable Passport is also now being issued in lieu of the
manual passport.
d. An Automated Finger Impression System (AFIS) is also being created, instituting
biometric features.
e. Installation of forgery detection equipment at checkpoints.
f.
Replacement of manual border passes (rahdaris) by computerised border passes
is also planned.
CONCLUSION
The Government of Pakistan is cognisant of the challenges that human trafficking
poses and is committed to take up initiatives that address the problem at the international,
national and regional levels. Trafficking is not just a complex phenomenon but is an
invisible crime. Although more efforts are needed to combat human trafficking the
Government has, within a very short span of time, not only devised a multi pronged
strategy but also implemented it in letter and spirit.
The international community has appreciated the steps taken by Pakistan against
human trafficking. The US State Department annually publishes a “Trafficking In Persons
Report”, which categorizes countries in three tiers or levels according to their performance
in anti trafficking activities. Pakistan was placed in tier 2 Watch List in 2004 and due to the
remarkable improvements made in anti trafficking initiatives, Pakistan was removed from
the Watch List in 2005. The latest US “Trafficking in Persons Report” presented to the US
Congress in June 2006 by the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has lauded
Pakistan’s efforts in combating human trafficking.
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It is also worth mentioning that the UK Immigration authorities have removed
Pakistan from “High Priority Risk” to “Low Priority Risk” status.
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COMAPARATIVE STATEMENTS WITH OTHER COUNTRIES OF THE REGION
o
o
o
Pakistan
(Tier-2)
National Action Plan
Dedicated Law
Enforcement
Agency. i.e. FIA
dealing with Human
Trafficking Cases
Investigated-765
cases.
9 Prosecuted
448
9 92
Traffickers
convicted
India (Tier-2
Watch List)
Nil
Bangladesh
(Tier-2)
Nil
Afghanistan
(Tier-2)
Nil
Iran
(Tier-3)
Nil
Turkey
(Tier-2)
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
No Statistics
Provided by
India
9 Prosecuted
87 Cases
9 36 Traffickers
convicted
9
Prosecuted 4
Nil
9 Investigated
166 cases.
9 Prosecuted
48
Greece
(Tier-2)
Nil
Anti-Trafficking
Task Forces
9 Investigated
60 cases
9 Convictions
9 cases.
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