Country: Denmark
Committee: Social, Humanitarian & Cultural Committee (SOCHUM)
Topic: Human Trafficking
Delegate: Courtney Parkhouse
School: Williamston High School
According to the United Nations, human trafficking is “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons by improper means for an improper purpose”. The global issue of human trafficking often results from other issues such as poverty, gender discrimination, and civil disorder. Many people across the world struggle with and are often victims of human trafficking. It has been estimated by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) that children account for nearly 20 percent of all victims of human trafficking, while are larger percentage of human trafficking victims are women. There are many purposes of human trafficking, but the most common purpose are sexual exploitation and forced labor. It has been reported by UNODC in their “Global Report on Trafficking in Persons” that 80 percent of human trafficking is for the purpose of sexual exploitation, while 20 percent is for forced labor. In Denmark, there is limited knowledge concerning the amount of human trafficking victims present in the country. However, non-governmental organizations and police have estimated that there are more victims of human trafficking in the country than what was estimated. Even though the Danish government is unaware of the amount of human trafficking victims present in the country, it is known that the majority of human trafficking victims being transported into Denmark are from Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and other Eastern European countries, as well as Thailand and Nigeria. The issue of human trafficking has contributed to the development of many other issues such as
In the last several years, Denmark has passed and supported various legislative with the purpose of preventing human trafficking. The government of Denmark has ratified the UN’s Palermo Protocol which aimed at preventing, suppressing, and punishing human trafficking, as well as the Council of Europe’s Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking, which implemented a national action plan to which Denmark allocated the funding of 97.7 million kroner (15.7 million USD) to in order to support anti-trafficking measures. The Danish government has also passed and maintained law enforcement efforts such as Section 262 A of Denmark’s Criminal Code to punish those found guilty of human trafficking with a maximum of ten years imprisonment. In addition to passing and supporting legislation to prevent human trafficking, Denmark has also offered support and assistance such as accomodation, medical treatment, psychological assistance, and legal and social counseling to those who have been the victim of trafficking.
Recently, the Danish government has ratified a more recent version of the Council of Europe’s Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings to which the government of Denmark has also allotted the funding of 63 million kroner (10.1 million USD) to in order to combat the issue of human trafficking. Denmark plans to continue to support the Council of Europe’s efforts to end human trafficking. The government of Denmark also plans to pass and implement more legislation concerning the issue of human trafficking as well as providing support and assistance to those who were victims.
- Courtney Parkhouse
