Country: Sweden
Committee: SOCHUM
Topic: Human Trafficking
Delegate: Griffin Ransom
School: Williamston High School
Human trafficking is a major problem throughout the world, with the UN labeling it as modern day slavery. Human trafficking is illegal transportation of people against their will. Some of the purposes are: sexual exploitation, forced labor, domestic servitude, child begging, and removal of their organs. Around 20% of the total victims are children, but in some regions of Africa and the Mekong Region of Southeast Asia, children make up the majority. While children are a major target, so are women, minorities, and migrants, because they are given few rights.
Sweden has already dealt with 2 of the main purposes for human trafficking, sexual exploitation and forced labor are now prohibited within Sweden, but Sweden has made strong law enforcement efforts to fight sex trafficking, but limited efforts towards forced labor. The punishment for doing so is 2 to 10 years of prison. Because of the lack of effort towards forced labor trafficking it has deemed that there has been increasing reports of labor trafficking as well as forced begging and forced criminality. In 2015, Sweden registered 162,000 asylum applicants, and around half of them were under 18. Asylum applicants are people who flee their home country, enters another country and applies for the right to international protection, in this other country. One major thing Sweden has been doing to fight against sex trafficking is make it illegal to buy sex, but not to sell. The logic behind this movement is that the vivtims that are involved in prostitution have been sexually abused when they grew up; they come from troubled backgrounds, drug abuse problems and all that. Another action Sweden took was educating police officers, prosecutors and judges about this new way to handle prostitution. In fact, not one violent crime against a prostitute has been reported since the law took effect.
As for the future of human trafficking in Sweden, Sweden will continue it’s efforts against human trafficking such as keeping it illegal to “buy sex”, along with keeping the punishments for doing so. Another thing Sweden has gone is that their government continued to fund NGOs in Sweden and abroad to provide victim rehabilitation, health care, vocational training, and legal assistance. Swedish authorities encourage victims to participate in trafficking investigations and prosecutions, identified foreign victims are granted a minimum 30-day temporary residency permit that provides victims with access to health care and social services.
- Griffin Ransom
