People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria
Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee(SOCHUM): Human Trafficking
Humankind is no stranger to human trafficking. Defined as illegal, forced transportation of persons with the intent to exploit, this issue has pervaded the global community, dating back to the African slave trade and early forms of prostitution. Today, the issue persists, with 80 percent of the victims being trafficked for sexual exploitation and 20 percent for forced labor. Children, while not being a worldwide target, are often particularly targeted in some regions of Africa and Southeast Asia. So long as the issue of human trafficking exists, egregious human rights abuses will continue to be committed. It is imperative that the question of human trafficking be addressed to ensure the safety of currently vulnerable peoples.
Unfortunately, human trafficking continues to be a difficulty in Algeria. Algeria is primarily a destination and transit nation for human trafficking; it is rarely the nation of origin for victims. Those most at risk are migrants from neighboring countries in Sub-Saharan Africa who become victims in their hunt for work and are forced into prostitution or unskilled labor. Of these at-risk people, women and children are most often the targets. The number of those at risk is well in the thousands.
In recent years, however, the situation regarding human trafficking has greatly improved due to decisions made by the government. In terms of prosecution, the Algerian government has criminalized sex trafficking and issued penalties with fines up to 1 million dinar. As for the protection of victims, the government has consistently identified them in recent years, and they have all received care and protection services. A difficulty remains in distinguishing these victims in the first place, but the ability to report ensures that victims have an out. Along with prosecution and prevention, prevention has also been addressed by the Algerian government, with the September 2016 presidential decree being implemented. An inter-ministerial anti-trafficking committee has been established and major public awareness events have been held. While the situation is far from fully solved, these measures have definitely had a positive effect.
Along with independent efforts, Algeria has coordinated with the UNODC in workshops to help better prosecute cases of trafficking and smuggling of migrants. It covered the identification of victims, procedures, prosecutions of cases, and aspects of international cooperation.
The delegation of Algeria assumes that fellow delegates in SOCHUM will unite to solve this problem that quite literally crosses borders. Seeing as measures taken in Algeria have been effective thus far, the delegation of Algeria would recommend solutions involve similar measures to crack down on prosecution, protection, and prevention. For the delegation of Algeria to support any resolution , it must address all of these domains. While coordinated efforts must be made to solve this issue, any resolution allowing or encouraging uncalled for foreign interference must absolutely be discouraged and condemned. The delegation of Algeria hopes to cooperate with others to put an end to the heinous exploitations that take place in the world of human trafficking.
- Tananya Prankprakma
