Committee: Social Cultural and Humanitarian
Topic: Human Trafficking
Country: Ukraine
Delegate: Cooper Hoeksema, Forest Hills Northern High School
Human Trafficking in Ukraine
40.3 million people are trafficked and enslaved worldwide in our present age. Two of every five cases of human trafficking are actually brougt to court for prosecution globally. Human trafficking is a major issue for the world and Ukraine. Many times people believe that human trafficking occurs across country borders, however, the majority of cases are found to be cases of domestic trafficking. The United Nations office of Drugs and Crime released a statement in 2018 that said human trafficking is at an all time high and it needs to be stopped.
In the 1900s and early 2000s, Ukraine, being a new country, was a safe haven’t for victims of human trafficking. Many people escaped and made a home in Ukraine. By the mid 2000s, 22,000 people a year were finding themselves in instances of human bondange or slavery, according to a survery conducted by the University of Nebraska.
On 20 September 2011 Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada passed a law that would focus on allowing authorities to intervene in matters of human trafficking. The Ukrainian Cabinet, by its Regulation of 21 March 2012 , also adopted the State Target-Oriented Social Program for the Counteraction against Human Trafficking that would last until 2015. A Law on Ukraine Combating Trafficking in Humans was adopted in order to aid in the halting of human trafficking in the country. It defines the rules and regulations for prosecuting perpetrators of this act. It also defines special requirements in dealing with child victims. Ukraine takes the matters very seriously and has been willing to find solutions.
Ukraine believes that this issue is very prevalent in society and is willing to support the Political Declaration on the implementation of the United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Person, adopted by the General United Nations Assembly in September. Ukraine will be respectful of the rights of the victims and work together with them and their families to prevent trafficking from happening elsewhere. Human trafficking is a global threat and Ukraine is willing to do what it takes to end the threat to the world and its people.
Works Cited
LAW OF UKRAINE on Combating Trafficking in Human. 12 Aug. 2011.
“NPR Choice Page.” Npr.Org, 2019, www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/01/14/684414187/human-trafficking-reaches-horrific-new-heights-declares-u-n-report.
Pozniak, Oleksii. CARIM EAST -CONSORTIUM FOR APPLIED RESEARCH ON INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION Human Traffi Cking Trends in Ukraine. 2013.
“Statement by the Delegation of Ukraine at the Security Council Open Debate on Trafficking of Persons in Conflict Situations.” Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations, 2017, ukraineun.org/en/press-center/284-statement-by-the-delegation-of-ukraine-at-the-security-council-open-debate-on-trafficking-of-persons-in-conflict-situations/. Accessed 17 Nov. 2019.
- Cooper Hoeksema
