Eli Duguid
Committee: Social Humanitarian and Cultural
Topic: Human Trafficking
Country: Poland
Under Article 4 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, slavery in any form is made illegal. In modern day terms, human trafficking is considered slavery: in which individuals are taken against their will, and are used for sexual exploitation or forced labor. Although every nation recognizes the illegality of human trafficking, it remains to be an international issue, in which humans are often removed from their own nation and sold/traded between black markets in other nations. Oftentimes these trades occur covertly, deep under the security of the dark web, making it difficult for governmental enforcement agencies to shut down and prosecute those who partake. In recent years, Poland has been a nation that has fallen victim to human trafficking, with known rings found and destroyed, that trafficked women from Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia. In an effort to prevent further trafficking, Poland urges fellow members of the United Nations to work collectively in order to find the best solution to fix the crisis currently at hand.
Poland has enacted many laws that criminalize Human Trafficking. The first of which is article 189a. of the Polish Penal Code. This law makes it a felony to trade or exploit human-beings, and those prosecuted face a 3-15 year prison sentence. Not only does Poland make it a criminal offence to partake in Human Trafficking, but the Ministry of the Interior and Administration creates and enforces policy targeted at preventing Human Trafficking among migrants and Polish citizens.Along with preventative measures, the agency sets up aid for those who have fallen victim to Human Trafficking; including: food, shelter, and psychological assistance. The Polish Government also makes efforts to stop the proliferation of Human Trafficking Internationally; Poland has been apart of the World Congress Against the Commercial Exploitation of Children, Committee on the Rights of the Child, and Stop Violence against Women campaign.
The delegation of Poland realizes that a major reason why some countries are more prone to human trafficking, is due to poverty, and the inability to enforce or regulate ther laws regarding trafficking. In order to best address this issue, this committee should award block grants to nations where human trafficking is prevalent, and government’s can provide financial information proving their inability to ennforce, human trafficking laws. This committee should also put policies in place to help with those who have fallen victim to Human Trafficking. These individuals should be given assistance to overcome any psychological or physical problems that have occurred. Specifically, temporary housing, access to trauma-specialized psychologists, as well as medical professionals.
The delegation of Poland looks forward to working with fellow members of the United Nations, specifically the European Union, fellow Baltic states, and NATO to come up with a solution that best addresses Human Trafficking, and its associated consequences.
- Eli Duguid
