Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee
Human Trafficking
Israel
Alex Verheek – Forest Hills Northern
It is estimated that worldwide, over 40.3 million people are victims of human trafficking. This is not a regional issue, but rather one that the United Nations needs to handle together, as directly and vigilantly as we can. Like all countries, Israel has had some issues with Human Trafficking in its history. This was addressed first in 2000 with amendments in 2004, then in law prohibiting human trafficking in 2006. It has been reported that human trafficking among women has been on a decline since the passing of this law. In addition to laws, Israel constructed a border between itself and Egypt in 2013 in order to prevent irregular border crossings. Israel has been ranked in Tier-1 in the US State Department’s monitoring of countries’ human trafficking protocol.
As a first step, all nations should ratify the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. This is an excellent stepping stone to pushing for individual countries to begin formulating their own laws against human trafficking. Israel implores that the national community makes sure that people that traffic others get jail time and punishment. There cannot only be improvements in the punishment of human trafficking however, there need to be considerable prevention and protection. All countries should offer systems where victims can obtain visas for criminal hearings and rehabilitation. There should be considerable efforts to stop women at risk of trafficking (i.e. prostitutes) before they are allowed entry into the country.
- Alex Verheek
