Topic: 2024-Human Trafficking
Country: Kenya
Delegate Name: Ruby Bohanan
Committee: Social, Humanitarian & Cultural Committee
Country: Kenya
Delegate: Ruby Bohanan
Topic B: Human Trafficking
Throughout the years, the nations of the world have struggled against the threat of human trafficking. Kenya has personally struggled with this, being classified a tier two country, in respects to trafficking, despite numerous efforts. While the nation has started to make steps towards reformation in this aspect, many things such as prosecution of perpetrators, military training across all branches, and databases are falling behind. This can be easily applied to many countries in the United Nations, with only around sixteen percent of participating countries being tier one in the official report. All nations need to come together and agree on more encompassing solutions to this issue.
Kenya believes that the United Nations needs to start creating regulations that are preventative rather than the already existing retroactive measures. The UN has already exceedingly focused on the important values of victims’ rights after their rescue, but not much attention on what measures can help prevent these crimes. Kenya is currently taking steps in this direction such as recognizing the lack of training in the military branches, which need training on spotting cases of human trafficking. This reveals the need for education across a broader spectrum of the population. When educated, citizens are more attentive towards various situations that could get them or someone else trafficked. This can create awareness and decrease stigma towards the discussion of the topic. Nations also need to examine the circumstances that create vulnerable groups that have higher rates of being trafficked. These systemic issues might include poverty or prejudice towards victims, such as racial or sexual orientation. Poverty creates desperate situations where the people suffering from it easily fall victim to crimes such as human trafficking. The same is true for people who have heavy prejudice surrounding them from their community, this can make the victims feel isolated and become targets for human trafficking. While these are both broader issues, all nations need to consider looking at where crimes and victims come from rather than the result. By taking out the roots of these issues, human trafficking as a whole will decrease.
Kenya supports all efforts of protecting victims of human trafficking, both proactively and retroactively. As previously stated, Kenya wishes to focus on the deep-rooted issues of human trafficking to further decrease the numbers of victims. While funding and other such provisions for victims have previously been discussed by the UN, Kenya wants to focus on the larger image of the issue. The ideas generated by previous discussion are military and civilian training as well as tackling systemic problems that create vulnerable groups. The training for the military can be conducted in a way that both highlights spotting of victims and perpetrators as well as how to assist these victims. While Kenya does not want to sacrifice any elements of sovereignty in this practice, the UN should provide guidelines for the education of officers and encourage all participating countries to implement them by a certain time. This degree of sovereignty can also be placed upon the education of civilians, who need to be informed of ways to avoid falling victim as well as how to help those in need without endangering themselves. Countries could choose to do this through educational programs in schools, easy access databases of relevant information, and mass-media campaigns. Tackling the systemic roots of the issue takes a larger scope, as poverty and prejudice are not easily solved. While neither issue can be properly solved without a larger internal focus of countries, the United Nations can still act. The UN can recommend certain programs in poverty-stricken areas such as shelters, educational programs, and special offices within these areas. The shelter can act as safe places for people to land, out of the way of trafficking, while educational programs can show how to protect themselves. The offices would likely consist of experts in the handling of trafficking, and other such issues, who would be present if or when human trafficking occurs. The offices would be government or charity based, with strong connections to law enforcement to ensure safety of any victims. Concerning prejudice, the offices can also provide support to those rejected by their communities for any such reason. They can be provided with somewhere to stay via the shelters and educated of dangers via educational programs. All of these solutions should guide the United Nations towards a decrease in human trafficking by approaching the issues from a systemic level.
