Topic: 2024-Human Trafficking
Country: France
Delegate Name: Emily Chen
Great Lakes Invitational Conference Association
Delegation of France
Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee
Action Against Human Trafficking
Around the world, it is estimated that 27 million people are victims to human trafficking, also known as trafficking in persons (2024 Trafficking). According to the 2022 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons done by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime or UNODC, authorities struggle to detect and protect trafficking victims, with more than 50 percent of all human trafficking cases being brought forward by victims or their families (UN). Millions of victims are being subjected to this crime unnoticed, with little to no ways to call for help. Many of these victims have no legal status in the country they are taken to, whether promised a better life or otherwise, and are shackled by these fake promises made by traffickers. From the same report done by the UNODC, it is reported that women and girls account for around 60 percent of detected victims and are more likely to suffer from sexual exploitation and higher levels of violence from their captors. Men and boys on the other hand were much more likely to be exploited for criminal activities and forced labor (UN). While those two forms of human trafficking are the most common, other forms of human trafficking exist such as being exploited for organ removal, forced marriages, and domestic servitude (The Crime). Among the victims identified by the Counter Trafficking Data Collective, around 50 percent of them are under the age of 26, and almost a quarter of them are children. 21.2 percent of the identified victims, the highest percentage group, are from 9 to 17 years old (Human). Common conditions that lead to people becoming victims of human trafficking varies from case to case, but there are common factors. Some are in search of better living conditions than the ones they are currently living in such as lack of human rights, poverty, and oppression. There are cases where children are sold, not just for the money, but in hopes for them to live a life outside of the chronic poverty they live in now. Displacement and destabilization of populations can also increase the number of victims due to an increase in vulnerability to exploitation and trafficking. Wars that lead to massive displacements leave orphans and “street children” extremely vulnerable to human trafficking (OSCE).
France has passed several plans and created several organizations as a way to combat human trafficking. In 2014, France adopted the first national plan against human trafficking. In the second plan for the 2019 – 2022 period 45 measures are written, with the main goals of the plan being to spread awareness, set a strategy to identify trafficked victims, and provide proper and effective protection for said victims, especially minors (Ministère). France also created the ONDRP, a French organization made to collect and analyze statistical information as well as produce “accounts of developments and trends in crimes and misdemeanors” (Definition). In their latest survey, ONDRP worked with 53 associations that provided data on 2,918 human trafficking victims in 2018 (SOURD). Despite all this, France is struggling to protect and prevent trafficking. Even though France has identified more trafficking victims, increased efforts to engage with survivors of human trafficking in police decisions and continues to participate in extensive international investigations and partnerships in 2024, France has also “initiated fewer investigations, prosecuted fewer suspected traffickers for the fourth consecutive year, and convicted fewer traffickers” (France). Government-funded NGOs have also assisted fewer victims despite funding for victim assistance increases and as well as victims identified and law enforcement authorities are continuing to arrest and prosecute child victims (France).
Human trafficking is an issue that must be tackled immediately. One of the ways the Delegation of France proposes on tackling this situation as a preventative measure is to spread awareness. Many of the problems in France when it comes to assisting victims are the assumptions surrounding them. Authorities have excluded victims of forced criminality from needed assistance due to mischaracterization of them as delinquents or illegal workers (France). The Delegation of France proposes a way to educate not only the people, but also government officials who are enacting the arrests. This plan will be in cooperation with other nations, sharing data with one other as well as ways to help identify victims of human trafficking without relying on assumptions. Along with the shared data, the Delegation of France proposes an educational program for the public to recognize signs of human trafficking and what to do in response. Information such as that should be easily accessible to the public, and a good way to make them accessible as well as spread the word is through social media. Along with social media, this educational program will be working with NGOs and governments to provide a better understanding of how to identify human trafficking victims. The Delegation of France also proposes a national fund for the protection and assistance of victims. The fund will be provided by countries giving 0.5 percent of their GDP. This fund will be used to provide aid to victims such as financial aid, medical aid, and housing for those who need it. It is also prevalent to make sure nations follow the “non-punishment” principle, a principle that “seeks to ensure that governments recognize this concept and implement measures to provide protection to victims of trafficking from inappropriate punishment and further victimization” (OFFICE). Victims of this crime already suffer from being exploited, often for long durations of time, and the non-punishment principle can prevent further hardship on these people. The goal of protecting the victims of human trafficking as well as the prevention of human trafficking is one every nation should work towards.
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