Topic:
Country: Sierra Leone
Delegate Name: Evan Gagliardo
Human trafficking is a problem people all over the world experience or are in danger of experiencing. Human trafficking is defined as the unlawful act of transporting or coercing people in order to benefit from their work or service, typically in the form of forced labor or sexual exploitation. In 2024 alone over 133,000 people have fallen victim to human trafficking. Children and women are especially targeted by human traffickers. The victims of human trafficking and their families are traumatized and often have PTSD if they ever are rescued/survive. Human trafficking is a violation of human rights and must be stopped so citizens don’t have to live in fear. It is important to stop human trafficking to decrease crime rates.
The United Nations have taken actions in the past such as the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, that took place in 2000, being the first action the UN has taken against the issue. It states that countries must recognize human trafficking as a crime, and brings in extra measures to retrieve victims of the crime. More recent actions taken include including ECOSOC Resolution 2021/25, Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT), A policy forum that improves coordination between UN agencies and other organizations to prevent and combat trafficking, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons,A UN protocol that supplements the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, Sustainable Development Goals Include targets to eliminate forced labor, child labor, and all forms of violence against women and girls.
Given Sierra Leone’s liberal approach to human rights issues Sierra Leone has taken action on this issue in the past. One action Sierra Leone has taken is being one of the countries in agreement with the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Sierra Leone has also increased training for police, prosecutors, and judges on investigating and prosecuting trafficking cases under the Anti-Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Act of 2022. Sierra Leone has also increased the punishment for human trafficking with a minimum of 25 years in prison. The final action Sierra Leone took was protecting victims by working with other countries to stop the smuggling of victims over borders.
Sierra Leone believes that the human trafficking crisis needs to be dealt with quickly and effectively. To address the issue Sierra Leone believes that we need to get to the root of the problem and prevent human trafficking from occurring in the first place by passing laws that make the punishment stricter to hopefully prevent the temptation. Stronger searches on borders between cities and countries to prevent the spread of victims and stronger moderation in the workforce to prevent child labor. The last thing Sierra Leone suggests is more awareness and education being spread especially at an early age.
