ISSUE PAPER
Security policy
and illegal migration
including TRAFFICKING IN human beings
Justification
Human Trafficking (the
movement of persons across borders for illicit purposes and in pursuit
of
profit) is a growing transnational criminal phenomenon. Illegal
migration and
human trafficking has been recognized as one of the most serious
factors
threatening as national as an international security. With the collapse of the USSR,
thousands of Ukrainian and
Russian women were trafficked into sexual exploitation across the globe.
Ukraine, owing to
its
geographical location and transparent border with Russia,
has long played the role of a transit country for migrant flows from
Asia to
Western and Central Europe. In
addition, due
to strict control at western the border and absence of real mechanism
of
readmission of detainees, Ukraine
has steadily been turning into a country of accumulation of illegal
migrants.
In
recent decades there was no concept of immigration in the Soviet Union. The phenomenon is almost entirely
novel, a fact which was
felt particularly on the Eastern border with Russia,
due mainly to the absence
of financial resources for border management and immigration control.
Smuggling
of migrants and trafficking in human beings, along with the weapons and
drug
trade are probably the most lucrative businesses in the world. Migrant
smuggling is said to have a turnover of EUR 6.72 billion annually. Even
in a
situation where international co-operation to combat smuggling and
trafficking
is intensified, the phenomenon will prevail as long as living standards
vary so
widely between countries.
Criminals
in Ukraine are
engaged in
migrant smuggling and trafficking in women to Western
Europe. According to certain estimates, over a number of
years,
hundreds of thousands of women have been moved and become involved in
crime and
prostitution, in Western Europe and
beyond.
Research task:
A
lot of research have been
done with aim to estimate the scale, reasons and factors of human
trafficking
both in Ukraine and global. The Government of Ukraine has employed
different
strategies to address the issue of trafficking in people. The
Government does
not condone trafficking and has taken a series of concrete measures in
order to
respond to this severe problem in Ukraine,
and can now said to be in the forefront in the criminalization of this
crime in
Europe. The Ukrainian Government has
adopted
several international instruments in regards to prevention of
trafficking in
human been. The latest international instrument – the Protocol
to Prevent, Suppress and Punish trafficking in person,
Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations
Conventions
Against Transnational Organize Crime was signed by Ukraine
on 15
November 2001, and ratified.
In September 2001, the new Criminal Code of
Ukraine
came into force, which constitutes a radical departure from the
previous one,
essentially based upon the Code of the USSR. Article 149 of the
new Code
creates the crime of trafficking in people. It provides criminal
liability for
trafficking in people or entering any other illegal agreements
regarding
transfer of humans as well. As stipulated by law, a person who is found
guilty
of being involved in direct or indirect. This new article is more in
accordance
with international standards stipulated in UN-protocol
than the one found in the old criminal code;
however Ukraine
still has to adopt its national legislation in accordance, and is
currently
drafting such a proposal.
Many criticisms had been leveled
at article 124-1 on the basis that elements of the crime had not been
defined,
and so police and prosecutors were unclear as to how to apply its
provisions in
practice. New terms such as ‘debt bondage’, ‘sexual exploitation’ and
‘exploitation of work’ were used with no guidance as to their
definition. No
official commentaries were provided concerning implementation of the
law and
although these commentaries are not binding, courts generally rely on
them in
interpreting the law. Also, law enforcement officers were not provided
with any
new ‘procedures’ in relation to trafficking, as is normally the case in
connection with the enforcement of new crimes. The overall effect of
these
inadequacies has been to discourage police from investigating
allegations of trafficking,
and prosecutors have also been reluctant to initiate new cases. Until
the
present, more than nine hundred trafficking
cases have been filed and many
other cases are under active investigation. However, because of
difficult to
prove such cases, the lack of jurisprudential precedents and the lack
of
experience of law enforcement and judicial agencies in regards to
trafficking,
a number of cases are only being prosecuted under related crime
definitions and
not under “Trafficking”.
In this connection one of the
main research tack is to understand which
of existent definitions of “human trafficking” reflect the true meaning
o this
phenomenon or illustrate all of its dimensions? What sort of differences between human trafficking,
smuggling and illegal migration? Should
we include internal trafficking into transnational trafficking
definition? How
to apply existing definition into a legal practice?
Application of the project
result:
Studies of trafficking issue
help geared toward quantifying the political, social and economic cost
of
trafficking and examining how this activity is related to transnational
organized crime groups. The research result:
- Can help Ukrainian governments fighting
sex-trade activities and sets up
a process for cutting off non-humanitarian aid to internal structure
that
tolerate or condone trafficking and promote
partnership between and among all the different
actors (such as
law enforcement, social authorities, juridical and migration
authorities, NGO).
- To promote reducing crime as a social
phenomenon, promotion gender
equality and fight against poverty that can contribute to the reduction
of the
number of persons being trafficking for exploitative purposes.
Developing
of a national
policy on prevention of crime:
- To reduce the opportunities for crime, so as
to make crime more
difficult and increase the risk for the criminal to be detected and punished and to reduce the possibilities
of profiting from the crime;
- To provide information and protection for
victims and to prevent
victimization.
- Determine impact of human trafficking,
including both the profits made
and the role of trafficking in the underground economy.
- Develop of a good perception and analysis of
factors that creates a
social and cultural “climate” favorable to exploitation and disregard
of
individuals’ human rights.
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