La Strada Documentation Center

La Strada International: Goals Global Initiave (UN.GIFT)

Document number
1230
Date
2007
Title
La Strada International: Goals Global Initiave (UN.GIFT)
Author/publisher
La Strada International
Availability
View/save PDF version of this document
Document type(s)
LSI publication,
Keywords
UN.GIFT, Root causes, Demand, GAATW, Anti Slavery International, Save the Children, Amnesty International
Summary
In March 2007, the United Nations has launched a Global Initiative to Fight Trafficking (UN.GIFT), designed to motivate and assist governments and civil society. It aims "to understand factors of vulnerability to human trafficking; to reduce its impact and its human cost; to take action to prevent and stop it and to help states implement the anti-trafficking Protocol". At the organisational level, the goal is to harness and synergise current anti-trafficking initiatives. In its preparatory phase, the UNODC consults with various stakeholders in different regions and NGOs have been invited to react to the plans, among which to define the goals for UN.GIFT. La Strada International provided feedback and formulated goals for the Global Initiative. LSI did not ask for more instruments and action plans as these already exist and should have been implemented, and because LSI lobbies permanently for the implementation of existing plans. Rather, LSI used this opportunity to encourage an international debate on how to address trafficking in human beings, and formulated the following goals: • Shifting emphasis in the current anti-trafficking debate: The aim of any anti-trafficking policy or measure should be to end all exploitative (labour) situations, to protect the rights of adults and children who have been exploited and to prevent others to become entrapped in an exploitative situation. • Focusing on root causes: Trafficking in human beings will continue to exist as long as the root causes, namely, poverty, unemployment especially among women, lacking education, gender equality and discrimination remain to exist. • Acknowledging labour migration and protect migrant workers rights: The Global Initiative should initiate an innovative and open discussion on labour migration in which current trends in labour migration and the reality and rights of migrant workers are central. • Addressing demand in the broadest way: The current discussion about demand is only focussed on trafficking for prostitution and does not address other forms of trafficked (forced and exploitative) labour, nor does it include the role of states and the private sector. • One global project: UN.GIFT should bring together all existing projects and initiatives on trafficking into one global project in which all (international) organisations cooperate in order to increase the impact of all actions taken.
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