La Strada Documentation Center

Trafficking in Persons and International Military Organizations

Document number
1919
Date
2005
Title
Trafficking in Persons and International Military Organizations
Author/publisher
U.S. Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
Availability
View/save PDF version of this document
Document type(s)
Media/News,
Keywords
Prostitution; Sex work; Clients, Abolitionism; New Abolitionism; Prohibitionism; Regulationism,
Summary
The United Nations was forced to undertake drastic measures to overhaul its system of monitoring gross abuses by its military and civilian personnel in light of 150 allegations of sexual exploitation on the part of international peacekeepers stationed in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In October 2004, the UN Secretary General dispatched a team to conduct an assessment of the magnitude of the problem among the 11,000 UN soldiers and 1,200 civilians serving there. The team concluded there was little awareness among international peacekeepers of the UN official policy of zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse. The investigative team found instances of rape, and prostitution with children and adult women for money, food, or jobs. After some peacekeepers raped girls, they tried to cover up the crime by giving them money or food.

Since then, the UN's Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) has established measures to prevent misconduct and enforce UN standards of conduct. The UN is amending its staff regulations and contractual agreements to classify sexual exploitation and abuse as serious misconduct and to allow the Secretary General to discipline and dismiss personnel.

All troop-contributing countries should undertake serious measures to prevent and punish incidences of trafficking, sexual exploitation, or abuse by personnel regardless of whether prostitution is regulated or tolerated in the troop-contributing country.

Labor Trafficking and U.S. Military Contractors
A Defense Department investigation prompted by 2005 media allegations of labor trafficking in Iraq inspired significant changes. The media reports identified a number of abuses, some considered widespread, committed by Defense contractors or subcontractors employing third country national (TCN) workers. Some of these abuses were indicative of human trafficking and included withholding workers' passports and deceptive hiring practices.

Chief among the safeguards being implemented is the mandate that all contractors stop withholding employees' passports, that employees be provided a signed copy of their work contract, and that contractors and subcontractors be required to use certified recruiting firms. New regulations require that contractors provide TIP training to all employees and ensure compliance with U.S. law, host nation law, and local theater directives on combating human trafficking.
Related documents