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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
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Results for organ trafficking
14 results foundAuthor: Watson, Calinka Title: The Organised Crime of Organ Trafficking Summary: Across the world today people are selling their bodily organs to organ trafficking syndicates in order to make money for necessities and to pay off loans used in order to survive. Modern medical technology has vastly improved the outcome of organ transplants and survival rates of human organ recipients. This in turn means that as a survival option many more potential recipients are being placed on waiting lists in order to receive organ transplants. What therefore contributes to the organised crime of black markets in human organs is the great shortages in the numbers of donated organ necessary for organ transplantations. This is due to increased numbers of patients on transplant waiting lists. Poor donors are therefore willing, in the nonregulated system of organ trade, to sell their organs to increase their fortunes and rich ill recipients are willing to pay any price for any organ. Organised crime legislation and medical policies today make this activity illegal and this can be said to be half the problem in increased organ markets and organ trafficking syndicates. The traditional system of organ donation, namely altruistic organ donation without compensation, is no longer effective enough in ensuring that sufficient numbers of human organs are donated yearly to meet the demand. Hospitals and other non-governmental organisations or institutions dealing with organ donation, procurement and human organ transplantation are in desperate need of such organs for organ transplants. For this reason various solutions have been illustrated as methods in eliminating the organised crime of organ trafficking and increasing available organs needed for transplantation. Some of these options include national organ donor registries to track current organ donors, presumed consent laws which require donors to specifically opt out of an organ donor registry, conscription or state owned organs as well as future’s markets or donation contracts and other forms of compensation to donors such as tax deductions, preference for future organ transplants above other recipients and remuneration for all expenses incurred and lost during the organ donation period. Educational and public media programmes have also been suggested to educate average citizens on the issue of organ transplantation and to make them aware of organ trafficking and the need for donated organs, whether such human organs are donated while the donor is alive or if the donor only consent to such removal of organs once deceased. Many ethical dilemmas exist regarding these various ideas to increase donated organs. People feel that by selling human organs for example, poor donors will be exploited and altruistic donations will no longer be willing to donate their organs because of feelings of disgust for newly designed organ donation legislation. Beyond this fear lies the fear that if organ markets were legalised only richer members of society would be able to afford organ transplantations and that thereby poorer people would not have access to organ transplants. The situation without such a legalised market in place, however, already exploits the poor members of society and bad health risks for both the organ donor and organ recipient ensue due to shocking medical surroundings and incorrect procedures used in illegal organ transplantations. What is recommended therefore is that such legalised systems of compensated organ donation are to work in conjunction with the traditional altruistic system of organ donation and other methods used to increase organ donation and that legislation be correctly drafted and implemented to benefit both organ donor and organ recipient. It is deemed that such a legalised system of organ sales will eventually eliminate the organised crime of organ trafficking as the illegal demand for such organs will no longer exist. This will occur because of increased organ donations due to, amongst other methods of organ procurement, educational programmes and organ donors receiving some form of compensation for their donation. Details: Bloemfontein, South Africa: University of the Free State, Department of Criminal and Medical Law, 2006. 308p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 23, 2011 at: http://etd.uovs.ac.za/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-06142007-072827/unrestricted/WatsonC.pdf Year: 2006 Country: South Africa URL: http://etd.uovs.ac.za/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-06142007-072827/unrestricted/WatsonC.pdf Shelf Number: 122806 Keywords: Organ TraffickingOrganized CrimeTrafficking in Organs (South Africa) |
Author: Pearson, Elaine Title: Coercion in the Kidney Trade? A Backgrund Study on Trafficking in Human Organs Worldwide Summary: Trafficking for the purpose of 'removal of organs' is identified as trafficking under the UN Trafficking Protocol definition. Despite the recent attention being paid to human trafficking, by donors, governments and non-governmental organisations, detailed and accurate information related to removal of organs is lacking, as are any programmes to combat organ trafficking. Is it because it is simply a sensational media story with little substance in fact? If we considered trafficking in a narrow way of only those cases of transporting someone with complete deception or forcing them to have an organ removed, then such cases occur but in a very small number. There is certainly a much more significant pattern of organ trafficking in terms of people being deceived and coerced into selling organs. Most consent to sell a kidney, but there is deception as to amount of payment for the kidney, and in some cases no payment at all. Consent may be obtained under varying degrees of coercion. Victims of kidney trafficking face not only the economic crises that caused them to consider selling their kidney in the first place but also ill health due to lack of information and lack of adequate health care. Kidney sellers are not supported to take legal action against traffickers; many are precluded from filing a criminal complaint as they unwittingly signed false affidavits saying they gave their kidney away. There are no statistics on the extent of kidney trafficking per se. Experts state, at a minimum, several thousand illegal kidney transplants from live unrelated donors take place every year. Some of this number, though not all, is trafficked. Regulation of commercial kidney sales is increasingly a topic of discussion as a means to deal with illegal organ sales and the resulting negative impact on donor-sellers, especially those who are trafficked in developing countries. This study looks at both arguments for and against regulation and the author concludes that effective regulation would require a system of free long-term health care for kidney sellers, thus placing an incredible financial burden on the State that developing countries could not bear. Secondly, it seems unlikely that a regulated trade could prevent organ trafficking, unless and until, issues of corruption are successfully dealt with. The link between human trafficking and organ trafficking has not been clearly established. Yet when one compares organ trafficking in terms of coerced sale of organs to trafficking in women for sex work, one can see there are some similarities. Both sets of 'survivors' frequently face stigmatisation and discrimination in home communities because of what they 'have done'. Moral arguments condemn outright the use of the body in that way, i.e. sale of sex or body part. Root causes of both types of trafficking is poverty and discrimination though gender discrimination may be less significant in relation to organ trafficking in some countries. Despite these similarities, arguments for and against legalisation of the sex or organ trade to combat trafficking cannot be equated. From available research in countries where organ trafficking is a problem, it seems that selling an organ does not improve one's economic position and for those living in poverty without access to medical care, does pose health concerns. These health concerns must be comprehensively addressed in any regulated system of organ 'sale'. If we accept that kidney trafficking in a small but significant problem, then measures should be taken against it in countries where such trafficking is known to exist. Such measures should focus on providing more information to potential kidney sellers so they are better informed regarding the risks and impacts of the procedure and of trafficking. Such sellers should know how to minimise negative impacts. Criminal laws should be amended so that brokers and medical staff involved in transplantation procedures are criminally responsible whilst donor-sellers are specifically free from criminal responsibility unless directly involved in trafficking others.3 Those who have sold kidneys should have access to information, legal, medical and social assistance including counselling. Organ trafficking remains an invisible 'trafficking' sector for existing anti-trafficking initiatives. It should not be so difficult to extend successful intervention activities for human trafficking to this new area and new target group, in countries where organ trafficking is a significant problem. The leading organisation specifically working to this issue, Organs Watch has conducted research on organ trade in twelve countries (Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, India, Iran, Israel/West Bank, Moldova/Romania, Philippines, Russia, Turkey, USA and South Africa). Based on that research, at least all of these countries can be seen to have a significant trafficking problem. Details: Eschborn, Germany: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH, 2004. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 29, 2011 at: http://www.gtz.de/de/dokumente/en-organ-trafficking-2004.pdf Year: 2004 Country: International URL: http://www.gtz.de/de/dokumente/en-organ-trafficking-2004.pdf Shelf Number: 122940 Keywords: Human TraffickingOrgan Trafficking |
Author: Bilger, Veronika Title: Study on the Assessment of the Extent of Different Types of Trafficking in Human Beings in EU Countries Summary: Action against trafficking in human beings has become an important issue on the political agenda of the European Union and its Member States during the last decade. The design of effective measures (those that aim to foster prevention, protect victims and prosecute traffickers) has been commonly agreed to be built on appropriate legal and regulatory framework, research, data collection and information management. The lack of systematically collected and managed statistical data relevant to trafficking in human beings is one of the main obstacles to the successful and effective implementation of anti-trafficking policies and efforts. Objectives • To elaborate appropriate background information and on to assess the extent of different forms of trafficking in human beings in 17 EU Member States (Austria, Bulgaria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, United Kingdom). Outcomes • Comprehensive overview of national data on THB in the 17 EU countries covered • Comprehensive overview of national legislation on THB and related areas in the 17 EU countries covered • Comparative Analysis of assessed extent of different types of THB in the 17 EU countries covered • 17 Country Reports on national legislation, national statistics, and assessments of national developments in regard to the extent of THB in 17 countries covered. • Minimum and maximum scenarios on the total (17 countries) extent of different types of THB following the legal and administrative distinctions between victims and perpetrators but also between cases and persons on. Details: Vienna: International Centre for Migration Policy Development, 2010. 448p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 10, 2011 at: http://research.icmpd.org/fileadmin/Research-Website/Publications/THB_extent/Study_extent_of_THB_final_26Nov2010.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Europe URL: http://research.icmpd.org/fileadmin/Research-Website/Publications/THB_extent/Study_extent_of_THB_final_26Nov2010.pdf Shelf Number: 123304 Keywords: BeggingForced LaborHuman Trafficking (Europe)Organ TraffickingProstitutionSexual Exploitation |
Author: National Human Rights Commission (Nepal) Title: Trafficking in Persons Especially on Women and Children in Nepal: National Report, 2009-2010 Summary: Trafficking in Persons in Nepal is rooted with patriarchal and feudal structure in the country. At the same time, the studies in the situation of trafficking especially in women and children show that the problem of trafficking has extended from rural to urban areas, and from India to other countries in the context of social, political and economic development of Nepal. However, due to the clandestine nature of the crime and lack of an effective national institutional reporting system, it has been difficult to monitor the updated numerical situation of trafficking and impact in combating trafficking from policy, program and judicial efforts. Nevertheless, NHRC has started publishing National Report on Trafficking in Person, especially women and children since 2005 by collecting information from the respective GOs and NGOs and present the report as a national effort to combat Trafficking in Person. This is the fourth Annual National Report published in the series. We are happy to share that a well coordinated institutional approach through consultation programs, annual report forms, research studies and interviews to prepare the report from national perspective has gained strengthen and made it possible to bring out this report as a national priority and concern. The Report presents the statistical situation of Trafficking in Persons in Nepal as proxy indicator based on the annual data derived from reported cases in the police and NGOs with its changing dimension by magnitude, profile, route and mode of trafficking. The report deals with internal migration and foreign labor migration in the context of an emerging socio-economic scenario of development in the country and its link with trafficking vulnerability of women and men. The report reveals that the nexus between labor market and trafficking vulnerability demands effective implementation of the laws and regulations in the country of origin and the country of destination to ensure the right to work and justice to trafficked victims. International advocacy and commitment work as the promotional tool for the purpose. Details: Lalitpur, Nepal: National Human Rights Commission, 2011. 172p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 12, 2012 at: http://humansecuritygateway.com/documents/NHRC_TraffickinginPersonsEspeciallyonWomenandChildreninNepal.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Nepal URL: http://humansecuritygateway.com/documents/NHRC_TraffickinginPersonsEspeciallyonWomenandChildreninNepal.pdf Shelf Number: 123562 Keywords: Child TraffickingHuman Trafficking (Nepal)Organ TraffickingSex Trafficking |
Author: European Commission. Eurostat Title: Trafficking in Human Beings. 2013 edition Summary: This publication presents the first report at the EU level on statistics on trafficking in human beings. It includes data for the years 2008, 2009 and 2010. The EU and its Member States have selected trafficking in human beings as one of the priority areas in the fight against organised crime. This resulted in the adoption by the Council and the European Parliament of Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims and the adoption by the Commission on 19 June 2012 of the EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings 2012–2016, endorsed via Council Conclusions by the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 25 October 2012. In order to further develop a coherent and strategic approach in the EU cooperation with third countries and regions, the Justice and Home Affairs Council adopted the so called Acton Oriented Paper on strengthening the external dimensions in actions against trafficking in human beings in 2009. The Second Implementation Report on the Action Oriented Paper of December 2012 includes a list of priority countries and regions with which the EU will establish closer cooperation. The preliminary data collected for the report below has been used together with other sources to define the prioritisation of these countries. The need to develop comparable and reliable statistics on crime and criminal justice has long been recognised by the European Commission and the EU. This has been further emphasised in the Commission Communication on Measuring Crime in the EU, adopted in January 2012, in which trafficking in human beings was highlighted as one of the priority areas for collecting statistics. In addressing trafficking in human beings, the European Commission and the EU take a human rights based approach that is victim-centred, gender-specific and focuses on the best interest of the child. This approach stresses the importance of multi-disciplinary actions where all relevant actors are involved in working together towards the eradication of trafficking in human beings. These key elements in trafficking in human beings policy and legislation mentioned above are systematically reflected in this publication on statistics. Thus, this report includes statistics on the total number of victims disaggregated by gender, age and form of exploitation, and also contains statistics on victims' citizenship and type of assistance and protection received. The data have been collected from different authorities working in the field of trafficking in human beings, including civil society organisations. Moreover, the report also includes statistics on suspected, prosecuted and convicted traffickers disaggregated by gender, citizenship and form of exploitation. Although the report focuses on statistical data from the registration systems in the respective organisations, Member States were encouraged to also send in metadata from other sources such as projects, studies and reports. This first report includes statistical data from all 27 EU Member States, Croatia and the following EU Candidate and EFTA/EEA countries: Iceland, Montenegro, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland and Turkey. The total number and percentages in the report are based on data from the EU Member States. Data from the non-EU countries have been highlighted separately in some sections. It is hereby acknowledged that the current state of the results does not entirely comply with the stringent requirements of the European Statistics Code of Practice and further development is planned to improve data quality in future collections. Nevertheless the political demand for this information is such that it seems opportune to make it available at this stage in the form of a Eurostat Working Paper. This means that figures should be interpreted with caution, taking into consideration the methodological notes and caveats provided in this report. For example, Member States were not able to provide comparable data on the number of victims by country of recruitment, the number of suspected traffickers involved in organised crime, the number of final decisions by public prosecution services or the number of convicted traffickers by form of exploitation. By drawing conclusions on the findings is this report several issues need to be taken into consideration. The increase in the number of identified and presumed victims shown in the report could indicate that the phenomenon of trafficking in human beings in EU Member States is on the rise. However, better identification procedures, the involvement of more actors in the identification process, changes in legislation in individual Member States and higher priority in addressing trafficking in human beings can also have an influence on the number of victims. Details: Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2013. 86p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 25, 2013 at: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-is-new/news/news/2013/docs/20130415_thb_stats_report_en.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Europe URL: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-is-new/news/news/2013/docs/20130415_thb_stats_report_en.pdf Shelf Number: 128438 Keywords: Forced BeggingForced LaborHuman Trafficking (Europe)Organ TraffickingSexual Exploitation |
Author: OSCE Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinatorfor Combating Trafficking in Human Beings Title: Trafficking in Human Beings for the Purpose of Organ Removal in the OSCE Region: Analysis and Findings Summary: Trafficking in human beings for the purpose of organ removal (THB/OR) is, like all other forms of trafficking, a violation of the fundamental human rights and dignity of individuals, while also clearly representing a grave form of transnational organized crime. My mandate to address this form of trafficking stems back to the OSCE Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings. Other OSCE commitments throughout the years refer to all forms of trafficking; most recently in the Vilnius Declaration , participating States expressed their deep concern for this form of trafficking. It is important to note at the outset what has not been included within the terms of reference for this research because it is not within my mandate. Firstly, our research does not address allegations of organ trafficking related to alleged war crimes, since they do not involve trafficking in human beings. Secondly, it is important to clarify an important distinction between what is known as organ trafficking, and trafficking in human beings for the purpose of organ removal. My mandate is of course based on trafficking in human beings; organ trafficking is a separate issue as has been recognized by the United Nations and the Council of Europe, it raises a whole other set of factual and legal considerations. Furthermore, our research does not cover trafficking of tissues and cells, as it is not widely recognized to fall within the meaning of “organ removal” within the relevant definition of trafficking for organ removal. This Occasional Paper is based on actual reported incidents or cases of THB/OR that have been investigated to different degrees, and in some cases, fully prosecuted. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first research paper based on an analysis of available case studies in the OSCE region. It is thus not possible to make any comparisons to the global context of the crime, even though the 2012 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons has identified a similar scope and scale of the crime. A brief annex of cases where formal criminal proceedings were initiated on THB/ OR or related charges can be found in Annex A. The methodology for this report is explained in detail but it is important to stress that wherever possible we prioritized indictments, judgments, and official government sources, and we also requested and received official information from participating States. The findings are also based on media and open source reporting, as well as interviews with key experts in relevant fields (medical, ethics, transplantation, victim care, among others). We have collated information and analysed more than ten cases of potential THB/OR, and at least two or three other incidents in which there were allegations of THB but there was insufficient evidence to proceed to investigation or prosecution. We have also included at least one case of organ trafficking which however seems to share many of the common elements of THB/OR cases. To this end, this paper confirms a trend amongst all THB cases: it remains a challenge for criminal justice actors across the OSCE region to identify and charge trafficking in human beings and not on related and in some cases, lesser, charges. If we are going to address the full scale of modern-day slavery, then we must also address the full criminality in prosecutorial strategies and charging documents. Details: Vienna, Austria: OSCE/ Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, 2013. 80p. Source: Internet Resource: Occasional Paper Series no. 6; Accessed July 16, 2013 at: http://www.osce.org/cthb/103393 Year: 2013 Country: Europe URL: http://www.osce.org/cthb/103393 Shelf Number: 129399 Keywords: Human Trafficking (Europe)Organ TraffickingOrganized Crime |
Author: Mendes Bota, Jose Title: Prostitution, trafficking and modern slavery in Europe Summary: Trafficking in human beings is a hideous human rights violation and one of the most lucrative activities for criminal organisations worldwide. It occurs for various purposes, including forced labour, criminality and organ removal. In Europe, trafficking for sexual exploitation is by far the most widespread form: an estimated 84% of victims are trafficked for this purpose. Efforts to tackle trafficking in human beings have intensified in the last decade but remain insufficient. As transnational trafficking represents the greatest part of this phenomenon, harmonisation of legal standards and effective international co-operation in criminal matters are crucial to succeed in the fight against human trafficking. The lack of reliable and comparable data on prostitution and trafficking in Europe is a major barrier to making and implementing effective policies against trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation. Creating a Europe-wide data collection system on prostitution and trafficking is therefore crucial. As a pan-European organisation, the Council of Europe has an important role to play in promoting such a data collection system. Some Council of Europe member States have drawn up prostitution regulations and policies aimed at countering trafficking by curbing the demand for victims. This is true of Sweden, together with Iceland and Norway. The "Swedish approach", based on criminalising the purchase of sexual services, is currently under consideration by legislators in several European countries as a possible tool for tackling trafficking. While each system presents advantages and disadvantages, policies prohibiting the purchase of sexual services are those that are more likely to have a positive impact on reducing trafficking in human beings. Irrespective of the legal approach adopted, prostitution regulations should include harm-reduction measures aimed at countering the negative effects of prostitution on the people involved and supporting those who wish to leave the sex industry. Details: Strasbourg Cedex: Council of Europe, Parliamentary Assembly, 2014. Source: Internet Resource: Doc. 13446: Accessed May 10, 2014 at: http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/X2H-Xref-ViewPDF.asp?FileID=20559&lang=en Year: 2014 Country: Europe URL: http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/X2H-Xref-ViewPDF.asp?FileID=20559&lang=en Shelf Number: 132324 Keywords: Forced LaborHuman Trafficking (Europe)Organ TraffickingProstitutionSex TraffickingSex WorkSexual Exploitation |
Author: Coalition for Organ Failure Solutions (COFS) Title: Sudanese Victims of Organ Trafficking in Egypt Summary: COFS-Egypt has accumulated compelling evidence that organ traffickers have exploited and are continuing to exploit Sudanese refugees and asylum-seekers in Egypt. These abuses include removing kidneys either by inducing consent, coercion, or outright theft. In some cases, sex trafficking was associated with incidents of organ removal. The victims include men, women, and children. Many of the victims came to Egypt seeking refuge from the genocide and armed conflict in their homeland. Based on its ongoing fieldwork, COFS-Egypt identified 57 Sudanese refugees and asylum seekers in Egypt who said they were victims of organ trafficking. Each case involved the removal of a kidney. COFS-Egypt has conducted in-depth interviews with 12 of these individuals who described their experiences in compelling detail. COFS-Egypt arranged ultrasounds and physical exams for five of the victims as part of its follow-up care outreach services. These medical exams confirmed that kidneys had been removed in all five cases. Arrangements to interview and provide this care for the other victims are ongoing. Four victims also showed COFS' field researchers documents from the hospitals where their nephrectomies and the transplants occurred; the documents included their respective identifiers. Of the 57 victims identified, 39 (68%) are from Darfur, 26 (46%) are female and 5(9%) are children. The twelve victims COFS interviewed ranged in age from 11-36 years with an average of 23.5 years; four (33%) of the victims were 18 years old or younger; and five (42%) were female. Three of the interviewed victims said people smugglers/traffickers helped them to enter Egypt and worked directly with the organ traffickers who arranged their kidney removal. Statements by some of the victims interviewed indicated that some women and girls are simultaneously being trafficked for sex and organs (9 possible cases in the sample of 57), and that the actual number of females in general may far exceed that of males. Thus, women and children are of special concern. Three of the victims interviewed held official "refugee" status from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). One victim's application for refugee status was under review; another had filed an application; and seven others were illegal and had not yet applied to UNHCR at the time that they said organ traffickers victimized them. One victim told COFS' researchers that they were imprisoned in an effort to prevent them from reporting their claims of organ theft; this victim escaped during the January 25, 2011 revolution. Four of the victims said they had met the patients who had received their kidneys. Seven of the victims said they knew the nationality of the recipient. These victims reported that three recipients were from Sudan, one was from Jordan, one was from Libya, and two were from countries of the Persian Gulf. Interviewed victims also reported theft of money by the broker. All of the victims interviewed said they had experienced a deterioration of their health in addition to negative social, economic and psychological consequences as a result of the experience. COFS estimates that there are at least hundreds of Sudanese victims of organ trafficking in Egypt as well as numerous others from Jordan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Iraq and Syria. The total number of victims of organ trafficking in Egypt is estimated to be in the thousands. The findings presented in this report include only living victim-survivors of the organ trade that COFS was able to identify. This report does not speak to claims of people death as a result of a commercial organ removal. This has special significance considering recent reports about the kidnapping and abuse of sub-Saharan African migrants smuggled into the Sinai Peninsula en route to Israel. The reports include claims of torture and removal of organs that have resulted in death. Details: Cairo, DC: COFS, 2011. 30p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 15, 2015 at: http://www.cofs.org/english_report_summary_dec_11_2011.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Egypt URL: http://www.cofs.org/english_report_summary_dec_11_2011.pdf Shelf Number: 134407 Keywords: Human SmugglingHuman TraffickingOrgan TraffickingOrganized CrimeRefugeesTrafficking in Organs (Africa) |
Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Title: Trafficking in Persons for the Purpose of Organ Removal: Assessment Toolkit Summary: The present toolkit deals with trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal, as defined by the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, (Trafficking in Persons Protocol), supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Organized Crime Convention). Terms like 'organ trafficking', 'illegal organ trade', 'transplant tourism', 'organ purchase' and others are often used interchangeably with trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal, even where they would not refer to the same phenomenon. Any conduct described by such terms will only be within the scope of this toolkit, if it meets the definition provided by the Trafficking in Persons Protocol. Trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal is not a new phenomenon. Over the years, the crime has received significant attention from media, NGOs, academia and also from international and regional actors such as the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children and the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Being Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. The issue was also taken up at the UN Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly, which, e.g., in 2013 adopted resolutions that inter alia request UNODC to collect and analyse information on trafficking in persons for organ removal and encourage Member States to provide to UNODC evidence-based data on patterns, forms and flows of trafficking in persons, including for the purpose of the removal of organs respectively. Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2015. 149p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 21, 2016 at: https://www.unodc.org/documents/human-trafficking/2015/UNODC_Assessment_Toolkit_TIP_for_the_Purpose_of_Organ_Removal.pdf Year: 2015 Country: International URL: https://www.unodc.org/documents/human-trafficking/2015/UNODC_Assessment_Toolkit_TIP_for_the_Purpose_of_Organ_Removal.pdf Shelf Number: 139094 Keywords: Human TraffickingOrgan TraffickingOrganized CrimeTrafficking in Organs |
Author: Pascalev, A. Title: Trafficking in human beings for the purpose of organ removal: A comprehensive literature review Summary: Trafficking in human beings for the purpose of organ removal (THBOR) is prohibited worldwide, yet a growing number of reports indicate its increase across the globe. Many countries in and outside the European Union (EU) have implemented proper legislation against THBOR. However, information regarding the incidence of THBOR and the non-legislative response to it is practically non-existent and unavailable to judicial and law enforcement authorities in the EU member states. Transplant professionals, human rights NGOs and international organizations also have little knowledge and awareness of the crime (1). This knowledge gap hampers the development of a structured and effective action to this repugnant form of human trafficking, which brings physical and psychological harms to vulnerable individuals. The HOTT project has four objectives aimed at addressing the knowledge gaps and improving the non-legislative response to THBOR. These objectives are: - to increase knowledge about THBOR - to raise awareness among target groups - to organize an expert meeting where organ trafficking experts and competent authorities can express their views on project results - to provide recommendations to improve the non-legislative response This report contributes to the first objective: to gather information and increase knowledge about THBOR. It does so by describing the state-of-the-art of literature on the ethical aspects, causes and the actors involved in THBOR. Details: Rotterdam, NETH: Erasmus MC University Hospital Rotterdam, Department of Internal Medicine, Section Transplantation and Nephrology, 2013. 79p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 21, 2016 at: http://hottproject.com/userfiles/HOTTProject-TraffickinginHumanBeingsforthePurposeofOrganRemoval-AComprehensiveLiteratureReview-OnlinePublication.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://hottproject.com/userfiles/HOTTProject-TraffickinginHumanBeingsforthePurposeofOrganRemoval-AComprehensiveLiteratureReview-OnlinePublication.pdf Shelf Number: 139093 Keywords: Human TraffickingOrgan TraffickingOrganized CrimeTrafficking in Organs |
Author: Ambagtsheer, F. Title: Trafficking in Human Beings for the Purpose of Organ Removal: Results and Recommendations Summary: When, in the early 1990's I began a multisided medical anthropological field research project in the transplant units, blood clinics, dialysis centers, prisons, kidney motels, safe houses, and refugee centers where underground transplants were negotiated and cobbled together by brokers for patients willing to travel to parts unknown for a back door transplant from invisible living suppliers in the global South, there was only one scientific article on the topic. That article was concerned only with the risks for the foreign recipients of South Asian kidneys. There were no concepts, categories, legal or philosophical language to identify what was going on. Consequently, the existence of human trafficking for the purpose of organ removal for illicit transplants was denied. Even as late as 2009, the joint United Nations/Council of Europe on 'Trafficking in organs, tissues and cells and trafficking in human beings for the purpose of the removal of organs' never once referred in the text of the document to human trafficking but rather to 'organ trafficking', thus unintentionally erasing the trafficked kidney sellers from any consideration or discussion. The problem was solid organs, not people, that were being trafficked and in a sense, sold While this sematic problem still exists, as it did in the Rosenbaum case discussed in this book, the dedicated and collaborative work of the EU-funded HOTT project will make it much more difficult for medical professionals, police, prosecutors and judges to ignore the vast scholarly and scientific literature on the topic, and the hard evidence produced in the first prosecutions of international organized crime syndicates pretending to be merely facilitating medical tourism rather than the illicit networks of human trafficking for human kidney sellers that they are. The extensive bibliography, original reports on the extent and consequences of human trafficking to procure organs and the case study reports and summaries, required considerable archival and field research to identify the networks, the investigations, indictments, and prosecutions of surgeons, nephrologists, transplant brokers, kidney hunters, mobile patients/kidney recipients, and trafficked kidney providers. The complexity of these international illicit networks explains their resilience. The obstacles include differences in legal jurisdictions, incompatible laws, and the immunity of complicit transplant surgeons. The first, and most successful of the prosecutions of an international human trafficking syndicate for the procurement of paid organ sellers was in Brazil in 2004, a key link in the Netcare case in South Africa described here. The Brazilian police sting, Operation Bisturi (scalpel) led to the indictment of twenty five participants, eleven of whom were eventually tried and found guilty of human trafficking of recruited kidney sellers from the slums of Recife. They were convicted for the recruitment, handling, medical pre-screening and transport of the men to private Netcare clinics in Durban and Johannesburg where their kidneys were removed and transplanted into the bodies of international patients, mostly from Israel. The case was handled efficiently by the Brazilian court's precise application of the 2000 Palermo Convention. The chief of the syndicate, Gedalya (Gaddy) Tauber, of Israel, and his Brazilian partner, Ivan Bonifacio da Silva, both retired military police officers, were given stiff sentences along with several other intermediaries that included a distinguished, middle aged woman lawyer, who hid the money in her private bank safe at the Recife branch of City Bank. One of the convicted was a kidney seller who joined the scheme and became a ruthless and dangerous kidney hunter, and the alleged head of a local death squad. Only the Brazilian doctor who conducted the blood tests escaped conviction. However, the presence of the suspects - perpetrators, intermediaries, and victims - in court room caught the attention of the ferocious Brazilian media. It was a major scandal in which Brazil was the victim and the nation was outraged that their citizens had been preyed upon and used by international transplant trafficking networks. This prosecution led to other investigations and prosecutions of domestic trafficking in humans for organs. More difficult to adjudicate are the cases where the buyers, sellers, brokers, and surgeons are from the same nation although branching out to other diasporic sites. In these instances we enter the ethical gray zone described by Primo Levi where perpetrators and victims, government officials and ordinary by-standers are partially complicit but feel helpless to extract themselves from a traffic in 'goods' (a healthy organ) rather than a traffic in 'bads' (illicit drugs and guns). The criminals could operate freely within the international legal lacuna that protected them. Moreover, human trafficking for organ procurement is often seen even by police, prosecutors, federal agents and judges as essentially a victimless crime. The judge in the Rosenbaum Sentencing based on a plea bargain, that it was a 'sorry story;, but one in which, she said, 'buyers and sellers both got something out of the deal'. What had been revealed in this first US prosecution of what the court described as three cases of illicit brokering and payment for an organ was not even the tip of the iceberg. The language of THBOR was not available to the federal prosecutors nor did US laws on human trafficking include those that are trafficked to provide 'spare' kidneys. The new term, THBOR though awkward, has given long overdue recognition of the real crime that is at stake here. Because most of the damages take place elsewhere and out of sight of the police and the courts that handle these cases, THBOR remained invisible. The complexity and the tragedy is that this form of human trafficking can save or enhance some lives at the expense of other disposable lives, sub-citizens in the global world. There are many excellent recommendations in this book, but the political will to apply them cannot be assumed. Trafficking in human beings for the purpose of organ removal is unlike other forms of human trafficking, even though the same international traffickers may also be involved in drug, small arms, and sex trafficking. Human trafficking in fresh organs is small, complicated, expensive and highly lucrative. But unlike other forms of human trafficking the good news is that it can be eradicated. The traffic is dependent on hospitals, nurses, doctors and surgeons. Without their complicity, knowingly or not, the traffic in humans for their fresh organs cannot exist. This report is the first to highlight the role and responsibilities of the medical transplant surgeons. We are dealing with a medical-surgical crime and it should be treated as such. Among the recommendations are that all persons who forfeit an organ (usually a kidney) for money within an organized international crime network are ipso facto victims, even if the person agreed to it. Another is that surgeons should be held responsible for removing and/or implanting a kidney from a trafficked person. We ask that surgeons and doctors cooperate with law enforcement and not to hide behind doctor-patient confidentiality when crimes may have been committed. Surgeons and nephrologists should inform their patients who are planning to travel abroad for an illicit transplant of the medical, ethical, and legal consequences. We ask that customs officials be required to ask those coming and leaving a country to declare whether they are traveling for the purpose of a transplant, which may or may not be legal. Details: Lengerich: Pabst Science Publishers, 2016. 154p. Source: Internet Resource: The HOTT Project: Accessed April 21, 2016 at: https://thbregionalimplementationinitiative.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/hott_project-book_2016.pdf Year: 2916 Country: International URL: https://thbregionalimplementationinitiative.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/hott_project-book_2016.pdf Shelf Number: 139092 Keywords: Human TraffickingOrgan TraffickingOrganized CrimeTrafficking in Organs |
Author: Ambagtsheer, F. Title: Trafficking in Human Beings for the Purpose of Organ Removal: A Case Study Summary: The present report builds upon the conclusions presented in the HOTT project's literature review, 'Trafficking in human beings for the purpose of organ removal: a comprehensive literature review'. This review concluded that a study of the current literature provides limited information and knowledge about the nature and incidence of the crime, and needs to be strengthened by other sources of information. The HOTT project's objectives are to: - increase knowledge about trafficking in human beings for the purpose of organ removal - raise awareness among target groups - improve the non-legislative response Purpose of study This case study report addresses the gaps that were already highlighted in the HOTT project's literature review. This study's purpose is to contribute to existing gaps in knowledge concerning a) the actors and their modus operandi of contemporary organ trafficking networks and b) the experiences of police and prosecution in disrupting and prosecuting the persons involved in these networks. Selection of countries and cases To acquire in-depth knowledge about the criminal networks involved in trafficking in human beings for the purpose of organ removal (THBOR), the research team collected information in the field by interviewing people worldwide who were directly involved in and affected by the events that led to prosecutions and convictions. With the financial support of the European Commission Directorate General Home Affairs, the Central Division of the National Police of the Netherlands, the Magnus Bergvalls Foundation (Sweden) and the Royal Physiographic Society (Sweden), the research team travelled to 4 countries to study 3 trafficking cases: 1. South Africa, Durban (November 2012) - Netcare case 2. Republic of Kosovo, Pristina (September 2013) - Medicus Clinic case 3. State of Israel, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem (October 2013) - Netcare and Medicus Clinic case 4. United States of America (USA), New York (March 2013) - Rosenbaum case Visiting these countries made it possible to talk to key persons and to access data that would not have been acquired through literature- or desk research. The countries and cases were selected because of common features: police and prosecution investigated international networks involving (elements of) THBOR and succeeded in gathering sufficient evidence to bring these cases to court that led to convictions of the accused, they relied on assistance from other countries and were able to demonstrate how to achieve successes and overcome obstacles in international criminal collaboration. Details: Rotterdam: Erasmus MC University Hospital Rotterdam Department of Internal Medicine, Section Transplantation and Nephrology, 2014. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: HOTT Project: Accessed April 23, 2016 at: http://hottproject.com/userfiles/Reports/3rdReportHOTTProject-TraffickinginHumanBeingsforthePurposeofOrganRemoval-ACaseStudyReport.pdf Year: 2014 Country: International URL: http://hottproject.com/userfiles/Reports/3rdReportHOTTProject-TraffickinginHumanBeingsforthePurposeofOrganRemoval-ACaseStudyReport.pdf Shelf Number: 138783 Keywords: Human Trafficking Organ Trafficking Organized CrimeTrafficking in Organs |
Author: Ambagtsheer, F. Title: Organ Recipients Who Paid for Kidney Transplantations Abroad: A Report Summary: Worldwide, there is a mismatch between the increase in the number of those waiting and the increase in those identified as potential donors. Kidney transplant wait lists grow most prominently. By the end of 2013, 49.266 people were waiting for a kidney transplantation in the European Union, whilst only 19.227 transplantations were performed that year. Eurotransplant's wait list has an average waiting time of 3-5 years. About 15-30% of the patients die before receiving a kidney (3). Also in other parts of the world such as in the United States of America (USA), the number of candidates on the kidney wait list is increasing. Between 1980 and 2009 the list increased by 600%. Yet, the number of annual donors between 2004 and 2011 remained relatively stagnant at 13.000, making the gap between organ supply and demand even larger. The list in the USA now has a median wait time of over 4 years. The activity of organ transplantation worldwide is less than 10% of the global need. Furthermore there are substantial disparities in access to transplantation, not only globally, but within countries as well. Organ recipients travel across the world for transplantation, the most common being live kidney transplantation (8-13). Although travelling abroad does not imply an illegal transplant purchase, it is commonly perceived to be an illegal and/or immoral endeavour involving health risks. Several qualitative studies have been performed among patients who purchase kidneys (17-22). Some of these studies reveal that patients bring back little or no information about their operation, such as the origin of their kidney, the transplantation costs or where and by whom the transplantation was performed. The limited amount of data about transplantations abroad makes it difficult to draw firm conclusions about its scale, nature and potential illegality. Also, little knowledge exists about the motivations, experiences and characteristics of patients travelling abroad. Purpose of study The main conclusion of the HOTT project's first report, 'Trafficking in human beings for the purpose of organ removal: a comprehensive literature review' (23) (hereafter: literature review), is that a literature study provides limited information and knowledge about the nature and incidence of the crime. The underlying report aims to fulfil gaps of knowledge highlighted in the literature review by presenting the results of interviews with patients who travelled abroad for paid kidney transplantations. The purpose of this study is to describe the process of the transplantation (how, where and by whom it was facilitated) and the perspectives, experiences, behaviors and motivations of these patients. Research questions The research questions are as follows: 1. Do patients travel abroad for paid kidney transplantations? 2. How, where and by whom were their transplantations facilitated? 3. What are patients' motivations, experiences and characteristics? Details: Rotterdam: Erasmus MC University Hospital Rotterdam Department of Internal Medicine, Section Transplantation and Nephrology, 2014. 25p. Source: Internet Resource: HOTT Project: Accessed April 23, 2016 at: http://hottproject.com/userfiles/Reports/2ndReportHOTTproject-OrganRecipientsWhoPaidForKidneyTransplantsAbroad.pdf Year: 2014 Country: International URL: http://hottproject.com/userfiles/Reports/2ndReportHOTTproject-OrganRecipientsWhoPaidForKidneyTransplantsAbroad.pdf Shelf Number: 138784 Keywords: Human Trafficking Organ Trafficking Organized CrimeTrafficking in Organs |
Author: Mandic, Danito Title: Separatists, Gangsters and Other Statesmen: The State, Secession and Organized Crime in Serbia and Georgia, 1989-2012 Summary: What role does organized crime play in determining the success of separatist movements? I explore the role of organized crime in the separatist movements of Kosovo in Serbia and South Ossetia in Georgia, two most similar cases that have generated different outcomes in levels of separatist movement success in 1989-2012 (inclusive). Through the comparison, I argue in six propositions that organized crime can both promote and retard separatist movement success. The explanatory propositions are: (1) organized crime can be formative of state structure, capacity and stability; (2) popular support for the separatist movement can directly depend on organized criminal activities; (3) organized criminal capacity can - through its relations to the host state and separatist movement - hinder or advance separatist success; (4) the ethnic heterogeneity/homogeneity of organized crime may determine its capacity and willingness to promote separatist success; (5) organized crime contributes to separatist movement success when it is (a) prepared and (b) predisposed to divert regional smuggling opportunities towards movement goals; and (6) whether host state repression helps or harms the separatist movement depends on the role that organized crime is fulfilling vis-a-vis the state and separatists. The argument is developed in four steps. First, I examine regional indicators of a connection between separatist success and organized crime, justifying a comparison of Serbia/Kosovo and Georgia/South Ossetia as most similar cases. Second, I process-trace changes in the relational triad of host state, separatist movement and organized crime over the 24-year history, contending that different trajectories in these relations account for different levels of success for the two separatist movements. Third, I examine under what conditions aggregate regional smuggling trends before critical junctures of movement success in fact contribute to that success; I model criminal "filtering" of the aggregate criminal flows as a determinant of whether separatist goals are advanced or hindered. Finally, I compare two nefarious criminal episodes - organ smuggling in Kosovo and nuclear smuggling in South Ossetia - that harmed the separatist movements; I show that superior organized criminal capacity in Kosovo (reflected in its infrastructure, autonomy and community) managed to contain the harm of exposure from the nefarious episode. Details: Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 2015. 390p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed Dec. 12, 2018 at: https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/17467287/MANDIC-DISSERTATION-2015.pdf?sequence=8 Year: 2015 Country: Serbia and Montenegro URL: https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/17467287/MANDIC-DISSERTATION-2015.pdf?sequence=8 Shelf Number: 154008 Keywords: Corruption Organ TraffickingOrganized Crime Smuggling Trafficking in Organs |