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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
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Results for trafficking in organs
8 results foundAuthor: European Roma Rights Centre and People in Need Title: Breaking the Silence: Trafficking in Romani Communities Summary: Estimates provided during research by the ERRC and PiN about the perceived representation of Roma among trafficked persons in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia are several times higher than the proportion of Roma among the general population, indicating a disproportionate impact of this practice on Romani communities. Romani women and children were found to be particularly vulnerable to trafficking, which brings Roma to other countries and to other locations within their home countries. Roma are trafficked for various purposes, including sexual exploitation, labour exploitation, domestic servitude, organ trafficking, illegal adoption and forced begging. The vulnerability factors identified in this study are closely linked to those commonly associated with non-Romani trafficked persons and include structural forms of ethnic and gender discrimination, poverty and social exclusion which result in low educational achievement, high levels of unemployment, usury, growing up in State care, domestic violence and substance abuse. Gaps in law, policy and practice in the field of anti-trafficking constitute barriers to the fight against trafficking in Romani communities. Few Roma are identified by police as trafficked persons and many are reluctant to report themselves to law enforcement agencies for fear of reprisal from their traffickers or of prosecution for the conduct of criminal acts as a trafficked person. Similarly low numbers of Romani trafficked persons access victim prevention and protection services and general social protection systems are failing to reduce the extreme vulnerability of Roma to trafficking. The overwhelming lack of support available to Romani trafficked persons negatively impacts the ability of many to re-integrate, leaving them highly vulnerable to re-trafficking. Details: Budapest: European Roma Rights Centre, 2011. 92p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 1, 2011 at: http://www.errc.org/cms/upload/file/breaking-the-silence-19-march-2011.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Europe URL: http://www.errc.org/cms/upload/file/breaking-the-silence-19-march-2011.pdf Shelf Number: 121936 Keywords: BeggingForced LaborHuman TraffickingMinoritiesRomaniesSexual ExploitationTrafficking in Organs |
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: Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime Title: Understanding Illicit Trade: Impact of Human Trafficking and Smuggling on the Private Sector Summary: Around the globe, an estimated 20.9 million people are in situations of so-called modern day slavery, or forced labour, at any point of time. Many of these victims are trafficked within their country or across borders. Considering this number, there is an urgent need to improve our understanding of criminal activities in the area of human trafficking and exploitation, the difficulties to track perpetrators and protect victims. The individual criminals and complex networks behind different forms of trafficking and exploitation as well as the high level of profits connected to their illicit activities stress the need to consider human trafficking and exploitation in terms of transnational organised crime. Drawn from a series of webinars hosted by the Global Initiative and Babson College in 2014-15, this report highlights emerging human trafficking challenges and identifies promising anti-trafficking initiatives from the private sector. Each chapter of the report covers one of five key areas of human trafficking: - Migrant workers in the USA and their vulnerability to labour exploitation - Online sexual exploitation of children and recent technological developments in detecting this form of crime - Human trafficking in football, particularly in the area of recruitment of young athletes - Labour exploitation and the construction industry, using the example of the kafala system in the Gulf countries to highlight flawed national regulation putting migrant works at risk of being trafficked and exploited - Responding to the global black market in illicit organs and the intrinsic role the private sector has played in enabling this illicit business Whilst each chapter clearly shows the organised criminal networks behind the different forms of trafficking and exploitation, there are significant differences in the types of crimes and their individual complexities. It is, therefore, crucial to deepen the research into each of the areas and to develop individual responses and strategies private sectors can apply to counter criminal networks across the globe. The report finds that the private sector needs to play a stronger role in ensuring ethical and fair practices, and to contribute its unique knowledge and expertise to help in the fight against human trafficking. Overall, he private sector is an increasingly important actor in enabling as well as in combating the different aspects of human trafficking. Details: Geneva, SWIT: The Initiative, 2016. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 18, 2016 at: http://www.globalinitiative.net/download/global-initiative/Understanding%20Illicit%20Trade_06.05.16(1).pdf Year: 2016 Country: International URL: http://www.globalinitiative.net/download/global-initiative/Understanding%20Illicit%20Trade_06.05.16(1).pdf Shelf Number: 139069 Keywords: Forced laborHuman SmugglingHuman TraffickingIllicit TradeOrganized CrimeTrafficking in Organs |
Author: International Organization for Migration Title: Enhancing the Safety and Sustainability of the Return and Reintegration of Victims of Trafficking: Lessons Learnt from the CARE and TACT Projects Summary: This report follows on from the implementation of two distinct but complementary projects implemented by IOM: Coordinated Approach for the Reintegration of victims of trafficking returning voluntarily to any third country (CARE project) and Transnational Action - Safe and sustainable return and reintegration for victims of Trafficking returning voluntarily to priority countries: Albania, Morocco and Ukraine (TACT project). The two projects involved a total of 9 European Union Member States (EU MS) - Austria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom - committed to improving the return and reintegration programmes available for Victims of Trafficking (VoTs), in order to make the process safer and more sustainable, and to reduce the risks of re-trafficking. Bearing this objective in mind, IOM endeavored through the implementation of both projects to develop, implement, and fine-tune Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the Return and Reintegration of Victims of Trafficking, ensuring a continuum of care. This joint report aims to gather and share the lessons learnt through the implementation of both projects, suggesting a way forward for the establishment of transnational referral mechanisms between EU MS and third countries. The issue of transnational referral mechanisms is a key priority in the current EU anti-trafficking efforts, as mentioned in the EU Anti-trafficking Strategy for the period 2012-2016. . As part of the introduction, this report will start with an overview of the key concepts and legal framework relating to trafficking and voluntary return, analyzing their linkage, and a brief explanation of the content of the EU Anti-trafficking Strategy, in the framework of which both the CARE and TACT projects are implemented. The first section will present in detail the CARE and TACT projects objectives and activities. The second section will go through the lessons drawn from the implementation of the CARE project and propose recommendations to enhance the assistance and protection provided to returning VoTs. The third and final section will go a step further, presenting some reflections in turn on the concept of the Transnational Referral Mechanism (TRM) and its possible concrete implementation throughout the EU and third countries. The international legislative framework on human trafficking is governed by the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its two Additional Protocols. The Convention, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly through resolution 55/252 on 15 November 2000, entered into force on 29 September 2003. It is complemented by the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children , also known as the Palermo Protocol (entered into force on 25 December 2003) and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air , which entered into force on 28 January 2004. According to Article 3 (a) of the Palermo Protocol, "Human trafficking" can be described as "the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs". Details: Paris, France: IOM, 2014. 126p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 15, 2017 at: http://iomfrance.org/sites/default/files/Enhancing%20the%20Safety%20and%20Sustainability%20of%20the%20Return%20and%20Reintegration%20of%20VoTs.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Europe URL: http://iomfrance.org/sites/default/files/Enhancing%20the%20Safety%20and%20Sustainability%20of%20the%20Return%20and%20Reintegration%20of%20VoTs.pdf Shelf Number: 145474 Keywords: Forced LaborHuman TraffickingModern SlaverySex TraffickingTrafficking in OrgansVictim ServicesVictims of Trafficking |