The social situation of youth: Trafficking

FNs 59. generalforsamling.

Ungdomsrepresentant Hedda Haakestad

New York, 4 oktober 2004

Mr Chairman,

Distinguished delegates,

Young people hold the key to the future and hence the key to a better world. I am honoured to be here at the United Nations General Assembly as a youth observer. Norway has a long tradition of including young people in its delegation to the General Assembly, and invites all other Member States to join us in this tradition.

Mr Chairman,

The abolition of slavery was an important step for mankind towards freedom, equality and justice. Regretfully, we are still living in a world where human beings are traded and exploited.

Every day, women and children are sold to work in slave-like conditions and prostitution. Many women and children are abducted from their homes, families and friends. They are forced into a life where their bodies are reduced to a means of providing satisfaction and cheap labour.

Trafficking in women and children should be fought by attacking its root causes. Trafficking is caused among other things by social, economic and political factors. Poverty is beyond doubt one of the key factors. Poverty deprives women of education and employment and often forces them into the sex industry. Trafficking is a common post-conflict problem. It thrives in the power vacuum that so often arises in post-conflict situations.

Trafficking in persons is, however, more than just a reflection of poverty and political turmoil. It clearly highlights the fact that in many societies women are oppressed and that equal opportunity is still just a dream for far too many.

Mr Chairman,

The fight to end trade and exploitation in human beings calls for a multi-faceted strategy. Although the state has the primary responsibility to eradicate this evil, international action is also called for.

The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) states that all women are to be protected against abduction and trafficking. We urge all states to ratify and effectively implement the convention without reservations.

The Norwegian government gives high priority to efforts to combat trafficking. Last year we presented an Action Plan against human trafficking. The scope and complexity of the challenges posed by trafficking can hardly be exaggerated. Consequently, the fight against trafficking has to be fought in a number of arenas through:

1. Adequate financial and social support to the victims
2. Training for law enforcement officials and legal reform assistance
3. Information and awareness-raising campaigns
4. Assistance to repatriation and rehabilitation in the country of origin
5. Training for immigration officials, medical personnel and social workers
6. Efforts to combat sex tourism
7. Programmes and strategies for rescuing victims from slave-like conditions.

The adoption of the UN Protocol against Human Trafficking was an important step. It is now crucial that all countries ratify the protocol, and that they comply with the obligations therein. Trafficking is carried out by very well organised criminal groups, many of them operating on a global scale. Those responsible for these heinous crimes have to be brought to justice. This calls for the strengthening of cross-border law enforcement and judicial co-operation.

Mr Chairman,

We can make an important contribution to halting the trade in sexual services at the national level as well. Norway has, for example, introduced a code of conduct for government employees, prohibiting the purchase of sexual services while on business trips abroad.

Military personnel serving in international operations can also contribute to the problem of trafficking and prostitution. Together with the US, Norway put forward an initiative for a code of conduct for NATO personnel involved in international operations, which was adopted at the Istanbul Summit in June. This was an important step in the right direction.

We applaud the Secretary General’s Bulletin on “Special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse”, which entered into force in October last year. We urge all countries to strictly enforce these measures among their troops, aid workers and NGOs participating in international operations.

Mr Chairman,

We believe that the necessary resources must be made available to curb trafficking. We believe that in order to reach this goal it is

important to involve young people in the decision-making processes. One small step, but an important signal in this respect, would be to include more young people in the delegations to the General Assembly next year, to give more young voices a chance to be heard on the issues, aspirations and concerns of the world’s youth.

Thank you.