Trafficking - forced labour - gender equality

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Dear ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure for me to welcome you all to this meeting on trafficking, forced labour and gender equality – a side event to the Oslo Conference on Decent Work taking place tomorrow on 5th of September.

I would like to start by thanking our eminent panel of guest speakers for their willingness to share experiences, views and expertise with us here today. We look forward to hearing you. I would also like to encourage you all to contribute to the debate by raising questions or commenting on the issues raised.

The objective of the side event is two-fold. Firstly, to highlight trafficking, forced labour and the gender dimension of globalisation in the broader context of decent work.

Secondly, to provide an input from experts and civil society to the Decent Work conference organised tomorrow at the initative of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Key messages from the event will be forwarded to the conference on Decent Work tomorrow by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. I am confident that the conference will benefit from the extraordinary competence and experience that is gathered here today.

In my view, progress on the descent work agenda is only possible if we use a broad range of tools and means, both at the national and at the international level. We need strong cooperation between authorities, labour and employer’s organisations – and we need a close partnership with civil society.

Trafficking in human being has rightly been described as the modern equivalent of the slave trade. It is amongst the gravest forms of human rights violations. It is a denial of human dignity, and as such it is intolerable.
   
A lot has been done the last few years to combat human trafficking. Awarness amongst political leaders and in the general public alike has risen dramatically. This is positive and it is necessary.

We know that trafficking in human beings is a problem of supply and demand. Growing public demand for cheaper goods and services may fuel exploitative practices. Public awareness about trafficking for labour exploitation is therefore key.

However, we know that the numbers of human beings falling prey to traffickers are growing day by day. The reason is simple: human trafficking is a billion dollar industry controlled by organised crime. Profits made are immense. Risks are limited. The victims are particularly vulnerable individuals or groups unlikely to stand up and defend themselves without the support of others.

We know that prostitution and trafficking often goes hand in hand. This is the reason why Norway has now decided to criminalize the buying of sexual services from 2009. It will be important to monitor the effect this will have on trafficking for sexual exploitation.

According to the ILO; trafficking for forced labour is increasing. Most of the victims are migrants, unaware of their rights, and of national legislation. In the Nordic countries, victims are often illegal migrant workers or workers from less developed EU countries. 

Legislation on trafficking for forced labour is quite new in many countries. In Norway there has until now only been one criminal conviction regarding forced labour.

Prosecution is – important though it is – only one of the tools we need to apply in our anti-trafficking efforts. Prevention and protection are equally important.

And we need to be targeted. We must identify sectors in the economy that are vulnerable to trafficking in human beings. Especially prone to exploitation are for instance restaurants, hotels, agriculture, domestic households, subcontracting in the construction industry and berry picking. Trafficking even sometimes occurs in cases where the public sector is the end customer.

A growing demand for domestic help and the need for cheaper services within the domestic and cleaning sector makes it even more important to facilitate legal growth for such sectors.

Furthermore, we need to increase the involvement of trade unions, labour inspectors and of NGOs to reach out also to migrant workers, including irregular migrants and domestic workers. Employers also have a crucial role in identifying victims of forced labour.

A strong partnership between law enforcement and civil society is necessary in terms of better identification of cases. Identification not only of victims but of such crime and the networks involved.

The Norwegian Government’s Plan of Action to Combat Human Trafficking (2006-2009) states that if the fight against human trafficking is to be effective, there must be a strong international framework and international cooperation at the operational level.

And action needs to be monitored. Seeing is believing. This is why Norway strongly supports the new Council of Europe Convention against trafficking in human beings and the establishment of its monitoring mechanism GRETA – the Group of Experts against Trafficking in Human Beings. An effective, independent monitoring mechanism is key to obtain and to measure progress.

For the same reason, Norway will during the Conference of States Parties in October this year support efforts in view of the establishment of a monitoring mechanism under the UN Protocol to Prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children, the Palermo Protocol.

Norway has established a strategic partnership with the ILO to contribute to the organisation’s Decent work agenda, which includes ratifying and enforcing the ILOs eight core conventions. Four of them are directly relevant to human trafficking, two banning child labour and two banning forced labour. The strategic partnership with the ILO entails both financial contributions and political support.

The ILO estimates that 12 million people are involved in forced labour in the world, many of whom as a consequence of human trafficking. We are very pleased to have with us Mr Roger Plant, Head of ILO’s Special Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour who will highlight the measures against forced labour taken by ILO.

The Council of Europe plays an important role in protecting and promoting human rights. Earlier this year, the Council of Europe Convention on Human Trafficking entered into force, and Norway is now party to this new instrument. We regret that Deputy Secretary-General Ms. Maud de Boer-Buquicchio has had to cancel her visit to Norway because of the events in Georgia. But we are grateful that she has provided her statement in writing with an update on the action taken by the Council of Europe against trafficking in human beings.

I would also like to welcome our speakers on the role of the private sector in the morning session, Ms Karin Beate Theodorsen, Head of international department, Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions, LO, and Ms Mitra Nasreen Forouhar, Lead Advisor, in StatoilHydro on corporate integrity and social responsibility.
 
We look very much forward to the presentations by the Secretary General of the Norwegian Red Cross, Mr Trygve Nordby, and by the Norwegian Church Aid, programme coordinator, Mr Gisle Kvanvig, on the strategies of the NGOs to combat forced labour.

Let me conclude by underlining again that everyone has a role to play to promote decent work and to combat human trafficking for forced labour:

• Governments must demonstrate a strong political commitment, ratify and implement the core conventions on human trafficking and on decent work.
• Parliamentarians must ensure that the necessary legislation is in place to protect victims and prosecute the traffickers.
• Private companies have to make sure that their supply chain is not tainted by the blood and sweat of modern slaves.
• Trade Unions must put decent work on the top of the agenda, including decent work for migrant workers.
• Media can and do play a very important role in raising awareness and in exposing traffickers and abusers.
• NGOs and civil society are key to raising awareness and to protecting victims.

This afternoon, we will address in particular the gender dimensions of globalisation. We are particularly grateful to the ILO for having produced a discussion paper on this issue. This will be presented by Ms Amelita King-Dejardin. The afternoon session will be chaired by Mr Fredrik Arthur, our new Ambassador for women’s rights and gender equality.

I am certain that the debate in the afternoon on women’s ways to prosperity and independence will give important inputs to the issue and to the conference on decent work taking place tomorrow.

Thank you for your attention, and I wish you good luck in your work.