Combating trafficking in persons through gender-focused strategy.

On 20 December 2004, the United Nations General Assembly adopted by consensus resolution 59/166, Trafficking in women and girls. Since 1995, when the Philippines first led the tabling and negotiations on a draft text on trafficking, it had enjoyed the broadest support from UN Member States. The resolution is one of the international tools that have provided a basis and guidance for action by Governments, international bodies and civil society to combat the problem of trafficking.

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When the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, came into existence in 2000, the resolution's content was strengthened to include the Convention's legal and juridical principles.

It is estimated that about 1 million persons are shipped across and within national borders and sold into modern-day slavery. Of this number, women and girls comprise the staggering majority: global data estimate that about 80 per cent of victims are female and 70 per cent of them are trafficked for the commercial sex industry.

Nevertheless, while trafficking often bears a woman's or girl's face, it is unfortunate that the Protocol does not put forth a real gender perspective more than merely mentioning the phrase "especially women and girls" throughout its provisions. While containing an excellent provision for the criminalization of trafficking, among other important countermeasures, the Convention, however, does not give any fail-safe assurance that these anti-trafficking efforts will indeed incorporate a gender perspective.

With its experience with human trafficking, the Philippines as a country of origin has a strong gender approach as a strategy to combat the problem. The resolution tabled in the General Assembly, as well as in the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, particularly aims to complement the force of the Protocol by highlighting the vulnerability, needs and concerns of the majority of the victims of trafficking. While also expressing concern about the situation of men and boy victims, the resolution points to the strategic importance and value of adopting a gender-based approach to effectively combat the problem.

A significant development in the resolution in 2004 was the inclusion of language pointing to the need to address the demand side that fuels the trafficking of victims. The debate on the issue had always been wrought by the divergence of interests between countries of origin and destination. One of the elements that makes the resolution valuable is that it seeks to discourage the demand for trafficking, especially affecting women and girls--an issue that the Protocol does not confront. The Protocol as the international legal instrument and the resolution on trafficking in women and girls together would constitute an effective and strategic foundation for action by all concerned actors to eliminate the problem.

Negotiating the resolution was not an easy task. Indeed, there are many provisions in the text that still need to be strengthened and many other issues that remain unaddressed. Its development may be seen as incremental, but the progressive enhancement of its content is significant in achieving universal agreement on the most essential principles and strategies.

Marie Yvette L. Banzon is a Third Committee expert at the Permanent Mission of the Philippines to the United Nations and has facilitated the negotiations of the resolution on trafficking in women and girls. She was appointed Assistant to the Coordinator of the Intergovernmental Asia-Pacific Consultations on Refugees, Displaced Persons and Migrants in 2001.

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