When a middle aged Colombian woman sold her daughter – a minor – for just five dollars to a seventy year old man who was looking for young girls to have intercourse with, the world was shocked. This act was condemned as being the worst abuse to humanity, especially considering that the victim was a child that could not defend herself. The man was later sentenced to a term twenty five years imprisonment and the woman was charged with various sex crimes and sentenced to a jail term of thirty years. That same year – 2011 – the police department of Nicaragua saved 180 victims of human trafficking. The perpetrators of the crime were sentenced to terms ranging between 12 and twenty five years. Still in 2011, the international organization for migration (IOM) reports indicated that human trafficking was the second most rampant crime in Latin America, after the trafficking of narcotics (Onuoha, 2011). The report, as well, indicated that the greatest cause of human trafficking in Latin America was non-compliance to the international laws and strategies against trafficking. The same report established that two Latin American states, Colombia and Nicaragua, were fast embracing the international anti-trafficking legislation. This paper seeks to explain the human trafficking menace and its possible effects on the political climate of Latin America.
The relationship between political leadership and human trafficking in Latin America may not be perceptible to the layman, but it is currently becoming a matter of common knowledge that the political climate of a region has a prominent role to play in influencing the phenomenon (Wheaton et al, 2010). Political leadership, for instance, in Latin America does influence the legislation of the countries. Through influencing the legislation of a country, the political leaders can reduce or eliminate the menace of drug and human trafficking. Arguably, the trafficking of human beings is one of the most profitable criminal activities in Latin America since those that buy the humans are ready to part with large sums of money (Rosenblum, 2007). In essence, there is no much difference between trafficking and murder since, just like a dead person, the person being trafficked is an object. The conscience of the victims as well as their power to make decisions is brought down to naught upon being sold (Gallagher, 2011). According to Latin American activists who are opposed to the idea, human trafficking is equivalent to slavery. As such, they refer to human trafficking in Latin America as modern day slavery (Rosenblum, 2007).
Latin American political leadership is likely to be modified as a response to this problem. Initially, the problem was known to be rampant in the south eastern parts of Asia. Currently Latin America and the Caribbean are taking over the trend. The political campaigns in the Latin countries of America are characterized by various pledges to end the problem of human trafficking (Rosenblum, 2007). It is characteristic of campaigns anywhere in the world to get modified by the problem that is most rampant as at the time of elections. A good example is the just completed American presidential elections that saw the re-election of president Obama. During the great debate between the Republicans and the Democrat, the topic of contention was the issue of illegal immigrants. Here, is why the issue of illegal immigration is Latin America’s greatest threat currently (Langberg, 2005). As such, it is incorporated into the political agenda. This is the same way the problem of human trafficking is bound to modify the political agenda of Latin America. Debatably, this is the most serious socio-political problem that the region is facing. This means that in the near future, the political climate of Latin America will be defined by the extent to which the potential leaders and all those that seek elective positions embrace the anti-human trafficking legislation (Wheaton, Schauer, & Galli, 2010).
Perhaps, the relationship between Latin American politics and human trafficking can best be understood through analyzing the principal causes of such a menace. Apparently, the most serious cause of human trafficking is the acute poverty in Latin American states. Poverty affects the rate of trafficking in Latin America in two ways (Deffner, 2011). The first one is that it forces people into the business of acting as the vendors of the human masses. Secondly, it makes the victims fall for the petty lies and deceptions that they will be taken to places with lots of opportunities and prospects. As such, poverty creates both the criminal and the victim. Political policies of Latin America are not strategic enough as to eliminate poverty. As such, as part of the solution to the problem, the political agenda will have to be changed and structured to suit the anti-trafficking legislation (Mace et al, 2012). A 2011 report titled Poverty And Inequality: Latin American Report,indicated that the levels of poverty in most parts of Latin America were devastating. Among the social issues that the report linked to poverty was the issue of human trafficking. According to another report done by the Latin American Center For Rural Development 2012,human traffickers find rich grounds or sources for human exports in the rural areas that were stricken by severe poverty.
Another sure cause of the human trafficking menace is the climate of armed conflict and civil upheavals. History has it that, Latin America has had quite a number of conflicts. Such conflicts, especially the Andean diplomatic crisis of 2008 saw many people emigrate the region (Kara, 2011). Such emigration added to the trafficking efforts. Similarly, the Cenepa War of 1995 that involved a serious armed clash between Ecuador and Peru caused the emigration and illegal trafficking of thousands of women and children who were concerned about their safety and well being (Langberg, 2005). The armed conflict between the Shinning path Militia and the government of Peru has been named as a serious security concern that has lasted for well over 32 years now. The war that began in 1982 seems like an endless crisis that contributes to emigration and illegal trafficking of humans (Deffner, 2011)..
It is clear that almost all the causes of human trafficking point to poor legislation and enforcement of such legislation. Latin American activists argue that, in actual fact, there is no such a thing as anti-trafficking legislation in Latin America. Clare Ribando Seelke (2012), a specialist in the affairs of Latin America, wrote in a report to the congress that the one of the major faults in Latin America was poor legislation. Ribando, in her report titled Trafficking In Persorns In Latin America And The Caribbean, states that according to statistics, 800000 people left Latin America each year, thanks to the efforts of the traffickers and poor legislation. Ribando (2012) further explains that Latin American borders were and still are not well protected. The report indicated that Brazilian borders were terribly vulnerable. It is for this reason, Ribando (2012) says, that the issue of trafficking will not end anytime soon in Latin America.
Another major cause of human trafficking in Latin America is the lack of equal access to education opportunities. In a report done by a South American quarterly magazine referred to as Newsletter between January and march 2005, it was stated that the disparities in education across the genders was a cause for concern in Brazil, Equador and Peru. Just like Nicaragua and Colombia the three states had a ratio of 4:1 representing the fraction of boys to girls in the elementary schools (Deffner, 2011). The international institute for education planning released a report in the year 2005 indicating that the high number of people being trafficked in South America was due to such disparities (Tickner, 2008). The institute’s report indicated that about 80% of the victims of trafficking in persons in Latin America were women and children who were from poor backgrounds and had little access to education opportunities.
Debatably, HIV pandemic is one of the most notable causes of human trafficking. The pandemic is one of the realities that people do not want to encounter. Apparently, the Latin American countries of Venezuela, Costa Rica, Brazil Argentina and Colombia are the most notoriously known for the pandemic. According to the World Health Organization, the number of people suffering from HIV and AIDS in Latin America, excluding Mexico, was 1.4 million in the year 2009 (Deffner, 2011). The number rose to 2 million in the year 2011. Amazingly, this figure is more than the total number of HIV and AIDS victims in the U.S, Japan, U.K and Canada combined (Deffner, 2011). The report further indicated that other social problems associated with the pandemic were poverty, homophobia, migration and social discrimination. According to (Bales & Soodalter, 2009), the migration relating to HIV and AIDS increased the chances of human trafficking significantly.
Apparently, it is the duty of the government to protect the lives of its civilians. The faults in the migration systems of Latin American countries have been identified as the greatest causes of the illegal trafficking of human beings. The amount of corruption at the migration offices as well as the border points of the countries of origin takes the biggest share of the blame (Farrugia, 2012). According to the Latin American Herald Tribune Magazine of November 2012, the government of Mexico had announced the planned dismissal of hundreds of corrupt immigration officials over the unexplained presence of more than 350, 000 undocumented immigrants (Onuoha, 2011). The Mexican government explained that it is such scrupulous officials that allow for the menace of trafficking in persons to grow significantly (Fetini, 18 June 2009).
The legislation relating to the trafficking menace in Latin America should be made more strict and specific. The legislators should embrace compliance to the international laws governing migration. Many Non-governmental organizations have carried out awareness campaigns in Latin American nations advocating for the introduction of strict anti-trafficking laws in all Latin American states (Kara, 2011). The officers from the NGO’s work hand in hand with people that have at one time or another fallen dupe of the menace. The NGO’s seek to work with the government and other agencies in combating the crime. The difference between government involvement and the NGO participation is that the government gets involved as a way of combating a crime. On the other hand, the NGOs get involved on humanitarian grounds (Deffner, 2011). As such, the NGO officers have the powers to create awareness and report any suspects to the government. However, they cannot arrest the perpetrators of the crime. Since the powers of arrest rest with the police department, it takes the involvement of both the nongovernmental organization and the government to eliminate the human trafficking menace (Koettl, 2009).
The political structure of the Latin American community can be modified in various ways to accommodate anti-trafficking policies. The political structure can achieve this through changing the agenda of the constitution. The constitution should take into consideration such things as equality of gender, criminalization of corruption, proper migration policy as well as powerful enforcement (Tickner, 2008). The marginalized groups and communities should be brought on board as far as political power sharing is concerned. Awareness should be created and media freedom given prominence. Collaborations among the nations in Latin America can help eliminate the menace (Kara, 2011). Arguably, the most effective way of having the menace eliminated from all societies is to foster good relations between the government of the countries of origin and the administrations of the destination nations (Koettl, 2009). Again, the most effective way of eliminating any problem from Latin America is to start from the root cause. Weighing the causes and the consequences is the most effective way of understanding the gravity of a matter.
In conclusion, it is apparent that the politics of Latin America are closely linked to the menace of human trafficking. However, with countries such as Colombia and Nicaragua fast embracing the ideas of international legislations and restrictions to migration, the menace is bound to be eliminated. The main causes of the problem of trafficking in persons revolve around legislation. The most notable causes in Latin America are poverty, corruption, poor enforcement, gender discrimination, HIV pandemic, unemployment and lack of access to education. The above mentioned are local causes. The causes of the menace in the international scene include migration restrictions, lack of awareness, and the marginalization of other communities. In addition, the Latin America the legal-political structures can determine the way in which the matter is dealt with. The combined efforts of the federal government and the nongovernmental agencies are the beginning of the solution to the menace. Illegal immigration should be treated with so much seriousness since this is the most effective way of identifying the culprits. The value of human life cannot be monetized. It is for this reason that the activists are in a spirited fight to have the perpetrators of the crimes punished and sentenced accordingly.
References
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