S. Korea case clearly ‘trafficking’ under UN guidelines

When a Thai minor was recently rescued from a massage parlour in South Korea through the cooperative efforts of the respective governments, this should have rung a bell (‘‘Aunt accused of procuring niece held’’, Bangkok Post, May 24).

The accusations in the case, which has yet to go to trial, represent a classic example of human trafficking for sexual exploitation. The victims of this exploitation, often a young girl or an adolescent, are lured by a relative or an acquaintance and promised decent money abroad.

Some victims are deceived by false promises of employment in occupations other than sex work. Other victims who chose to willingly work in the sex industry are deceived about the working conditions such as the inability to control clients. This has been revealed in much criminological research conducted on Thai victims in Japan, Australia and South Korea.

Once abroad, most of those lured by sweet promises have their travel documents and papers confiscated and they are then sexually exploited. Continuing threats and intimidation are common, and the girls often don’t have the skills to empower themselves.

This seems not have been the case here, as according to media reports the Thai minor was able to contact a police officer through Facebook.

What exactly is human trafficking? Human trafficking for sexual exploitation has its roots in the sex industry and is linked to migration. In analysing this concept, language is an important issue. ‘‘Trafficking in persons’’, ‘‘sex trafficking’’, ‘‘forced labour’’, ‘‘forced prostitution’’, ‘‘sexual exploitation’’, ‘‘slavery’’, ‘‘sex slaves’’ and ‘‘debt bondage’’ are all terms related to the concept of human trafficking.

Using the term ‘‘human trafficking’’ is regarded by all as a very soft one to generalise the cruelty and indignity which many victims face.

Since 2000, the United Nations has given great importance to transnational organised crime through the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (UNTOC) and two protocols supplementing the convention.

The importance of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, is the agreement on a global definition of human trafficking, which is:

‘‘Trafficking in persons shall mean 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.’’

Seven Asean member states have signed and ratified the UNTOC and nine Asean member states have ratified the UN trafficking protocol. According to government officials, Thailand will ratify the UNTOC this year.

The annual Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) of the US State Department, which has placed Thailand on the Tier 2 Watch List for a second year, has obviously motivated Thai authorities to prioritise the issue through different government policies. The next TIP report will be published in June.

Back to the case of the 17-year-old Thai girl rescued in South Korea, the blame game and quarreling in the media about whether the girl gave her consent or not is pointless.

Within the UN convention the transfer and harbouring of a child for the purpose of exploitation shall be considered ‘‘trafficking in persons’’.

And yes, under this definition a ‘‘child’’ means any person less than 18 years of age.