This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(April 2011) |
Ecuador ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in September 2002. [1]
Victims of human trafficking in Ecuador are generally women and children trafficked within the country from border and central highland areas to urban centers for commercial sexual exploitation, as well as for involuntary domestic servitude, forced begging, and forced labor in mines and other hazardous work. Ecuador prohibits human trafficking in its penal code, and penalties are commensurate with other serious crimes. Despite robust law enforcement efforts to combat trafficking, conviction rates remain low. The Ecuadorian government has ensured trafficking victims' access to legal, medical, psychological, and shelter services, in large part through its partnership with a network of NGOs. The government has also undertaken advertising campaigns against human trafficking, particularly child labor and child sex tourism.
The U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 2" in 2017 [2] and 2023. [3]
In 2023, the Organised Crime Index noted the high level of human trafficking in the country. [4]
Ecuador was a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor. The majority of trafficking victims were believed to be women and children trafficked within the country from border and central highland areas to urban centers for commercial sexual exploitation, as well as for involuntary domestic servitude, forced begging, and forced labor in mines and other hazardous work. There were also reports of Ecuadorian children being forced to engage in criminal activity, such as drug trafficking and robbery. Parents sometimes sent their children to neighboring countries in order to earn money, and Ecuadorian children were found in conditions of forced labor in Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, and the Dominican Republic, particularly as domestic servants, forced vendors, and beggars. Ecuadorian women were subjected to forced prostitution in Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, and Western Europe. To a lesser extent, Ecuador was a destination country for Colombian, Peruvian, and Chinese women and girls in forced prostitution. Indigenous Ecuadorians were vulnerable to forced labor in domestic servitude. Child sex tourism occurs mostly in urban areas, and in tourist destinations, such as Tena and the Galapagos Islands. Ecuador was a transit country for Chinese nationals smuggled to destinations elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere; some of these migrants were trafficked. [5]
Ecuador prohibits all forms of human trafficking in Article 190 of its penal code, amended in 2005; trafficking for the purpose of labor exploitation carries a punishment of six to nine years' imprisonment, and trafficking for sexual exploitation carries a penalty of eight to 12 years' imprisonment. Penalties for human trafficking may be increased, by aggravating circumstances, to a maximum of 35 years' imprisonment. Such penalties are commensurate with those prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape. Other statutes, such as Article 528.13, which prohibits the commercial sexual exploitation of children, are also used to prosecute human trafficking crimes. [5]
Despite reports of trafficking-related corruption, particularly related to civil registry officials issuing false identity documents to children, no investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of potentially complicit officials took place last year. According to Ecuadorian police, brothel owners commonly use false identity documents to exploit children in prostitution, and to avoid criminal liability for immigration and trafficking violations in the event of a police raid. [5]
Most cases of human trafficking investigated in Ecuador during 2009 involved forced prostitution, particularly of children. A growing number of investigations are related to labor exploitation of children and adults, but do not appear commensurate with the incidence of forced labor in the country, particularly the large number of children exploited for forced begging and forced domestic work. The government has provided police specializing in crimes against children with specific training on trafficking in persons. Ecuadorian authorities have formed partnerships with Colombian, Venezuelan, U.S., and Chinese officials to jointly investigate several trafficking cases. [5]
The Ecuadorian government has ensured trafficking victims' access to legal, medical, psychological, and shelter services, in large part through its partnership with a network of NGOs that received funding from the government and international organizations. Women and girls are eligible for shelter services, while the government provides boys and men with victim services on an ad hoc basis, though shelters for trafficking victims remain lacking in parts of the country. Foreign victims are eligible for the same services as Ecuadorian trafficking victims. In addition to these short-term services, the government provides victims with counseling, protection, job training, and educational training, and ensures that child victims received long-term care as needed. Through its Victim and Witness Protection Program, the Ecuadorian government operates specialized police units in the cities of Guayaquil, Machala, Portoviejo, Cuenca, and Quito. These units accompany other police authorities on brothel raids to coordinate immediate protective services toward identified trafficking victims, and assistance for victim witnesses during court proceedings. The government encourages victims to assist with the investigation and prosecution of trafficking offenders. While Ecuadorian authorities have conducted raids on establishments to rescue children in prostitution, according to the U.S. government they did not demonstrate adequate efforts to identify adult trafficking victims among women exploited in brothels and other vulnerable populations. In 2009, police removed 33 children from commercial sexual exploitation and five from conditions of forced labor. Authorities did not penalize identified trafficking victims for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of their being trafficked. The Ecuadorian government does not provide legal alternatives to the removal of foreign victims to countries where they face hardship or retribution, though foreign victims are not typically deported from the country. The government provides victim services to repatriated Ecuadorian trafficking victims. Ecuadorian authorities have developed trafficking in persons protocols for consular officers abroad and have begun training their diplomatic corps in these procedures. [5]
The Ecuadorian government has undertaken vigorous public awareness campaigns against child forced labor and prostitution. The government has forged partnerships with private telecommunications companies and a bank to combat child labor, in part through a network of schools for former child laborers. During December 2009, the government launched a national campaign against child begging and a radio soap opera series about the dangers of forced labor, which was broadcast on provincial radio stations in Spanish and Kichwa, a local language. State-owned radio stations have also donated airtime to an NGO in the highlands to broadcast messages on how to identify and avoid human trafficking situations. The Ecuadorian Ministry of Tourism has launched a nationwide campaign to prevent the commercial sexual exploitation of children in the tourism industry, and the government has continued a multimedia campaign in 20 departments to encourage citizens to identify and report trafficking cases.
Senegal ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in October 2003.
In 2008, Sierra Leone was a source, transit, and destination country for children and women trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Trafficking within the country is more prevalent than transnational trafficking and the majority of victims were children. Within the country, women and children were trafficked from rural provinces to towns and mining areas for domestic servitude, sexual exploitation, and forced labor in diamond mines, petty trading, petty crime, and for forced begging. Women and children may also have been trafficked for forced labor in agriculture and the fishing industry. Transnationally, Sierra Leonean women and children were trafficked to other West African countries, notably Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau, and The Gambia for the same purposes listed above and to North Africa, the Middle East, and Western Europe for domestic servitude and sexual exploitation. Sierra Leone was a destination country for children trafficked from Nigeria and possibly from Liberia and Guinea for forced begging, forced labor in mines and as porters, and for sexual exploitation. There were also cases of children trafficked from refugee communities in Sierra Leone.
In 2008, Syria was a destination and transit country for women and children trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. A significant number of women and children in the large and expanding Iraqi refugee community in Syria were reportedly forced into commercial sexual exploitation by Iraqi gangs or, in some cases, their families. Similarly, women from Somalia and Eastern Europe were trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation. Foreign women recruited for work in Syria as cabaret dancers were not permitted to leave their work premises without permission, and they had their passports withheld - indicators of involuntary servitude. Some of these women may also have been forced into prostitution. Anecdotal evidence suggests that Syria may have been a destination for sex tourism from other countries in the region. In addition, women from Indonesia, the Philippines, Ethiopia, and Sierra Leone were recruited for work in Syria as domestic servants, but some face conditions of involuntary servitude, including long hours, non-payment of wages, withholding of passports, restrictions on movement, threats, and physical or sexual abuse. Syria may also have been a transit point for Iraqi women and girls trafficked to Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), and Lebanon for forced prostitution. The Government of Syria did not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and did not making significant efforts to do so. Syria again failed to report any law enforcement efforts to punish trafficking offenses over the last year. In addition, the government did not offer protection services to victims of trafficking and may have arrested, prosecuted, or deported some victims for prostitution or immigration violations.
Uruguay ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in March 2005.
Indonesia is a source, transit, and destination country for women, children, and men trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. The greatest threat of trafficking facing Indonesian men and women is that posed by conditions of forced labor and debt bondage in more developed Asian countries and the Middle East.
Afghanistan is one of the source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children who are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. Trafficking within Afghanistan is more prevalent than transnational trafficking, and the majority of victims are children. In 2005 the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) reported 150 child trafficking cases to other states. Afghan boys and girls are trafficked within the country and into Iran, Pakistan and India as well as Persian gulf Arab states, where they live as slaves and are forced to prostitution and forced labor in brick kilns, carpet-making factories, and domestic service. In some cases the boys and girls were used for organ trafficking. Forced begging is a growing problem in Afghanistan; Mafia groups organize professional begging rings. Afghan boys are subjected to forced prostitution and forced labor in the drug smuggling industry in Pakistan and Iran. Afghan women and girls are subjected to forced prostitution, arranged and forced marriages—including those in which husbands force their wives into prostitution—and involuntary domestic servitude in Pakistan and Iran, and possibly India. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) report that over the past year, increasing numbers of boys were trafficked internally. Some families knowingly sell their children for forced prostitution, including for bacha bazi - a practice combining sexual slavery and child prostitution, through which wealthy men use harems of young boys for social and sexual entertainment. Other families send their children with brokers to gain employment. Many of these children end up in forced labor, particularly in Pakistani carpet factories. NGOs indicate that families sometimes make cost-benefit analyses regarding how much debt they can incur based on their tradable family members.
Austria is a destination and transit country for women, men, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor.
Belgium is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. Victims originate in Eastern Europe, Africa, East Asia, as well as Brazil and India. Some victims are smuggled through Belgium to other European countries, where they are subjected to forced labor and forced prostitution. Male victims are subjected to forced labor and exploitation in restaurants, bars, sweatshops, horticulture sites, fruit farms, construction sites, and retail shops. There were reportedly seven Belgian women subjected to forced prostitution in Luxembourg in 2009. According to a 2009 ECPAT Report, the majority of girls and children subjected to forced prostitution in Belgium originate from Balkan and CIS countries, Eastern Europe, Asia and West Africa ; some young foreign boys are exploited in prostitution in major cities in the country. Local observers also report that a large portion of children trafficked in Belgium are unaccompanied, vulnerable asylum seekers and refugees. Criminal organizations from Thailand use Thai massage parlors in Belgium, which are run by Belgian managers, to sexually exploit young Thai women. These networks are involved in human smuggling and trafficking to exploit victims economically and sexually. Belgium is not only a destination country, but also a transit country for children to be transported to other European country destinations.
Bolivia Bolivia ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in May 2006.
Rwanda ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in September 2003.
In 2009, Papua New Guinea was a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor. Women and children were subjected to commercial sexual exploitation and involuntary domestic servitude; trafficked men were forced to provide labor in logging and mining camps. Children, especially young girls from tribal areas, were most vulnerable to being pushed into commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor by members of their immediate family or tribe. Families traditionally sold girls into forced marriages to settle their debts, leaving them vulnerable to involuntary domestic servitude, and tribal leaders trade the exploitative labor and service of girls and women for guns and political advantage. Young girls sold into marriage were often forced into domestic servitude for the husband's extended family. In more urban areas, some children from poorer families were prostituted by their parents or sold to brothels. Migrant women and teenage girls from Malaysia, Thailand, China, and the Philippines were subjected to forced prostitution, and men from China were transported to the country for forced labor.
In 2009, Paraguay was a source and transit country for women and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically sex trafficking, as well as a source and transit country for men, women, and children in forced labor. Most Paraguayan trafficking victims were found in Argentina, Spain, and Bolivia; fewer victims were exploited in Brazil, Chile, France, South Korea, and Japan. In one case, 44 suspected Paraguayan trafficking victims were detained at the international airport in Amsterdam, and Dutch authorities arrested the alleged trafficking offender. In another case, 13 Paraguayan women were found in conditions of forced prostitution in a brothel in La Paz, Bolivia. Paraguay was a destination country for 30 Indonesian orphans, who were allegedly brought into the country for a long-term soccer camp, but who the government suspects are trafficking victims.
Peru ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in January 2002.
In 2009, Niger was a source, transit, and destination country for children and women subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. Caste-based slavery practices, rooted in ancestral master-slave relationships, continued primarily in the northern part of the country. Children are trafficked within Niger for forced begging by religious instructors known as marabouts; forced labor in gold mines, agriculture, and stone quarries; as well as for involuntary domestic servitude and forced prostitution. The ILO estimates at least 10,000 children work in gold mines in Niger, many of whom may have been forced to work. Nigerien children, primarily girls, were also subjected to commercial sexual exploitation along the border with Nigeria, particularly in the towns of Birni N'Konni and Zinder along the main highway, and boys are trafficked to Nigeria and Mali for forced begging and manual labor. There were reports Nigerien girls entered into "false marriages" with citizens of Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates: upon arrival in these countries, the girls are often forced into involuntary domestic servitude. Child marriage was a problem, especially in rural areas, and may have contributed to conditions of human trafficking. Niger is a transit country for women and children from Benin, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, and Togo en route to Northern Africa and Western Europe; some may be subjected to forced labor in Niger as domestic servants, forced laborers in mines and on farms, and as mechanics and welders. To a lesser extent, Nigerien women and children were sometimes trafficked from Niger to North Africa the Middle East, and Europe for involuntary domestic servitude and forced commercial sexual exploitation."
In 2009, Ghana was a country of origin, transit, and destination for women and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. The nonconsensual exploitation of Ghanaian citizens, particularly children, was more common than the trafficking of foreign migrants. The movement of internally trafficked children was either from rural to urban areas, or from one rural area to another, as from farming to fishing communities.
Guinea ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in November 2004.
Malawi ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in September 2005.
In 2009 Morocco was a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children who are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. Children were trafficked within the country from rural areas to urban centers to work as maids or laborers, or for commercial sexual exploitation. Moroccan men, women, and children were exploited for forced labor and prostitution in European and Middle Eastern countries. Young Moroccan girls from rural areas were recruited to work as child maids in cities, but often experienced non-payment of wages, threats, and physical or sexual abuse, and sometimes faced restrictions on movement. These practices indicate that these girls are subjected to involuntary servitude. Moroccan boys experienced forced labor as apprentices in the artisan and construction industries and in mechanic shops. A few Moroccan men and boys were lured to Europe by fraudulent job offers, and are subsequently forced to sell drugs. In addition, men and women from sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Philippines entered Morocco voluntarily but illegally with the assistance of smugglers; once in Morocco, some of the women were coerced into prostitution or, less frequently, forced into domestic service. Nigerian gangs, who engaged in a variety of criminal activities like human smuggling and drug trafficking, competed to control the trafficking of sub-Saharan Africans in Morocco.
Burundi ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in May 2012.
The country of Colombia, South America, has a high prevalence of women and girls who are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution. These women and girls work within Colombia, and are also sent to sex tourism destinations in other parts of Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, and North America, including the United States. The humanitarian crisis in Venezuela has worsened from 2010 to the present, with almost 1.5 million people fleeing from Venezuela to cities throughout Colombia in recent years. Immigrants in major Colombian cities such as Bogotá, Medellín, and Cali find work scarce, and some turn to prostitution as a last resort to feed their families. Within Colombia, some men are found in conditions of forced labor, but the forced prostitution of women and children from rural areas and urban areas remains a larger problem. Individual cases of forced marriage – a risk factor for trafficking – involuntary domestic servitude, and forced begging have been reported. Some children are subjected to forced labor in mines and quarries, in the agricultural sector or as domestic servants. Groups at high risk for internal trafficking include displaced persons, poor women in rural areas, and relatives of members of criminal organizations. Continued armed violence in Colombia has displaced many in rural communities, making them vulnerable to human trafficking. Guerillas and new illegal armed groups have been reported to forcibly recruit children to join their ranks; the government estimates thousands of children are exploited under such conditions. Members of gangs and organized criminal networks may force their relatives and acquaintances, and displaced persons – typically women and children – into conditions of forced prostitution and forced labor, including forced work in the illegal drug trade. Colombia is also a destination for foreign child sex tourists, particularly in coastal cities such as Cartagena and Barranquilla. Migrants from South America, Africa, and China transit Colombia en route to the United States and Europe; some may fall victim to traffickers.