PH leads passage of UN resolution for victims of trafficking

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines and Germany led on July 5, Thursday, the successful adoption of a resolution in the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for victims of human trafficking.

Ambassador Evan Garcia, Philippine representative to the UN, said that this resolution encourages states to recognize trafficked persons as victims with specific protection needs, and to provide them with assistance and support that are appropriate to their cases.

He added that among other actions that were asked of states in this resolution is “providing trafficked persons with appropriate, relevant and understandable information on their rights and the mechanisms and procedures to exercise these rights.”

States are also asked to “facilitate legal assistance for trafficked persons to exercise their right to an effective remedy.”

Data show that there are at least 2.4 million people who are victims of trafficking at any time. At least 66% of the trafficked victims are women and 16% are girls.

In the 2012 report of the US State Department, up to 27 million people around the world are estimated to be victims of human trafficking. Out of the 185 countries included in the report, only 33 are said to have fully complied with laws in place to end human trafficking, such as the Universal Declaration on Human Rights which prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude.

As for the Philippines, the US State Department has placed the country under Tier 2 of its 3-tier metric system this year. Tier 2 countries are officially defined as “countries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA’s (Trafficking Victims Protection Act) minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.”

Philippines and Germany led 68 other nations in pushing for the adoption of the resolution. – Rappler.com