Trafficking in human beings

Trafficking in human beings is a multi-billion-dollar form of

international organized crime, constituting modern-day slavery.

Victims are recruited and trafficked between countries and regions

using deception or coercion. They are stripped of their autonomy,
freedom of movement and choice, and face various forms of
physical and mental abuse.

There are three main types of human trafficking:

 Trafficking for forced labour;

 Trafficking for sexual exploitation;
 Trafficking for the harvesting of tissue, cells and organs.

People smuggling

Closely connected is the issue of people smuggling in which

smugglers procure, for financial or material gain, the illegal entry
of an individual into a country of which he is neither a citizen nor a
permanent resident. Generally speaking, once payment is
completed, the relationship between the migrant and the smuggler
is terminated.

Irregular migration is not a new issue, but is one that has taken on
new proportions in recent years, especially in the Mediterranean
region. Transnational organized crime groups are taking advantage
of this crisis in order to make huge profits. They facilitate the
passage of migrants across borders in return for payment, with
little or no regard for their safety and wellbeing.

Linked to people smuggling and human trafficking are other

crimes such as illicit money flows and the use of fraudulent travel
documents.

INTERPOL's response
Trafficking in human beings is a crime under international law and
many national and regional legal systems. Given the complexities
of the issue, a multitude of strategies are necessary at a range of
levels in order to reduce the problem.

 Operations and projects – concrete action in the field to

dismantle human trafficking networks;
 INTERPOL tools – technical tools and systems for sharing
information globally;
 Partnerships – strengthening our approach by working across
sectors;
 Events and conferences – bringing together experts from
across the world.

We have collated a number of resources covering general

information, international legislation, and law enforcement guides
and manuals.

Operations

At INTERPOL, we support national police in tactical deployments

in the field, aimed at breaking up the criminal networks behind
trafficking in human beings and people smuggling.

Operations are preceded by training workshops to ensure that

officers on the ground are trained in a range of skills, including
specialist interview techniques and the use of specialized
equipment.

Deployments effectively combine police action with input from a

number of different sectors such as customs and environmental
officers, non-governmental organizations, officials from the
Ministries of Health and Social Affairs, and prosecutors.

 1 Forced child labour

  2 Smuggling Training Operation Programme (STOP)

A number of operations have targeted forced child labour in

Africa.

Operation Akoma (2015)

More than 150 children, aged between five and 16, were rescued
following operations in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana targeting child
trafficking and exploitation. The ongoing operation has so far led
to the arrest of 25 people involved in forcing the children to work
in extreme conditions, seriously jeopardizing their health.

Focused on the agricultural and trade sectors, the operations were

run in partnership with the International Organization for
Migration.

More than 250 officials representing law enforcement,

government, immigration, forestry, social and medical services,
were trained prior to the operation. Training covered the
identification of cases and ensuring rescued children received the
necessary care before eventually being returned to safety.

Read the Operation Akoma media release (22 June 2015)

Operation Nawa (2014)

In an operation against child trafficking and exploitation, law

enforcement authorities in Côte d’Ivoire rescued 76 children
believed to have been trafficked across West Africa for the
purposes of illegal child labour.

Some 170 Ivorian law enforcement officers participated in

Operation Nawa, in which gendarmes, police and forestry agents
targeted cacao fields and illegal gold mines in five areas across the
Soubré region. With the majority of the suspected child trafficking
victims believed to originate from Burkina Faso and Mali, the
operation led to the arrest and sentencing of eight traffickers (five
men and three women).

Read the Operation Nawa media release (4 April 2014)

Operation Tuy (2012)

Nearly 400 victims of child trafficking were rescued across

Burkina Faso in an operation coordinated by INTERPOL.

The children, some as young as 10 years old, were discovered

working under extreme conditions in illegally-operated gold mines
and cotton fields. More than 70 individuals were arrested for child
trafficking and labour offences.

Read the Operation Tuy media release (22 November 2012)

Operation Bia (2011)

In an operation codenamed Bia II, INTERPOL joined forces with

national authorities in Ghana to rescue child victims of forced
labour.

The children, aged from five to 17 had been trafficked from other
parts of the country to work on fishing boats, often up to 14 hours
a day. Ghana’s police rescued 116 children and arrested 30
suspected traffickers, 28 of whom were later sentenced in court for
exposing children to danger and engaging minors in hazardous
activities.

Read the Operation Bia II media release (25 May 2011)

Operation Bana (2010)

Police in Gabon rescued more than 140 children who had been
trafficked from 10 different countries to work as forced labour in
local markets, in an INTERPOL-led operation codenamed Bana.
Some 44 people were arrested in the operation, which was the first
operation of its kind in Central Africa. During the operation, teams
of officials carried out checks at market stalls in the capital city
Libreville, where children as young as six years old were working
in a variety of roles, from carrying heavy goods to selling products.

Read the Operation Bana media release (20 December 2010)

Operation Cascades (2010)

More than 100 suspected child trafficking victims were identified

and taken into care and 11 individuals arrested, following an
operation led by police in Burkina Faso and supported by
INTERPOL. Dozens more children were also returned to their
families following child labour investigations.

During the three-day operation, police officers checked highways

linking Burkina Faso’s capital to other regions in the country and
to adjoining countries, and also raided illegally-operated gold
mining quarries in the Cascades region.

Read the Operation Cascades media release (5 November 2010)

Operation Bia (2009)

INTERPOL's first-ever police operation targeting child trafficking

in West Africa resulted in the rescue of more than 50 child workers
and the arrest of eight people in connection with the illegal
recruitment of children. The children were of seven different
nationalities – demonstrating the extent of transnational child
trafficking in the region – and had been bought by plantation
owners needing cheap labour to harvest the cocoa and palm
plantations. The children were discovered working under extreme
conditions, forced to carry massive loads seriously jeopardizing
their health.

Types of human trafficking

There are many forms of trafficking, but one consistent aspect is
the abuse of the inherent vulnerability of the victims.

Trafficking for forced labour

Victims of this widespread form of trafficking come primarily

from developing countries. They are recruited and trafficked using
deception and coercion and find themselves held in conditions of
slavery in a variety of jobs. Men, women and children are engaged
in agricultural, fisheries and construction work, along with
domestic servitude and other labour-intensive jobs.

Read about our operations targeting forced child labour in Africa.

Trafficking in women for sexual exploitation

This prevalent form of trafficking affects every region in the

world, either as a source, transit or destination country. Women
and children from developing countries, and from vulnerable parts
of society in developed countries, are lured by promises of decent
employment into leaving their homes and travelling to what they
consider will be a better life. Victims are often provided with false
travel documents and an organized network is used to transport
them to the destination country, where they find themselves forced
into sexual slavery and held in inhumane conditions and constant
fear.

Commercial sexual exploitation of children in tourism

This crime type has been apparent in Asia for many years and has
now taken hold in Africa as well as Central and South America.
The phenomenon is promoted by the growth of inexpensive air
travel and the relatively low risk of prohibition and prosecution in
these destinations for engaging in sexual relations with minors.

Trafficking for tissue, cells and organs

Trafficking in humans for the purpose of using their organs, in
particular kidneys, is a rapidly growing field of criminal activity.
In many countries, waiting lists for transplants are very long, and
criminals have seized this opportunity to exploit the desperation of
patients and potential donors. The health of victims, even their
lives, is at risk as operations may be carried out in clandestine
conditions with no medical follow-up. An ageing population and
increased incidence of diabetes in many developed countries is
likely to increase the requirement for organ transplants and make
this crime even more lucrative.

People smuggling

Closely connected to trafficking in human beings is the issue

of people smuggling. This has taken on new proportions in recent
months, especially in the Mediterranean region, and it is clear that
organized criminal networks are taking advantage of the
humanitarian crisis for financial gain.

INTERPOL tools

At INTERPOL, we work to enable police and other law

enforcement agencies to cooperate on a global basis.

We offer a number of technical tools to help the global law

enforcement community share intelligence and coordinate action.

INTERPOL tools

The following tools are accessible to authorized users of I-24/7,

INTERPOL’s secure global police communications system:

 The Human Smuggling and Trafficking (HST) message

provides a standardized format for reporting cases of
trafficking between member countries and to INTERPOL’s
database.
  Technical solutions known as MIND/FIND enable frontline
law enforcement agencies (border police, immigration) to run
checks against INTERPOL's database of stolen and lost
travel documents and receive an instant response.

 The International Contact Directory for People Smuggling

Issues contains contact details for individuals responsible for
people smuggling and illegal migration issues within
INTERPOL National Central Bureaus around the world.

 INTERPOL's Notices and Diffusions system enables global

cooperation between its member countries in tracking
criminals and suspects, as well as locating missing persons or
collecting information. Especially relevant is the Green
Notice – through which countries can warn other member
states if a known child-sex offender is travelling to their
territory or region.

Partnerships

We work closely with other international organizations and non-

governmental bodies involved in the fight against human
trafficking and people smuggling. In this way, we can combine our
strengths and exchange best practice and knowledge with other
organizations that have similar aims.

Our partners include:

 Economic Community of West African States

 Eurojust
 Europol
 Frontex
 International Centre for Migration Policy Development
 International Labour Organization
 International Organization for Migration
 Organization of American States
 Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
 Southeast European Law Enforcement Center
 UK Missing Persons Bureau
 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime