According to the United State's Department of State's 2015 Trafficking in Persons report, Iran is not taking the necessary actions to combat and eliminate human trafficking within its borders. The Iranian government has failed to provide sufficient information on its anti-trafficking measures, which has been a problem in previous years. While it is difficult for the U.S. to obtain reliable information the issue, it is known that human trafficking is increasing in the country. In specific regards to sex trafficking and sex slavery, it is a rampant problem in Iran. The US 2015 Report indicated that from 2009-2015, there was an increase in the number of girls who were being transported through Iran to the Gulf, with the purpose of selling them into marriage or prostitution (The Iran Primer). Specifically
in the cities of Tehran, Tabriz, and Astara, there is a high concentration of
teenage girls that are forced into prostitution. Past reports indicated that
even some government officials played a part in the problem. It was rumored
that some officials were “operating shelters for runaway girls and forced them
into prostitution rings (The Iran Primer). For these reasons, the U.S.’s most
recent report has given Iran a “Tier 3” ranking, which is the lowest ranking a
country can receive. Clearly, much work needs to be initiated in Iran to
eliminate the issue of sex trafficking.
Read more from the report here: http://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2015/jul/27/us-report-human-trafficking-iran
(Victims of human trafficking in Iran, courtesy of http://neobservatory.org/wpcontent/uploads/2013/04/4a0455546.jpg)
Sarah E. Mendelson, in her article Born Free, details the presence of human trafficking across the globe, and how not enough is being done by governments and NGO's to address and eradicate the problem. With a world that is ridden with evils and wrongdoings, it is unfortunate that issues have to compete for attention and aid. Mendelson explains how since 2000, the United Nations has agreed upon Millennium Development Goals, which are goals that have billions of donor dollars allocated to their cause. However, the author goes on to say that the MDGs excluded human trafficking from their list of priorities, which led to many monetary donors and organizations to ignore the issue as well. Mendelson says that if human trafficking was included in the MDG's back in 2000, "development agencies would have dedicated staff to the issue and more foundations would be investing in solutions to this complex development challenge"(2014, p.2). For 2015, the UN is drafting a new set of goals, which will be called the Sustainable Development Goals. This, Mendelson says, shines a ray of hope on solving the human trafficking issue. The article says that President Barack Obama labeled human trafficking as "one of the great human rights causes of our time." The Outcome Document is what outlines the international community's greatest causes. Human trafficking is mentioned in the document through the context of various other goals. For example, Mendelson states that the Document's prosed goal five calls for achieving greater gender equality and empowerment among women and girls, which according to the Document's authors, requires the elimination of trafficking for these two groups(Mendelson, 2014, p.4). Mendelson hopes that such language in the document will stick and allow for groups to finally allocate the necessary staff and resources to addressing trafficking.
For Iran, the U.S.'s 2015 Report provides recommendations for how to effectively start combating human trafficking in the country. Suggestions include increasing the transparency of anti-trafficking policies and creating partnerships with international organizations that work to eliminate trafficking. Iran will need to do a better job or investigating sex trafficking cases, and convicting offenders (The Iran Primer). The government would also need to implement an effective program to identify the victims of trafficking and provide them with medical, legal, and psychological support.
While human trafficking is a horrendous human rights issue today, I believe that if countries and governments collaborate effectively to implement heavier enforcement and prosecution of offenders and provide substantial aid to victims, that change is possible.
Read more from the report here: http://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2015/jul/27/us-report-human-trafficking-iran
Sarah E. Mendelson, in her article Born Free, details the presence of human trafficking across the globe, and how not enough is being done by governments and NGO's to address and eradicate the problem. With a world that is ridden with evils and wrongdoings, it is unfortunate that issues have to compete for attention and aid. Mendelson explains how since 2000, the United Nations has agreed upon Millennium Development Goals, which are goals that have billions of donor dollars allocated to their cause. However, the author goes on to say that the MDGs excluded human trafficking from their list of priorities, which led to many monetary donors and organizations to ignore the issue as well. Mendelson says that if human trafficking was included in the MDG's back in 2000, "development agencies would have dedicated staff to the issue and more foundations would be investing in solutions to this complex development challenge"(2014, p.2). For 2015, the UN is drafting a new set of goals, which will be called the Sustainable Development Goals. This, Mendelson says, shines a ray of hope on solving the human trafficking issue. The article says that President Barack Obama labeled human trafficking as "one of the great human rights causes of our time." The Outcome Document is what outlines the international community's greatest causes. Human trafficking is mentioned in the document through the context of various other goals. For example, Mendelson states that the Document's prosed goal five calls for achieving greater gender equality and empowerment among women and girls, which according to the Document's authors, requires the elimination of trafficking for these two groups(Mendelson, 2014, p.4). Mendelson hopes that such language in the document will stick and allow for groups to finally allocate the necessary staff and resources to addressing trafficking.
For Iran, the U.S.'s 2015 Report provides recommendations for how to effectively start combating human trafficking in the country. Suggestions include increasing the transparency of anti-trafficking policies and creating partnerships with international organizations that work to eliminate trafficking. Iran will need to do a better job or investigating sex trafficking cases, and convicting offenders (The Iran Primer). The government would also need to implement an effective program to identify the victims of trafficking and provide them with medical, legal, and psychological support.
While human trafficking is a horrendous human rights issue today, I believe that if countries and governments collaborate effectively to implement heavier enforcement and prosecution of offenders and provide substantial aid to victims, that change is possible.
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