The 2005 Trafficking in Persons Report: Canada as Transshipment Point

For any who might be asking, before I get to the reason for this post, why I would waste a sunny June day with the dismal topic of human smuggling, along with related activities and the implications for Canadians:

Repeated hacking:

I wondered which criminal gangs--if any--are the ones so interested in what I point to on this website that high hack alerts have become ubituitous. Is it possible that there is a parallel between the trafficking areas of the world and "visits" from the world's scum with evil hacking intent? These hacks have risen with each post that touches upon a key topic such as the international smuggling of drugs and people, along with the "business" or commercial espionage and the nexus between all of these and the flow of money for terrorism and related activities.


Why do you think these blocks of IP numbers have come to my attention?

Check the source countries for IP blocks that include:

IPv4 Address : 210.123.150.109-210.123.150.109
Network Name : KORNET-MYIP2003226059
Connect ISP Name : KORNET [Korea]

61.140.0.0 - 61.146.255.255
CHINANET Guangdong province network
Data Communication Division
China Telecom

217.218.0.0 - 217.218.191.0
Area no 6 partition
Tehran
Iran

Then there are the others, but these are from away and, potentially, more significant. Think about the influx to Canada which will come with our Pinata Paul's

* push for speeded up immigration to add to the "refugee" fiasco bringing ??? into our country,
* opening our borders through NAFTA and other means, and
* more "business deals" with some of the areas of the world which receive mention in the excerpt that follows.

Can you visualize what Canada was like before all this? Before your own government aided and abetted it with its "deals" and legislation, along with its programs to further diminish family life and Canadians' ability to even work? (Try finding a copy of "A Clockwork Orange" and watch it for an example of the breakdown of a society, which appears to be well under way.)

Most Canadians do not have the time to download and even skim this 258 page report, but it is time Canada's MP's read it. Send a copy with significant areas highlighted to the PMO and his minions, please. Ask him which takes precedence . . . business or our security?

Before fast tracking "family class" immigration, think about whether our IRB members, many of whom have been appointed--that word again--for dubious party or other affiliations, are adequately trained to spot the trafficked individuals. Which IRB members were actually were appointed on merit? Is there any screening, other than political?

Are our border security forces adequate to the task of securing our borders against the trafficked hordes, once NAFTA is in full swing? Do you think the little deal(s) on opening our borders and ports to Mexico--mentioned on this site elsewhere--with its inadequate policing of drugs and human trafficking is a good deal for the rest of us?


The Table of Contents and link for The 2005 Trafficking in Persons Report is at the end. At least take the time to skim the parts in bold or italics.

[. . . . ]CANADA (TIER 1)

Canada is primarily a destination and transit country for women trafficked for the purposes of labor and sexual exploitation. Women and children are trafficked from Central and South America, Eastern Europe, and Asia for sexual exploitation. To a lesser extent, men, women, and children are trafficked for forced labor. There is internal trafficking of Canadians for the sex trade. The majority of foreign victims transiting Canada are bound for the United States. Numbers are hard to gauge, but in February 2004, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) estimated that 800 persons are trafficked into Canada annually and that an additional 1,500-2,200 persons are trafficked through Canada into the United States. Some estimate that this number is much higher.

The Government of Canada fully complies with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. The Government of Canada has comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation and has dedicated resources to combat trafficking in persons. Over the year, Canada increased efforts to prosecute and conviction traffickers. However, law enforcement efforts in key provinces like British Columbia — through which significant number of Korean and other female victims are trafficked to the United States — were weak in 2004. Canada struggles to identify trafficking victims inside clandestine migrant smuggling operations. There are growing concerns that South Koreans and others may be abusing the lack of a visa requirement to enter Canada to facilitate the trafficking of men and women, mainly to the United States. To enhance its anti-trafficking efforts, Canada needs to use its anti-trafficking law to vigorously increase investigations, arrests, prosecutions, and convictions of traffickers, especially those who may be abusing visa waivers and entertainment visas.

Prosecution
The Government of Canada has comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation, but this law has produced few results to date. Nonetheless, Canada recently brought charges against a major trafficker under its law in April 2005 – the first charges ever brought since its enactment. Canada also made progress in prosecuting traffickers under other existing laws. Over the reporting period, there have been 19 convictions. Additionally, there are 12 pending cases and seven open investigations. Canada’s federal system and diversity of criminal codes complicate data collection; there are likely additional trafficking-related cases that are not reflected in this report. However, in British Columbia [79], a transit zone for trafficking to the United States, there have been few convictions. The government revised its immigration policy to discontinue a blanket employment waiver (begun in 1998) that had permitted adult entertainment establishments to hire foreign women as exotic dancers — a type of program that has been abused and exploited by traffickers in many other countries. Officials acknowledge that some women may have been forced into prostitution. The visa program has not been entirely suspended. According to the Government of Canada’s official tally, 46 “exotic dancer” visas were issued in 2004, none to Romanians. While over 600 women reportedly were granted an “exotic dancer” visa in 2003, only 239 visas were issued. The majority of the visas were issued to Romanians.

Additionally, there continues to be anecdotal reports of large numbers of South Korean women trafficked through Canada to the United States. The lack of a visa requirement to enter Canada, lack of prosecutions, and an inability to determine the scope of the problem has made Canada, particularly British Columbia, an attractive trafficking hub for East Asian traffickers. Airline passenger analysis shows that the number of Koreans returning to Korea on flights from Vancouver Canada is 25 percent less than the number arriving on flights from Korea, but the ties to trafficking are not known. Observers believe that several hundred South Koreans have been trafficked through Canada to the U.S. since 2000, but they state that this estimate is modest.

Protection
Canada provides reasonable care to Canadian trafficking victims, but some critics claim that support for foreign victims is inadequate. Under Canadian law, undocumented aliens are allowed to claim refugee status, which would permit them to remain in Canada with limited benefits while their cases are adjudicated. [. . . . ]

Prevention
The government of Canada has strong public awareness campaigns aimed to prevent trafficking. The government supports a 17-agency anti-trafficking working group (IWGTIP), which coordinates all policies on trafficking-related matters. The IWGTIP produced an information booklet in 14 languages that warns potential victims in source countries of the dangers of falling prey to traffickers. The government has also hosted numerous conferences and conducted a number of public outreach campaigns [. . . . ]

Public Health Implications of Trafficking

Besides being a criminal and human rights issue, human trafficking has serious public health effects. Victims of trafficking often endure brutal conditions that result in physical, sexual, and psychological trauma. The health risks and consequences include sexually transmitted diseases, pelvic inflammatory disease, hepatitis, tuberculosis and other communicable diseases; unwanted pregnancy, forced abortion, and abortion-related complications; rape and other physical assault; a host of mental and emotional health problems including nightmares, insomnia, and suicidal tendencies; alcohol and drug abuse and addiction; and even suicide and murder. The health implications of sex trafficking extend not only to its victims, but also to the general public, as well as those who frequent brothels and who can become carriers and/or core transmitters of serious diseases.

The Link Between HIV/AIDS and TIP

Approximately 42 million people are living with HIV/AIDS worldwide. This global epidemic affects women and children who are trafficked for purposes of prostitution. Globally, women in prostitution and those who have been trafficked for prostitution have a high prevalence of HIV and other STDs. For example: [. . . . ]

Who will be paying the costs of health care for the government's quest for voters and votes from immigrants -- not only for elderly entrants to Canada, but for those who come through human smuggling and the exotic dancer visas? (Remember why ex-Minister Judy Sgro was turfed, though she has since been whitewashed by . . . was it the "ethics" councillor? Has that report come to anyone but those involved yet? )

INDIA (TIER 2 – WATCH LIST)

In India, scientists have noted high levels of prostitution along trade routes in the
Northeast, with associated high levels of HIV in those areas. In addition, the HIV/AIDS epidemic may be spread by human trafficking. Some experts have linked sex trafficking to the spread and mutation of the AIDS virus. They believe that sex trafficking is aiding the global dispersion of HIV subtypes.

[. . . . ]

CHINA (TIER 2 – WATCH LIST)

The Peoples’ Republic of China is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. A significant number of Chinese women and children are trafficked internally for forced marriage and forced labor. Chinese women are at times lured abroad with false promises of legitimate employment and then trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation to destinations throughout Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and North America, while Chinese men have been trafficked for forced labor to Europe, South America, and the Middle East. A large number of Chinese men and women are smuggled abroad at enormous personal financial cost and, upon arrival in the destination country, are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation or other forms of exploitative labor to repay their debts. They often face exploitative conditions that meet the definition of involuntary servitude. Women from Burma, North Korea, Russia, Vietnam, and Mongolia are trafficked to China for labor and commercial sexual exploitation and forced marriage.

The Government of the People’s Republic of China does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. China’s placement on Tier 2 Watch List is due to its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking, specifically its inadequate protection for trafficking victims, particularly foreign women and P.R.C. women identified from Taiwan. There are reports of the involuntary return of North Koreans from China to North Korea, as these returnees often face serious abuses. The Chinese Government does not, as a matter of policy, fine identified trafficking victims, but it reportedly and unintentionally does fine some victims — particularly P.R.C. women and girls returning from Taiwan — who are among illegal migrants. China needs to identify these trafficking victims, and provide them with protection, rather than levying fines or other punishment on them. The government should also vigorously investigate allegations of coercive labor practices, including alleged situations of involuntary servitude and forced labor.

Prosecution
The Chinese Government continued its anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts in 2004, actively arresting and prosecuting traffickers. China has a law that specifically outlaws the trafficking or kidnapping of women and coercion into prostitution. Penalties for trafficking carry sentences of up to ten years’ imprisonment. “Snakeheads” or traffickers who smuggle victims overseas can be fined, have their property confiscated, be imprisoned for terms up to life, or be executed. China’s criminal code imposes the death penalty for traffickers who coerce girls under 14 into prostitution. Over the past year, the 83 police reportedly investigated 309 trafficking gangs and arrested 5,043 suspected traffickers, referring 3,144 for prosecution. While the Chinese Government did not provide statistics on the number of convictions, media reports indicated that 36 members of a child trafficking ring were given sentences ranging from two years’ imprisonment to the death penalty. There do not appear to be adequate efforts to focus law enforcement resources on the problem of forced or coercive labor that meet the definition of involuntary servitude. Several police officials, including those that reportedly profited from trafficking, were convicted of commercial sexual exploitation and issuing visas to facilitate trafficking.

Protection
During the reporting period, the Chinese Government provided an inadequate level of protection for victims of trafficking. China does not fine repatriated trafficking victims once identified, and generally categorizes them separately from illegal migrants. However, there have been reports that police have levied fines for immigration violations on trafficking victims, particularly women and girls repatriated from Taiwan. The Chinese Government also did not take measures to protect foreign women who were trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and forced marriages with Chinese men. [. . . . ]

How to find a wife . . . the result of China's one child policy.

INDIA (TIER 2 – WATCH LIST)

India is a source, transit, and destination country for women, men, and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual and labor exploitation. Indian men and women are trafficked into situations of involuntary servitude in countries in the Middle East and children may be forced to work as beggars or camel jockeys. Bangladeshi women and children are trafficked to India or trafficked through India en route to Pakistan and the Middle East for purposes of sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and forced labor. Nepalese women and girls are trafficked to India for sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and forced labor. India is also a growing destination for sex tourists from Europe, the United States, and other Western countries. Internal trafficking of women, men, and children for the purposes of sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, bonded labor, and indentured servitude is widespread. Numerous studies show that the vast majority of females in the Indian commercial sex industry are currently victims of sexual servitude or were originally trafficked into the sex trade. India is also home to millions of victims of forced or bonded labor.122

Did you ever wonder who works so cheaply on those goods you buy?

The Government of India does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The quality and magnitude of the government’s anti-trafficking response, particularly in the law enforcement area, are seriously insufficient relative to India’s huge trafficking in persons problem. Some important improvements [. . . . ]

but uneven improvements in anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts were seen in some localities, most notably the cities of Mumbai and Chennai and the states of Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. The use of fast-track courts was the key to greater prosecutions and convictions in Tamil Nadu while sustaining a high number of trafficking convictions in New Delhi. The March 2005 order by the Home Minister of Maharashtra state to close down “dance bars” — many of which served as prostitution and trafficking outlets — may check a new trend of traffickers favoring this more sophisticated and concealed format for selling victims trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation over more blatant brothel-based trafficking. [. . . . ]

MEXICO (TIER 2 – WATCH LIST)

Mexico is a source, transit, and destination country for persons trafficked for sexual exploitation and labor. The trafficking phenomenon in Mexico is complex and has strong links to organized transnational criminal networks and gangs. Many illegal immigrants fall prey to traffickers and are exploited along the Guatemala and United States’ borders. In addition to cross-border trafficking, Mexico also faces a considerable internal trafficking problem in which thousands of children – largely Mexicans and Central Americans – are victims of commercial sexual exploitation. The government states that the number of these child victims may be as high as 20,000.

Trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation of minors contributes to child sex tourism in Mexico, mainly in the border and tourist areas. In addition, women are trafficked into Mexico’s sex trade as well as trafficked via Mexico into the United States’ illegal sex trade under false pretenses by organized criminal networks. Mexican and Central American men, women, and children are trafficked into the United States for forced labor and sexual exploitation. Although most trafficking victims in Mexico are from Central America, victims also originate from the Caribbean, South America, Asia, and Eastern Europe. Exact numbers of trafficking victims are not readily available, as they are often difficult to identify, due to the clandestine and complex nature of cross-border trafficking.

The Government of Mexico does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however it is making significant efforts to do so. Mexico remains on the Tier 2 Watch List for a second consecutive year for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking, particularly in the area of law enforcement.

Read the sections on other places such as Macau, since our government is opening up Canadian skies and entry ports to these areas with its "deals".

MACAU

Macau is not listed on the report this year because available information does not substantiate a significant number of victims originating in, destined to, or transiting the country. Anecdotal reporting, however, suggests that existing organized crime groups operating in Macau are involved in trafficking of women to Macau's many brothels.

Scope and Magnitude.
Macau is a destination for women trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Most of the women are from Russia, Eastern Europe, Vietnam, Thailand, South Korea, and the People’s Republic of China (P.R.C.). There were no reports of child trafficking or trafficking for the purpose of forced labor. Macau authorities believe that Chinese, Russian, and Thai criminal syndicates are involved in the movement of women into Macau for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

A real party town, that! And who ran Macau for 40 years? These poor unfortunates don't get trafficked abroad? Also, remember the boat people from Fujian?


The source:

The 2005 Trafficking in Persons Report -- PDF from the US government.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................5
The 2005 Trafficking in Persons Report: Its Purpose ......................................5
The Common Thread of Servitude ......................................................................9
“Trafficking in Persons” Defined.....................................................................10
The Human and Societal Costs of Trafficking..................................................12
The Human Rights Dimension .................................................................13
Promoting Social Breakdown...................................................................13
Fueling Organized Crime .........................................................................13
Depriving Countries of Human Capital and Inhibiting Development.......14
Public Health Costs.................................................................................14
Erosion of Government Authority .............................................................14
The Methods of Traffickers .............................................................................15
The Myriad Causes of Trafficking ....................................................................17
Effective Strategies in Combating Trafficking ................................................20
More About the 2005 TIP Report......................................................................25
What the Report Is and Is Not .................................................................25
The Special Watch List: Tier 2 Watch List ...............................................26
Why This Year’s Report Contains More Country Assessments..................28
How the Report Is Used ...........................................................................29
Methodology ............................................................................................29
Step One: Significant Number of Victims ................................................30
Step Two: Tier Placement.........................................................................30
Potential Penalties for Tier 3 Countries ...................................................31
II. INTERNATIONAL BEST PRACTICES .........................................................................33
Heroes Acting to End Modern-Day Slavery ......................................................38
III. TIER PLACEMENTS ................................................................................................42
IV. MAPS (WITH REGIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT STATISTICS).......................................43
V. COUNTRY NARRATIVES (A to Z) .............................................................................51
VI. SPECIAL CASES...................................................................................................232
VII. UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT EFFORTS ...............................................................239
VIII. INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS–MATRIX ..............................................................248
IX. TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PROTECTION ACT .............................................................252
X. GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS ...................................................................................254
This Report and subsequent updates are available at www.state.gov/g/tip

At the bottom of each map, note the conviction rate for each area.

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