How global sanctions could be used to disrupt transnational trafficking networks
Sanctions could offer a pathway to more effective global trafficking protections, anti-trafficking legislation makes progress in the U.S., and the Malaysian Government is trying to repatriate thousands of victims trapped abroad, it says.
A new briefing from Humanity Research Consultancy asks whether global sanctions can fight transnational organized crime fueled by human trafficking – including online fraud in which trafficking victims are forced to commit cyber-enabled financial crime on an industrial scale – and evaluates their potential effectiveness by exploring the categories of criminals against whom they could be used. While prosecuting criminal networks through court cases can be complex, time-consuming and expensive, sanctions are more cost effective because the first step can be implemented swiftly and they require a lower burden of proof, the authors say.
Although sanctions alone will never be enough to stop human trafficking, it is a pathway that has been under-utilized and is therefore worth exploring, according to the report. Autonomous sanctions offer a potentially powerful and effective tool when accountability from outside the country may be the only effective option left; when criminals may have assets in foreign accounts outside the location in which they committed their crimes; or for criminal activities that span several countries, for instance. However, there are other types of sanctions which are less widely known but which also have the potential to create consequences for criminals associated with mass human rights violations and a range of other offenses, the authors say. These could be especially useful for crimes carried out by transnational criminal groups, who would face consequences such as frozen assets, travel bans, and blocks on their ability to trade with others.
For instance, the Global Magnitsky Sanctions Program – the first global thematic sanctions regime focused on human rights – has not been widely used to combat modern slavery and human trafficking, instead largely targeting human rights abuses conducted by corrupt government officials. Nevertheless, there are a small number of precedents where individuals unrelated to the government have being sanctioned for serious human rights abuses related to human trafficking, modern slavery, and forced labour under this regime, which shows it could potentially be used more widely. These include sanctions against a Chinese crime leader for his involvement in corruption in Southeast Asia which specified the involvement of human trafficking, a Filipino pastor who had sanctions imposed against him for human rights abuses including sex trafficking, and Chinese fishing companies and their owners who were sanctioned for their involvement in human rights abuses against crew members.
Cyber-related sanctions offer another possible avenue through which to address transnational organized crime, such as syndicates specializing in industrial-scale fraud factories, the research suggests. While these sanctions were mainly designed from a national security angle, there is scope for them to be applied to wider cybercrime offences. For example, EU and UK cyber sanction regimes aim to further the prevention of cyber activity which “directly or indirectly causes, or is intended to cause, economic loss to, or prejudice to the commercial interests of, those affected by the activity” and “otherwise affects a significant number of persons in an indiscriminate manner”.
When it comes to the effective application of sanctions, it is essential to understand how crime is enabled and who should be accountable for these mass-scale criminal operations, the authors say. Analysis in the briefing shows there are at least six major categories of criminals that enable fraud-factory crime: local authorities who protect criminals and allow them to operate with impunity; compound owners and developers whose properties are being purposely used for fraud and/or money laundering; owners of fraud companies; fraud company managers; human traffickers in both origin and destination countries, many of whom could be identified by survivors; and money launderers who knowingly provide this service for illicit gain.
Civil Society Organizations can submit evidence-based sanction recommendations to authorities to initiate sanctions, and the report contains a comprehensive list of tips and considerations for CSOs, CTIP organizations and practitioners who wish to explore opportunities to make use of and gather evidence on this potentially powerful set of tools.
Here’s a round-up of other noteworthy news and initiatives:
Legislation to combat human trafficking in the U.S. which was passed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee last week will protect survivors of human trafficking and help change the structures and attitudes that perpetuate conditions leading to exploitation, according to Hope for Justice. The Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2023 now moves towards a vote on the House Floor.
The Malaysian Government is doing its utmost to rescue human trafficking victims trapped abroad based on “the right to return” principle, the country’s Home Minister has said. The government will use whatever method is needed to save citizens in trouble overseas, he told reporters in response to reports that almost 2,000 Malaysians are human trafficking victims trapped in neighboring countries.
And Malaysia’s Sarawak Police have received 52 reports related to syndicates involved in human trafficking and job scams targeting residents in the state. The victims have told their families they are stranded in Myanmar, having been promised lucrative jobs at casinos and hotels which turned out to be fraudulent. The Sarawak Police Commissioner said around 81 people were stranded, with 30 successfully repatriated so far.
Human traffickers are offering so-called “VIP routes” from Venezuela to the U.S., promising a safer, faster and more comfortable journey by sea compared with the treacherous overland hike through the Darién Gap. The traffickers pose as members of legitimate travel agencies and lure migrants via social media and WhatsApp chains that claim the route is “100% safe”. However, at least 74 migrants have vanished at sea and the Colombian navy has rescued 1,102 migrants along the routes between 2022 and 2023.
A human trafficking expert has criticized the Irish Government’s proposed trafficking legislation, arguing that it lacks a range of protections. Kevin Hyland, Britain’s first independent anti-slavery commissioner, said the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking will require people to make an application to be recognized as a human trafficking victim, describing the wording of the bill as “archaic” and saying victims will find it challenging to enter the necessary administrative systems.
Thomson Reuters and the City of Houston have announced a partnership to launch a new global online resource center to combat human trafficking. Thomson Reuters will take stewardship of the City of Houston’s anti-trafficking toolkits and make them readily accessible online to cities and public bodies, allowing municipal authorities to quickly mobilize anti-trafficking campaigns which may otherwise take years of planning.
This article argues that philanthropy must leave behind the values of extractive capitalism, and discusses the need to shift society’s understanding of success away from its obsession with monetary profit, prioritize the needs of the most marginalized rather than privileging those already at the top, and center the voices of those closest to the problems that need to be solved.
And this episode of Anti-Slavery Collective’s Floodlight podcast features a conversation with Cindy Dyer, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. Dyer discusses methods the U.S. government is implementing to provide greater protection to survivors of trafficking, and how efforts at the local level are just as important as state and international legislation.
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