INAUGURATION OF THE INTER-AMERICAN SEMINAR
ON TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS
"STRATEGIC CO-ORDINATION BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AND CIVIL SOCIETY FOR
THE COMPREHENSIVE PROTECTION OF VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS"
LIMA-PERU, SEPTEMBER 11, 2013
(9:00 A.M., FIRST FLOOR OF THE CARLOS GARCIA BEDOYA BUILDING)
Mr. Fernando García-Robles, Coordinator of the Unit against Trafficking in Persons of the
Department of Public Security of the Organization of American States;
Ambassador Fernando Quiroz Campos, Director General of Peruvian Communities Abroad
and Consular Affairs;
(Distinguished addressees to be confirmed)
Ladies and gentlemen,
Madam Minister of Foreign Affairs Eda Rivas has asked me to welcome you on her behalf
and convey her greetings, because unfortunately, due to unavoidable prior commitments, she is
unable to accompany us here this morning at the inauguration of the Inter-American Seminar on
Trafficking in Persons. The Minister of Foreign Affairs asked me to tell you that she had particularly
wanted to take part because trafficking in persons is precisely a priority issue on the Peruvian
Government's agenda and because this Seminar will undoubtedly facilitate the sharing of experiences
and in that way help combat this awful crime.
Before we begin the Seminar, let us pause to reflect on the implications of human trafficking
for people's lives. It can certainly be said that trafficking in persons is a complex crime inasmuch as it
violates several human rights and is aggravated by the fact that the human beings worst hit by it are
the most vulnerable.
Human trafficking turns individuals into objects to be "bought and sold." Such exploitation
may manifest itself in a number of ways, including prostitution, forced labor and service, slavery,
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servitude, or the removal of organs. In that process, consent cannot be alleged, because the victims'
free will is annulled by threats, coercion, and deceit.
What is more, trafficking in persons is particularly directed at children and adolescents and
undoubtedly has a sexist component. To combat trafficking effectively we therefore need to take its
complexity into account, because each group affected will pose its own demands.
At the same time, dealing with trafficking in persons calls for a series of steps requiring
complex infrastructure for finding the victims, transporting them, moving them from their places of
origin and, finally, retaining them in a social environment that, for most of them, will seem alien.
Human trafficking also has ties to sexual exploitation and pornography, workplace exploitation in a
number of both legal and illicit activities, the buying and selling of young children and adolescents,
organ trading, and the smuggling of migrants.
We therefore need to examine the criminal networks revolving around trafficking in persons
in order to ensure that such an elaborate logistical response can work.
The United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking has established three levels
of demand associated with the problem: demand by employers; demand by consumers or household
members; and demand by third parties involved in the process. It would be very useful, for instance,
if this Inter-American Seminar were to compare the conclusions reached at the Third Hemispheric
Meeting of National Authorities on Trafficking in Persons, held in Guatemala City in 2012, with the
recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and
Children, Ms. Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, in the last report she submitted to the United Nations Human Rights
Council in March 2013.
A key factor for combating trafficking in persons is awareness that this is a real and current
phenomenon in our region. Denying that reality will only make it more prevalent. Peru is regarded as
both an originating and destination country with respect to trafficking in persons. Aware of that
reputation, Peru declared September 23 the "National Day against Trafficking in Persons" with a
view to sensitizing all levels of the State, the private sector, and civil society to the need to prevent
and punish human trafficking and protect and assist its victims.
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As you no doubt know, the Government of Peru has ratified the major international
instruments on the subject, such as the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized
Crime and its various Protocols, and it has taken a proactive stance toward fighting trafficking by
developing and coordinating policies and actions. As a result, shortly after the start of President
Ollanta Humala's Government, it adopted the "National Plan of Action against Trafficking in Persons
2011-2016," which we are currently implementing.
The question we are examining here today is how to confront the crime of trafficking in
persons and what positive experiences we can draw on to boost our capacities to fight it. In Peru's
case, our approach is supported by three pillars: the first focuses on prevention, the second on
investigation and prosecution of the people involved in this crime, and the third on protection for
victims.
The approach is decentralized because this strategy has to encompass the whole of the
national territory. Appropriate coordination among all the various national players has also turned out
to be indispensable, because to make headway with all three pillars the executive, judicial, and
legislative branches of government all have to pitch in, along with the business sector and civil
society.
As far as prevention is concerned, the Peruvian State's first objective has been to raise
awareness of trafficking in persons both among the authorities dealing with it and the public at large.
Second, we have sought to identify the most vulnerable groups in order to gather information
regarding this crime. Finally, an effort has been made to systematize the information obtained in
order to conduct an updated diagnostic assessment of the phenomenon and extract reliable pointers to
the victims, their profile, routes, and modi operandi, along with a host of other data on this complex
phenomenon.
Trafficking in persons goes beyond the confines of a single State and requires a coordinated
response by the international community at the bilateral and regional level -- such as the actions
undertaken by the Organization of American States --, as well as at the global level - through the
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United Nations. Without adequate judicial assistance and cooperation among States and among all
these levels, measures to combat human trafficking will fall far short of their goal.
Ladies and gentlemen,
To conclude, I would like to underscore the constant support lent to us by the Department of
Public Security of the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States and to thank it
today for its work in organizing this inter-American seminar. This initiative will enable us to pursue
our hemispheric dialogue on this matter from a position of co-responsibility, share experiences, and
strengthen cooperation mechanisms.
The victims of human trafficking need to be protected. They must not be re-victimized by
prejudice, treated as criminals, or ignored by society. It is up to us now to do our utmost to restore
that sense of humanity of which they have been deprived and to achieve their reinsertion into society,
the workplace, and the economy.
With these thought and goals in mind, it is my pleasure, on behalf of the Minister of Foreign
Affairs, Ms. Eda Rivas, to inaugurate this Hemispheric Seminar on Trafficking in Persons.
Thank you very much.
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