Essay Example on Human Trafficking: An Inhuman Act

Introduction

Human trafficking refers to the act forcefully or fraudulently using other humans to obtain some form of labour or for use in the commercial sex industry. Generally, human trafficking involves the transportation of people into situations that they can be exploited. Large numbers of humans, including males, females, and children, are trafficked yearly across the world. The victims of human trafficking are usually of any age, and the inhuman act can be traced to any community, race, or nationality. In most cases, the victims may be lured with the promise of a better-paying job (Murphy, 2019). However, in other cases, the traffickers can as well use violent or manipulation tactics.

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Drug Trafficking: Societal Impact and Illicit Trade

On the other hand, drug trafficking entails the illicit trade that involves the cultivation, manufacturing, and selling of substances prohibited by drug laws. The trafficking networks deal in a range of drugs that include cannabis, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine. The access to drugs has continued to grow following the increase in porosity of international borders. Consequently, all members of society suffer as political and economic stability is undermined. It also gives way to other criminal activities like corruption and money laundering.

Arms Trafficking: Criminal Access to Weapons

Also known as gunrunning, arms trafficking is a term used to refer to the smuggling of outlawed weapons and ammunition (Murphy, 2019). As a result, firearms get into the hands of criminals who, in turn, haunt innocent citizens. Criminal use of weapons puts the lives of people across the world in danger. Gunrunning also promotes social vices like armed robberies, terrorism, piracy, murder, and human trafficking.

Globalization's Role in Facilitating Trafficking

Globalization has been the principal promoter of trafficking. As the world continues to become a free market that allows movement of individuals freely across the borders, trafficking cases continue to increase. While international economic agreements aim to promote trade and economic growth, they also give an opening for trafficking to take place. These economic agreements allow people to sell their products and provide labour in global markets with minimal restriction. The lowering of these restrictions offers an opportunity for traffickers to carry out their illegal business.

State sovereignty ensures that the rights of migrants are protected. Yet the main issue surrounds the undocumented immigrants. There is a great link between human and drug trafficking and immigration. While most people may see sex trafficking as the primary form of human trafficking, labour trafficking has become a matter of concern in recent years (Punjabi, 2011). In the United States, for example, most immigrants are trafficked into the country every year to provide cheap labour. While state sovereignty serves to protect the rights of every individual within a country's borders, immigrants' exploitation is yet to be curbed. The cases of visas tying immigrants to their employment agencies or employers have been on the rise, mainly in the Middle East (Punjabi, 2011). This encourages mistreatment of workers who are subjected to poor working conditions.

Challenges in Combating Trafficking: International Law and Enforcement

The most problematic issue in the elimination of trafficking has been in regard to the willingness to comply with international law. States that sign and ratify international treaties are usually subjected to be monitored by the United Nations (King, n.d). However, the enforcement of anti-trafficking laws presents severe challenges due to the hesitance of trafficking victims to identify the traffickers as they fear the possible repercussions. Furthermore, the crime of trafficking occurs across borders, hence creating jurisdiction confusions (Murphy, 2019). It is expensive and a somewhat complicated process to apply international law to a person that resides in a different country. Therefore, traffickers can easily get away with their crimes once they cross the border and reside in another state.

Also, since trafficking is a crime that violates a series of laws and occurs repeatedly, it is not easy to build a case against it. It becomes time-consuming, energy-draining, and a resource-consuming process to build a strong case against drug traffickers (King, n.d). As a result, the enforcement of anti-trafficking laws may greatly be hindered if resources are limited.

The enforcement of anti-trafficking laws can also be hampered by the lack of sufficient training for local law enforcement officers. The state may implement anti-trafficking laws, yet the local police and border patrol officers may not be well-versed in domestic and international anti-trafficking laws. For instance, a border patrol that arrests a victim of human trafficking or deports them back to their country of origin does not help such a victim.

Globalization's Double-Edged Sword: Economic Impact on Trafficking

Economic globalization plays a damaging part in human trafficking. While globalization has resulted in open trading as earlier highlighted, it has as well promoted trafficking. Open trade trading leads to improved infrastructure, which is vital in combating poverty and providing better market opportunities to people (Clark, 2003). Globalization makes it easy for trafficked commodities to be moved from one market to another. Globalization allows traffickers to take advantage of porous borders, open communication networks, and the confusions in the political and economic arena (Clark, 2003). These, coupled with mass migrations of individuals towards more lucrative markets, have created a favourable environment for traffickers to carry out their illegal trade.

Conclusion

In conclusion, trafficking is a crime that affects not only the United States but the world at large. There is a need for efforts to be channelled towards combating the alarming trends in this crime. Young girls sold into prostitution, mind damaging drugs sold to the youths, and dangerous weapons getting into the hands of criminal groups depict a society with a perilous future. Governments and non-governmental organizations must join hands in the fight against trafficking.

References

Clark, M. (2003). Human trafficking casts a shadow on globalization. Retrieved May 10, 2020, from https://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/human-trafficking-casts-shadow-globalization

King, L. (n.d). International law and human trafficking. Retrieved May 10, 2020, from https://www.du.edu

Murphy, L. (2019). International Law, Cases, and Materials. New York: West Academic

Punjabi, R. (2011). The international migration crisis: State sovereignty versus human trafficking. Reviews of New Books, 39, 1-5.