The Issue of Human Trafficking - Coursework Example

Human Trafficking Human Trafficking Human trafficking is a serious crime that violates human rights. It refers to the transportation and the harboring of individuals using that in order to receive unlawful benefits from them. It is evident that on an annual basis, several individuals, including men, women, and children usually fall victims of the traffickers in their own countries. It has been noted that all the countries are affected by trafficking. The trade of humans aims at sexual slavery, forced labor or even the extraction of internal human organs (Cullen-DuPont, 2009). It is a crime against individual rights through coercion and commercial exploitation. Human trafficking is the trade of people and it does not necessarily entail of the movement of individuals to another country. Human trafficking is usually in different forms, women and children are usually trafficked as sex slaves in brothels. They are also others who are trafficked across the border and they are forced to work in factories and domestic servitudes. Male children are usually trafficked and forced to be child soldiers and the healthy individuals have their organs removed and they are sold to people in need. The traffickers have been note to target individuals such as migrants, the homeless, and the less fortunate. Traffickers are people from all sexes and families and they supply the people to various destinations and distribution centers. Trafficking usually happens in the entire world, there are countries that are identified as the main suppliers, and this is a crime. Human trafficking deprives individuals of their human rights and freedom. It is depicted as one of the global health risks and it accelerates the increase of organized crimes in a given country. Child Soldiers Child soldier recruitment is described as one of the major types of human trafficking. It is estimated that currently there are more than 250,000 child soldiers in the entire world. Girls comprise of 40% of the total population of child soldiers, and they are referred as the sex slaves of the male combats (Kahn, 2008). Majority of the rebel organizations use children as soldiers to fight against their governments, although some governments have been noted to recruit child soldiers in their armies. It is evident that not all children have an active part on the combat, some act as cooks, porters, and spies. As part of a recruitment technique, the children are usually forced to kill some of their family members. This breaks their relation with their community and it ensures that they have difficulties reuniting with their communities ever again. From the past research on different cultures, the children tend to be extensively indulged in the military activities eve though such practices tend to be against cultural morals (Denov, 2010). However, since the 1970s there have been international conventions that have been instituted with an aim of curbing the participation of children in the armed conflicts. Most of the children who indulge in wars in the entire world work for the rebellious army groups. Majority are recruited by the force although a small percentage join he force voluntarily since the have no options rather than joining the armies. Those who volunteer usually encounter, high rates of unemployment, and others escape domestic violence from their families. Some children are triggered to indulge in revenge in cases where the lost their life in armed conflict. Some children are abducted from their homes and the are forced to become soldiers, this was common among the Lord Resistance Army (Cullen-DuPont, 2009). The armies invade villages and the force the members to provide a certain amount of children as soldiers o that the can be assured of safety during wars. Parents also voluntarily give their children to the armies because of poverty and hunger at their homesteads. Children are convenient to be used as soldiers since they are easier to control and they do not put up resistance against the orders given. The children do not consume a lot of food and their maintenance is not high as that of adults. They have underdeveloped detection of danger and this makes it easier for their commanders to send them into a line of fire. Children constitute of a high percentage of the demographic population in the conflict-affected countries (Kahn, 2008). It is note that in such countries, there is a constant supply of the children as recruits. However based on the children size, they are sent into battlefields as scouts. Some child soldiers are sent to trigger the enemies to draw fire as the adults prepare themselves to ambush them. These children are usually affected by the involvement in such battles; the effects are both emotional and physical. Some children indulge in drug abuse to calm their fear and as a way of ensuring that they encounter they heal their wounds without experiencing much pain. The child soldiers tend to be desensitized to violence, this usually occurs at in formative time of their growing up and it has a huge psychological effect on their future life. Even in cases where the child soldiers are set free or manage to escape, they have problems reuniting with their families since the armies usually destroys their relationship (Cullen-DuPont, 2009). Many female child soldiers can have children from the rebel groups an it is usually difficult for their families to accept them. The children usually ten to miss school for many years, and it is evident that without an education they cannot survive in the modern world. They are left with no options but to return to the rebel groups since the have no other means of sustaining themselves. The recruitment of the child soldiers usually breaks various human right laws, and many in the society ignore the children recruited in the armies. The children, who perform crime without drugs or threats, are subjected to justice under the protection of the international juvenile justice standards. Over the past couple of years, there have been many organizations including the United Nations that have initiated policies that protect the rights of children and banning of child soldiers (Kahn, 2008). The United Nations has had an impact in creating awareness on issues that affect children of the war. However, there is a gap between what the organizations advocate for and what happens on the conflicting countries. Organizations such as the War Child have worked with the former child soldiers especially in Africa for many years (Denov, 2010). They are aimed at enabling to reintegrate the former child soldiers back into society and ensuring that the get back to school. Majority of the child soldiers usually undergo the formal Demonilisation, Disarmament, and Reintegration (DDR), a program that enables them to change their behaviors and attitude. The programs focus on the needs of the boys who are mostly recruited to be child soldiers. The needs of the girls tend to be alienated and this makes them vulnerable in the society. The organizations focus in the provision of effective education and counseling sessions for the girls and the enable them to endure the stigma that is usually associated with being a girl child soldier. The boy child is viewed to be dangerous to the society and many times they are violent, however, the girls are usually affected b the issue and many are rejected in their families and communities (Cullen-DuPont, 2009). This is common incases where they have been assaulted sexually and they have had babies from the rebel camps. Africa is noted to be the largest continent that has a high population of child soldiers. The child soldiers indulge in armed conflicts in countries such as Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, and Sudan. However, through the interventions of the United Nation and other organizations campaigning for the rights of children, the rates of child soldier recruitment have minimized. Conclusion In conclusion, we note that children are supposed to be protected from violence and war. However, they are physically and psychologically vulnerable to both abuse and misguidance. They are usually influenced by factors around them since they are young and have no knowledge of developing independent opinions. The soldiers have the initiative of fighting wars and the can kill or be killed, if children are exposed to such hatred at their vulnerable ages, it affects them in their adult lives and the can indulge in violence. However, the impact of human child soldier recruitment g is not only based on the individual victims, however, it deteriorates the safety and the security of the countries involved. Child Soldier recruitment as a form of human trafficking has an impact on the individuals trafficked; since they encounter physical and emotional abuses and even death. The impact is devastating to the trafficked individuals and their families (Kahn, 2008). References Cullen-DuPont, K. (2009). Human trafficking. New York, NY: Facts On File. Kahn, L. (2008). Child soldiers. New York: PowerHouse. Denov, M. S. (2010). Child soldiers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Read More