Speech Text for Dr. Marietta Arguido Reformado
Respected Speakers,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Let me begin my first by thanking the organisers for conducting this event on such a critical issue. I would like to say thanks to Ms Violeta Berisha she's an expert for socio-economic development / URGC Ambassador .. Our panel has been asked to speech on the topic of ‘Gender Equality and Improvement of Women Standing'.
At the outset, I should mention that violence today is not the exclusive purview of either gender. However, it is fair to say that in the case of the global refugee crisis, women have been particularly targeted. What I will attempt to do is give a broad outline of the current status of refugee women as victims of human trafficking. I will also present what my organization has contributed towards alleviating the concerns of these victims.
I think most of us probably own a television set. If you do, you could not escape the sight of thousands of refugee migrants fleeing with only the items they can carry on their backs and nothing else. It is truly heart wrenching.
The world is in the grips of a refugee crisis on an unprecedented scale, with over 60 million refugees now worldwide. In Europe alone, over half a million refugees have poured in since the beginning of the year. The continent has not experienced such numbers since World War 2. The governments of the countries seeing such an influx are facing tremendous social and political pressures to respond. As an Ambassador for the United Refugee Green Council, I am at the forefront of those who seek to consult and advocate for the cause of the refugees to these governments.
There is a direct link between the huge numbers of refugee migrants and the despicable human trafficking industry. According to the UN, around 2.5 million victims are caught in the web of human trafficking at any time in a year. At the present moment, roughly 40,000 people are attempting to flee their homes for asylum every day. These migrants are especially vulnerable to traffickers who wish to use them as slave labor or worse.
Of the different types of trafficking, sex trafficking is especially exploitative of women and girl children, and constitutes a majority percentage of the trafficking in the world. Despite being illegal in every country on Earth, it is still a widespread phenomenon. Typically, such trafficking patterns flow consistently East to West, and lately the refugee crisis has added to these patterns.
Let us look at the Syrian refugee crisis for example. Since the civil war began in Syria in 2012, nearly 12 million refugees have been created. In the refugee camps in neighboring countries, we have heard numerous reports of women and children being at risk of sexual exploitation. With little money and no extended family support network, one can see why they are in danger. These harsh conditions are actually one of the reasons why so many Syrian left the camps in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey to Europe for greener pastures.
The European Union police chief has now warned that new migrants Syria into the continent are also under grave risk of exploitation organized trafficking gangs, including slave labor and child prostitution. This is just a grave example of the new dimensions of the refugee crisis that the international community must come to terms with.
This is an outline of the grave situation. What can be done? One immediate solution is to report and improve on the actual living conditions of the refugee camps, an activity which URGC is heavily involved in. The reason this is critical is because much of the public is unaware of the harsh realities of the camps and believe that all humanitarian assistance provided thus far is sufficient, which is not the case. Improving conditions here may give less incentive for refugees to become vulnerable migrants.
Another area we are trying to push forward is comprehensive legislation that would enhance and strengthen existing international laws countering human sex trafficking that disproportionately targets women and young girls. This is a vast topic though that may be difficult to cover in this short speech.
Having given a broad outline of the scale of the problem, I will like to end here and open to the audience. I look forward to the question and answer session to delve deeper into some of the proposed solutions to the crisis and how URGC is playing its part.
http://www.jornalpacifista.com.br/materias/direitos-humanos-15/zakaria-el-hamel-fighting-for-the-women-rights-with-the-panama-ambassador-258
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