U.N. Security Council: Trafficking May Constitute War Crimes
Members of the U.N. Security Council have unanimously adopted a resolution calling on countries to step up efforts to tackle human trafficking and modern slavery.
“Slavery and other such egregious abuses of human rights have no place in the 21st century,” said U.N. secretary-general Antonio Guterres.
The Security Council resolution said human trafficking during conflicts “may constitute war crimes.” It called on countries to ratify and implement the anti-trafficking protocol of the U.N. Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime.
Italy, which sponsored the resolution, said it builds on previous commitments by emphasizing identification, registration, protection and assistance for displaced persons falling prey to trafficking.
“Timely detection of routes and victims is key to effectively counter this plight,” Italian under-secretary of state for foreign relations Vincenzo Amendola said.
UNHCR Slams ‘Manmade Crisis’ at Australian Refugee Center on Manus
The U.N. refugee agency disputed Australia’s assertion that alternative facilities on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island are ready for asylum seekers who refuse to leave their former detention center.
“It’s still under construction … we saw for ourselves that they are trying to complete the site as quickly as possible but the fact remains that major work is still in progress,” UNHCR representative Nai Jit Lam told a U.N. briefing by satellite phone from Manus.
“Beyond the physical accommodation that we have been talking about, the most basic services needed for asylum seekers and refugees are still not adequately provided for outside the center.”
Lam warned that conditions were deteriorating fast at the Australian-run offshore center that officially closed on October 31. Around 400 asylum seekers have remained barricaded in ever since, saying they fear for their safety elsewhere on the island.
Papua New Guinea has repeatedly deferred deadlines to remove them from the center. The refugees are appealing to PNG’s supreme court after an earlier legal challenge to restore services to the site was denied.
Australia confines all boat-borne migrants to offshore camps on Manus and the Pacific island of Nauru. A refugee swap deal with the U.S. has proceeded slowly under Trump, and Australia has refused offers from New Zealand to take in some of the refugees or send aid to Manus.
“This is a manmade and entirely preventable humanitarian crisis. It is a damning indictment of a policy meant to avoid Australia’s international obligations,” Lam said.
Leaders of Greece, Egypt and Cyprus Pledge Migration Cooperation
The leaders of Cyprus, Egypt and Greece have pledged closer cooperation over irregular migration in the Mediterranean region at a summit in Nicosia.
They also urged the E.U. to do more to tackle the issue. “The problem isn’t confined to countries in the region, but is expanding and is threatening the European Union’s cohesion,” said Cypriot president Nicos Anastasiades.
The countries also pledged to pursue greater cooperation on transportation, tourism, energy, economy, defense and security.
Recommended Reads
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- The Washington Post: Thanksgiving Is an Annual Reminder of America’s Refugee Origins
- Theirworld: Lack of Space, Transport and Money – Why Syrian Refugees Are Out of School in Jordan
- The Guardian: Male Rape and Sexual Torture in the Syrian War: ‘It Is Everywhere’