HUMAN trafficking still persists in Solomon Islands according to the 2015 U.S Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report released on Monday.
It stated that Trafficking in persons is modern slavery. It involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion.
With more than 20 million people today trapped in human trafficking, also called modern slavery, it is a crime that happens almost everywhere and affects virtually everyone.
Yet many still think of human trafficking as an issue affecting only other people, in other countries.
“This just isn’t the case. Human trafficking persists in Solomon Islands and the United States.”
The 2015 U.S. Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, released by Secretary Kerry on July 27, 2015, highlights these risks and the actions governments, businesses, and consumers can take to combat human trafficking. The Government of the United States ranks Solomon Islands as a Tier 2 Watch List Country in the State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report.
Tier 2 Watch List is reserved for states that have made positive initial steps but no sustained progress in dealing with trafficking. The entire TIP Report is available on-line at www.state.gov/j/tip.
The report said, like the United States, Solomon Islands is a source, transit, and destination country for men and women subjected to forced labor and forced prostitution.
“Local and foreign women are recruited for legitimate work, some paying large sums of money in recruitment fees, and upon arrival in the Solomon Islands are forced into prostitution.
“Men are recruited to work in logging and mining industries and may subsequently be subjected to forced labor in industrial camps. Fishing crew members in the Solomon Islands are also victims of human trafficking.
“Children are subjected to prostitution and forced labor, sometimes in exchange for money or fish, particularly near foreign logging camps, on foreign and local commercial fishing vessels, and at hotels and entertainment establishments,” the report noted.
Although the Government of the Solomon Islands does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, it is making significant efforts to do so, it was highlighted.
“The Solomon Islands government has a written plan that, if implemented, would signify its efforts to comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. The SI government has committed to devoting sufficient resources for the plan to be implemented.”
The U.S. Embassy encourages the Solomon Islands government to follow through on this implementation plan. Additionally, the Solomon Islands government announced implementing regulations for the 2012 Immigration Act, which prohibits transnational forms of trafficking, and conducted multi-agency team inspections at logging and fisheries sites to detect the presence of trafficking.
The reported stressed that each nation, including Solomon Islands, must investigate and prosecute trafficking offenses, and convict and punish traffickers, including those exploiting men on board fishing vessels and men and children in and around logging or mining camps or in the tourism industry.
“Solomon Islands must further investigate forced prostitution of foreign women and prosecute their traffickers; adopt and implement proactive procedures, including provision of adequate resources for labor inspections, to identify victims of trafficking among vulnerable groups, such as foreign workers in the fishing, logging, and mining sectors, and women and children in prostitution.
“Adequate support and funding allocations for victim services must be provided as well as instituting a campaign to raise public awareness of human trafficking.
“Governments must continue to combat human trafficking in all its forms through strong law enforcement efforts and effective victim protections, as well as with policies to prevent trafficking, including in their own supply chains.
“A government can lead by example. It can set high standards and clear expectations for the private sector, and adopt policies that strengthen protections against modern slavery in supply chains. When governments improve efforts to monitor their own purchasing practices, they drive change in the global marketplace.”
The private sector also has a real opportunity to lead on this issue. Businesses can create anti-trafficking policies and map their supply chains down to the level of raw materials to identify gaps in transparency and vulnerabilities; address the trafficking-related risks in their operations; and balance growth with anti-trafficking efforts so the freedom, well-being, and dignity of workers throughout the supply chain is not sacrificed for higher profits, the reported further highlighted.
“Ensuring supply chains are free from human trafficking will take increased attention, resources, and collaboration between governments, the private sector, and individual consumers. By working together and leveraging the strengths of different actors, the global market can become a place where innovation and growth thrive alongside a workforce free from modern slavery.
“Together, the United States and Solomon Islands can do more to combat trafficking in persons. Let’s continue working together, partnering, and finding solutions to end this form of modern-day slavery. Each of us can make a difference. Let’s start today.”
