The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women 60th Session (2016) Ariel Foundation International Panel Summary Report on Missing Children: Disappearances, Abductions and Exploitation
ARIEL FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL AT THE United Nations Commission on the Status of Women Session 60
Panel Summary Report On Missing Children: Disappearances, Abductions & Exploitation
ISBN: 978-0-9980092-7-8 2
© Ariel Foundation International 2017 Distinguished Speakers: *Ms. Corinne E. Dettmeijer, Dutch National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and Sexual Violence against Children *MP Julie Ward, UK Member of European Parliament & Co-Founder of European Parliament
Children’s Rights Committee
* Ms. Cecilia Anicama, Programme Specialist to the Office of Maria Santos Pais – Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children * Mr. JT Beckner – Shield Team Leader, Bishop Outreach Human Trafficking Rescue Team * Ms. Bre Beckner, Investigator, Bishop Outreach Human Trafficking Rescue Team *Ms. Wendy Nelson – Travel Industry Code of Conduct – Carlson Companies Leadership *Mr. Tako Rietveld – First Worldwide Media Correspondent Exclusively for Children and Founder of TheYouth.org Moderator: Ms. Ariella (Ariel) R. King – President, Ariel Foundation International, AFI Changemakers-UN, AFI Youth Summit- UN, & Ariana-Leilani Children’s Foundation Edited and Compiled by Hanna Quassim and Dr. Ariel Rosita King Photos: Dr. Ariel Rosita King
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CONTENT Concept Statement for Missing Children Panel
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Panelist
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Statement of the Problem of Missing Children
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Prevention of Missing Children
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Recommendations to Address Global Challenge of Missing Children
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Resolution Adopted by the General Assembly on 18 December 2014 on Missing Persons
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Presentation by Corinne Dettmeijer, Dutch National Rapporteur gor Human Trafficking and Sexual Violence Against Children 22 Step 1
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Step 2
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Step 3
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Closing words
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Presentation by Julie Ward, Member of the Euroepan Parliament (North England)
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Presentation by Cecilia Anicama, Programme Specialist to the Office of Maria Santos Pais, Special Representative to the Secretary General on Violence Against Children 33 Presentation by Bre Beckner, Bishop Outreach
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Presentation by JT Beckner, Bishop Outreach
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Written Contribution by Wendy Nelson, Carlton Travel
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CONCEPT STATEMENT FOR MISSING CHILDREN PANEL Missing children, disappearances, abductions and exploitation is increasing internationally. The story behind each missing child is as different as the child, and yet there are trends. The recent numbers of unaccompanied minors into Europe, North America, and other countries have given way to their additional vulnerability to disappear. Now there are more than 10,000 registered unaccompanied refugee children who went to Europe who are missing. Children are vulnerable to exploitation, especially sex exploitation, are usually separated from their protective family through their own actions or the actions of state and non-state actors. Children are extremely vulnerable to disappearance and exploitation. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), one in six endangered runaways reported to NCMEC in 2014 were likely sex trafficking victims. That is up from one in seven in 2013. The Panel will explore not only the statistics, but the trends, good practices, and solutions in the post 2015 agenda.
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PANELIST Corinne Dettmeijer-Vermeulen Mrs. Corinne Dettmeijer is the Dutch National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and Sexual Violence against Children. The Rapporteur is independent and has a statutory basis. The Rapporteur’s main task is to report to the Dutch government on the nature and extent of human trafficking and sexual violence against children in the Netherlands, and on the effects of the government policy pursued. The reports contain information on relevant regulations and legislation, as well as information on prevention, criminal investigations, prosecution of perpetrators and victim support. They also contain policy recommendations aimed at improving the fight against human trafficking and sexual violence against children, including child pornography. (http://www.dutchrapporteur.nl) After finishing her law degree at Leiden University, Corinne Dettmeijer started her career as a public prosecutor in Rotterdam. Corinne Dettmeijer has for many years been a judge at the district court of The Hague, from 1995 until 2014 as vice president of the court. As a judge, she handled cases in juvenile, criminal, family and migration law. She has been a member of several (international) professional bodies and advisory committees in the field of juvenile law. Corinne Dettmeijer a member of the board of the Pro Juventute Foundation, the European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, affiliated with the United Nations (HEUNI) and the High-level Global Taskforce to End Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism. The Dutch magazine Opzij elected Ms Dettmeijer in 2014 as one of the most powerful women in the Netherlands working on justice and public policy. (www.dutchrapporteur.nl)
Julie Ward Julie Ward is a Labour MEP for the North West of England. In May 2014, she was elected a Labour Member of the European Parliament (MEP) to represent the NW of England. She is a member of the parliament’s committees on Culture and Education, Regional Development as well as the Women rights' and Gender Equality Committee. She's a board member of the European Internet Forum, and a founding member of the European Caucus of Women in Parliament - a global forum. Julie has been a women's rights campaigner before being elected, and continues to work for gender equality as an MEP. Julie is a children's rights champion, having co-founded the European Parliament cross-party and crosscommittee intergroup on Children's Rights. She is also active on a number of other intergroups including Disability, Youth, Common Goods & Public Services, Creative Industries, LGBTI, Anti-Poverty, Trade Unions and Social Economy. She is now on the Labour Party’s Children and Education Policy Commission as a European Parliament Labour Party representative, as well a Culture and Education committee representative
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to the inter-committee network on the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). In 2009, she decided to go to university and study for a Masters in Education and International Development, graduating in 2012. Julie is a Churchill Fellow and has travelled and worked all around the world with a particular focus on Europe and neighboring countries (www.juliewardmep.eu)
Cecilia Anicama Cecilia Anicama, Programme Specialsist to Office of Maria Santos Pais – Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children. Cecilia Anicama is a Peruvian lawyer who specializes in International Law. Since October 2010, Cecilia works at the United Nations as Child Protection Officer at the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children. She worked as Human Rights Specialist at the Rapporteurship on the Rights of the Child until 2008. Between 2009 and September 2010, Cecilia worked as regional programme coordinator at the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean of Save the Children Sweden. Cecilia has diverse publications on child´s rights, international law issues and business and human rights. In 2008, she prepared a Report on the State responsibilities to regulate and adjudicate corporate activities under the InterAmerican Human Rights System to inform the mandate of the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General on Business and Human Rights. (http://srsg.violenceagainstchildren.org)
Tako Rietveld Tako Rietveld is the first Worldwide Correspondent Exclusively for Children. He lets children tell their stories, last year for example in Sierra Leone (Ebola), Lebanon (refugees) and Italy (refugees). Rietveld used to be a reporter and presenter for the Dutch National News program 'Jeugdjournaal', where he covered national and international news like the Olympics in Beijing, the funeral of Nelson Mandela in South Africa and royal inaugurations in The Netherlands and Belgium. Currently he is setting up an international platform at TheYouth.org where children and young people tell their stories, give their opinions and ask their questions. Rietveld believes that 'Children look at the world from a different perspective'. 'Their voices and opinions really make a difference. The world needs to hear their stories, we need to hear their stories and we need to let them know their stories matter.' (http://theyouth.org)
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Bre Beckner When Bre Beckner entered the world of law enforcement in 1992 as the first “triple threat” in her county (certified for city law enforcement, county sheriff and corrections), little did she know that a little over 20 years later, her training and knowledge would come together in a life-changing moment and she would join the fight to end human trafficking. As the Lead Investigator for Bishop Outreach, this wife, mother, security specialist and ordained Pastor gives her all to each and every case. She believes that all human trafficking victims – regardless of their gender, age, race, socioeconomic background or religion – deserves no less. “Every victim of human trafficking is someone’s child,” she says. “I can do no less for your child than I would do for my own.” (http://bishopoutreach.org)
JT Beckner As the Shield Team leader for Bishop Outreach, JT Beckner brings prior experience in the U.S. military and private security. Yet, his passion for helping trafficking victims comes from the side of his heart that he gave his own kids long ago. JT is a firm believer in the saying that “the only thing that allows evil to flourish is for good men and women to do nothing.” As a Pastor and man of both faith and integrity, he can no be a person who stands on the sidelines, closing his eyes to the ugliness of human trafficking while pretending that it doesn’t happen. (http://bishopoutreach.org)
Lois A. Herman Lois Herman is Founder and Coordinator of WUNRN, The Women’s UN Report Network. She is an internationally highly respected Researcher and Gender Specialist, and an accomplished Advocate on women’s and girls’ issues. Ms. Herman presents and coordinates programs many times a year at the United Nations in multiple locations. Lois A. Herman has an impressive history in professional corporate management, including international. She has been involved with gender issues throughout her life. She divides her time between the WUNRN base in the US, and the WUNRN European Office in Italy. She has traveled through much of the world and experienced women’s and girls’ realities, building bridges and creating bonds that make WUNRN endeared to women and girls everywhere. She is also a well-known poet who can capture in verse, the heart and soul of woman. Ms. Herman is a widow, and has raised five children, including an adopted foreign orphan. (http://www.wunrn.com)
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Ariella (Ariel) Rosita King Ariella (Ariel) King is a Co-Founder and President of Ariel Foundation International and Founder of the Ariana-Leilani Children’s Foundation. Dr. King’s professional activities also include children and youth human rights education and advocacy, The Main Permanent Representative at the United Nations (Vienna, New York, Rome and Geneva for selected meetings). She serves as the representative for AFI at the European Union. Dr. King has over 30 years of experience in international policy, diplomatic relations, policy and international management in government, business and NGOs, and international health. Dr. King's focus on International Public-Private Partnerships has its foundation of 30 years of living and working in 11 countries and traveling to over 68 countries. Dr. King is currently writing up her second doctorate (PhD) on the subject of “Psycho-social support by local community members for their traumatized children: A Case Study of Botswana, Liberia and Morocco.” Dr. King is the very proud mother of Ariana-Leilani Margarita Alexandra King-Pfeiffer, the 12-year old “Little Ambassador” whose life has inspired her to help educate and advocate for children’s human rights worldwide (www.arielfoundation.org).
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The Ariel Foundation International (AFI) in partnership with Ariana-Leilani Children’s Foundation Submission to the Secretary General’s Report on “Missing Persons” April 2016
Ariel Foundation International (in special ECOSOC consultative status) and in partnership with Ariana-Leilani Children’s Foundation International will publish a report on a parallel panel on Missing children: Disappearances, Abductions and Exploitation during the United Nations 60th Session on Commission on the Status of Women in New York in March 2016.1
Statement of the Problem of Missing Children Children are human beings with equal Human Rights, yet more vulnerable to violence and exploitation. Missing children is a worldwide public health emergency and a threat to the very fabric of our societies’ humanity. There are about 2 billion children in the world today. At least half, one billion children worldwide, are exposed to violence and suffer from it in their daily lives. Thus, their lives are defined by one word, ‘Fear’. Most missing children have fear and a common foundation of violence against them.
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Ariel Foundation International in partnership with Ariana-Leilani Children’s Foundation organized panel on Missing Children: Disappearances, Abductions and Exploitation, moderated by Ariella (Ariel) Rosita King with Corrine E. Dettmeijer, Dutch national Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and Sexual Violence Against Children; Julie Ward, MEP a UK member of European Parliament and co-founder of the inter-group on children’s rights, Ceceila Anicama, programmes to the office of the Specialist Representative, Maria Santos-Pais of the Director General, on Violence Against Children; JT Beckner, Shield Team Leader and Bre Beckner, Investigator Bishop Outreach Human Trafficking Rescue Team, Tako Rietveld, Children’s Correspondent; and written statement by Wendy Nelson on Travel Industry Code of Conduct, Carlson Companies Leadership.
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Children who are especially vulnerable to becoming missing are unaccompanied, displaced, refugee, informally “adopted�, living in various types of institutions, deprived of their liberty, and those who have experience natural disasters, displacement, denied birth registration or official documents, victims of violence and human trafficking. Missing children, disappearances, abductions and exploitation, are increasing. The story behind each individual missing child is as different as the child, and yet there are trends. Some children are not recognized with birth records and/or citizenship, and officially do not exist. Children are vulnerable to exploitation, especially sexual, labour and organ exploitation and are usually separated from their protective family through their own actions or the actions of state and nonstate actors. This leaves them vulnerable for becoming missing, since they do not officially exist. The recent numbers of children who have experienced armed conflict, natural disasters without parental care or are unaccompanied minors who travel within a country and outside of their home countries have given way to their additional vulnerability to disappear. Now, there are large numbers of registered and unregistered unaccompanied refugee children who are missing worldwide To address the challenge of missing children, education, prevention, response, and rehabilitation, children need to be at the forefront of all our actions. We need to develop effective international interventions hand-in hand with children. We have to ask them questions, listen to their views and their opinions to inform our actions, programmes and policies. We can succeed by engaging children as real and direct agents of change that need to be brought into the national and international dialogue and development of responses. Children are and always have been at the forefront of societal change and development.
Prevention of Missing Children The majority of missing children experience violence and exploitation. The prevention and elimination of missing children can be achieved by developing a holistic approach addressing the various complex factors, including legal and societal, and is achievable for children who experience societal disenfranchisement, depravation of liberty, violence, exploitation (sexual,
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labor,
organ,
armed
conflict,
trafficking,
and
experimentation),
natural
disasters
and
displacement. To prevent children going missing as much as possible, the underlying problem has to be addressed. Three steps are needed:
Step one: Prevent and anticipate children from going missing, and address the underlying issues that causes them to go missing.
Step two: Find the children as soon as possible, and create incentives for their return
Step three: Prevent children going missing again
Recommendations to Address Global challenge of Missing Children The principals of international humanitarian legal instruments relevant to the protection of children, including United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child2, and the three optional protocols; Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict3; Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Pornography and Child Prostitution4, the Optional Protocol on communications to the UNCRC5and the principals of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption,6 the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. The recommendations to address the global challenge of missing children are: 1. Engage Children to directly participate in the development of child-centered evaluation, intervention and child-centered solutions to be developed and informed with children for missing children. 2. Address the lack of comprehensive and disaggregated data and research on missing children impedes a clear vision of the scale and breath of the issue of missing children globally.
UNCRC, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1249, No 27531 and Convention on the Rights of the Child Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 44/25 of 20 November 1989, into force 2 September 1990, 3 UNCRC, Optional Protocol on involving children in armed conflict; A/RES/54/263 of 25 May 2000 entry into force 12 February 2002 4 UNCRC Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Pornography and Child Prostitution, Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly Resolution A/RES/54/263 of 25 May 2000 entered into force on 18 January 2002 5 UNCRC Optional Protocol on Communications Procedure, Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 19 December 2011 [on the report of the Third Committee (A/66/457)] 66/138 6 Convention on protection of children and co-operation in respect of inter-country adoption (concluded 29 may 1993) 2
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3. Develop a missing children’s international response system for informing, reporting, monitoring, mobilizing resources, responding and recovering and providing integrated services for children after recovery.
4. Appoint an independent expert on missing children to inform the international community with varied degrees of systems for counting, monitoring, rescue, recovery and rehabilitation.
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Resolution Adopted by the General Assembly on 18 December 2014 [On the Report of the Third Committee (A/69/488/Add.2 and Corr.1)] 69/184.
Missing persons
The General Assembly Guided by the purposes, principles and provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, Guided also by the principles and norms of international humanitarian law, in particular the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 19497 and the Additional Protocols thereto of 1977,8 as well as international standards of human rights, in particular the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,9 the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,10 the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,10 the United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, Nos. 970-973. Ibid., vol. 1125, Nos. 17512 and 17513. 9 Resolution 217 A (III). 10 See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex. 7 8
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Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,11 the Convention on the Rights of the Child12 and the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights on 25Â June 1993,13 Recalling the entry into force of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance,14 and calling upon States that have not yet done so to consider signing, ratifying or acceding to it as a matter of priority, as well as to consider the option provided for in articles 31 and 32 of the Convention regarding the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, Recalling also all previous relevant resolutions on missing persons adopted by the General Assembly, as well as the resolutions and decisions adopted by the Commission on Human Rights and the Human Rights Council, Recalling further General Assembly resolution 68/165 of 18 December 2013 on the right to the truth, as well as Commission on Human Rights resolution 2005/66 of 20 April 200515 and Human Rights Council decision 2/105 of 27 November 200616 and Council resolutions 9/11 of 24 September 2008,17 12/12 of 1 October 200918 and 21/7 of 27 September 201219 on the right to the truth, Noting with deep concern that armed conflicts are continuing in various parts of the world, often resulting in serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law,
United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1249, No. 20378. Ibid., vol. 1577, No. 27531. 13 A/CONF.157/24 (Part I), chap. III. 14 Resolution 61/177, annex. 15 See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2005, Supplement No. 3 and corrigenda (E/2005/23 and Corr.1 and 2), chap. II, sect. A. 16 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-second Session, Supplement No. 53 (A/62/53), chap. I, sect. B. 17 Ibid., Sixty-third Session, Supplement No. 53A (A/63/53/Add.1), chap. I. 18 Ibid., Sixty-fifth Session, Supplement No. 53 and corrigendum (A/65/53 and Corr.1), chap. I, sect. A. 19 Ibid., Sixty-seventh Session, Supplement No. 53A (A/67/53/Add.1), chap. III. 11 12
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Noting that the issue of persons reported missing in connection with international or non-international armed conflicts, in particular those who are victims of serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, continues to have a negative impact on efforts to put an end to those conflicts and inflicts grievous suffering on the families of missing persons, and stressing in this regard the need to address the issue from, inter alia, a humanitarian and rule of law perspective, Considering that the problem of missing persons may raise questions of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, as appropriate, Bearing in mind that cases of missing persons involve conduct that may constitute criminal offences, and stressing the
importance
of
ending
impunity
for
violations
of
international humanitarian law and international human rights law with respect to missing persons, Cognizant that States that are parties to an armed conflict have a responsibility for countering the phenomenon of missing persons, taking all appropriate measures to prevent persons from going missing, including, when appropriate, effectively investigating the conditions relating to persons going missing and determining the fate of missing persons, and for
recognizing
their
accountability
as
regards
to
implementing the relevant mechanisms, policies and laws, Bearing
in
mind
the
effective
search
for
and
identification of missing persons using forensic sciences, and recognizing that great technological progress has been made in this field, including DNA forensic analysis, which can significantly assist efforts to identify missing persons and to investigate violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, Recognizing that the establishment and effective work of competent national institutions can play a crucial role in
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clarifying the fate of missing persons in connection with armed conflict, Recognizing also the importance of addressing the legal situation of missing persons in connection with armed conflict and supporting their family members through national policies that include a gender perspective, as appropriate, Noting in this regard the progress made by coordination mechanisms, established in different parts of the world, aiming at exchanging information and identifying missing persons, which have contributed to informing families of the fate and whereabouts of their missing relatives, Recognizing that respect for and implementation of international humanitarian law can reduce the number of cases of missing persons in armed conflict, Stressing the importance of measures to prevent persons from going missing in connection with armed conflict, which may include enacting national legislation, producing and providing proper means of identification, the establishment of information bureaux, grave registration services and registers of deaths and ensuring accountability in cases of the missing, Taking note of the four-year plan of action for the implementation of international humanitarian law, adopted by the Thirty-first International Conference of the Red Cross and Red
Crescent,
held
in
Geneva
from
28
November
to
1Â December 2011, in which, inter alia, States were invited, as part of its fourth objective, to consider, in the light of the right of families to know the fate of their relatives, enacting appropriate legislation or arrangements to ensure adequate participation and representation of victims and their families as well as access to justice and protection for victims and witnesses, especially women and children, in proceedings before
their
courts
and
in
other
transitional
justice
mechanisms concerning serious violations of international humanitarian law,
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Taking note also of the report of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee on best practices in the matter of missing persons,20 Welcoming
the
convocation
of
the
international
conference entitled “The missing: an agenda for the future”, organized by the International Commission on Missing Persons in The Hague from 30 October to 1 November 2013, and taking note of the comprehensive report entitled “The missing: an agenda for the future” and its recommendations to address the problem of missing persons and the impact on their families, Noting with appreciation the ongoing international and regional efforts to address the question of missing persons and the initiatives undertaken by international and regional organizations in this field, 1.
Urges States to strictly observe and to respect and
ensure respect for the rules of international humanitarian law, as set out in the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 19497 and, where applicable, in the Additional Protocols thereto of 1977;8 2.
Calls upon States that are parties to an armed
conflict to take all appropriate measures to prevent persons from going missing in connection with the armed conflict, to account for persons reported missing as a result of such a situation and, in cases of the missing persons, to take such measures, as appropriate, to ensure thorough, prompt, impartial and effective investigations and the prosecution of offences linked to missing persons, consistent with their obligations under international law, with a view to full accountability; 3.
Calls upon States to take measures to prevent
persons from going missing in connection with armed conflict, including
by
fully
implementing
their
obligations
and
commitments under relevant international law;
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A/HRC/16/70.
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4.
Reaffirms the right of families to know the fate of
their relatives reported missing in connection with armed conflict; 5.
Also reaffirms that each party to an armed conflict,
as soon as circumstances permit and, at the latest, from the end of active hostilities, shall search for the persons who have been reported missing by an adverse party; 6.
Calls upon States that are parties to an armed
conflict to take all necessary measures, in a timely manner, to determine the identity and fate of persons reported missing in connection with the armed conflict and, to the greatest extent possible, to provide their family members, through appropriate channels, with all relevant information that they have on their fate, including their whereabouts or, if they are dead, the circumstances and cause of their death; 7.
Recognizes, in this regard, the need for appropriate
means of identification and for the collection, protection and management of data on missing persons and unidentified remains according to international and national legal norms and standards, and urges States to cooperate with each other and with other concerned actors working in this area by, inter alia, providing all relevant information related to missing persons, including on their fate and whereabouts; 8.
Requests States to pay the utmost attention to cases
of children reported missing in connection with armed conflict and to take appropriate measures to search for and identify those children and to reunite them with their families; 9.
Invites States that are parties to an armed conflict to
cooperate fully with the International Committee of the Red Cross in establishing the fate of missing persons and to adopt a comprehensive approach to this issue, including all such legal and practical measures and coordination mechanisms as may be necessary, based on humanitarian considerations only;
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10. Urges States that are parties to an armed conflict to cooperate, consistent with their international obligations, in order to effectively solve cases of missing persons, including by providing mutual assistance in terms of informationsharing, victim assistance, location and identification of missing persons and recovery, identification and return of human remains and, if possible, by identifying, mapping and preserving burial sites; 11. Invites States to encourage interaction between competent organizations and institutions, such as national commissions on missing persons, which play a crucial role in clarifying the fate of persons missing in connection with armed conflict and providing support to the families of the missing; 12. Urges States, and encourages intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations,
to
take
all
necessary
measures at the national, regional and international levels to address the problem of persons reported missing in connection with armed conflict and to provide appropriate assistance, as requested by the concerned States, and welcomes in this regard the establishment and efforts of commissions and working groups on missing persons; 13. Calls upon States, without prejudice to their efforts to determine the fate of persons reported missing in connection with armed conflict, to take appropriate steps with regard to the legal situation of missing persons and the needs and accompaniment of their family members, with particular attention to the needs of women and children, in such fields as social welfare, psychological and psychosocial support, financial matters, family law and property rights; 14. Invites appropriate,
States,
national
intergovernmental,
institutions international
and, and
as non-
governmental organizations to further their engagement in order to follow forensic best practices as they apply to preventing
and
resolving
cases
of
missing
persons
in
connection with armed conflict;
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15. Also invites States, national institutions and, as appropriate,
intergovernmental,
international
and
non-
governmental organizations to ensure the development and proper management of archives pertaining to missing persons and unidentified remains in connection with armed conflict, as well as access to those archives in accordance with relevant applicable laws and regulations; 16. Stresses the need to address the issue of missing persons as a part of peace and peacebuilding processes, with reference to all justice and rule-of-law mechanisms, including the judiciary, parliamentary commissions and truth-finding mechanisms, on the basis of transparency, accountability and public involvement and participation; 17. Invites
relevant
human
rights
mechanisms
and
procedures, as appropriate, to address the problem of persons reported missing in connection with armed conflict in their forthcoming reports to the General Assembly; 18. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the Human Rights Council at its relevant session and to the General Assembly at its seventy-first session a comprehensive report on the implementation of the present resolution, including relevant recommendations; 19. Also requests the Secretary-General to bring the present resolution to the attention of all Governments, the competent United Nations bodies, the specialized agencies, regional intergovernmental organizations and international humanitarian organizations; 20. Decides to consider the question at its seventy-first session. 73rd plenary meeting 18 December 2014
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CORINNE E. DETTMEIJER DUTCH NATIONAL RAPPORTUER ON TRAFFICKING ON HUMAN BEINGS AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN
Dutch National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and Sexual Violence against Children on the occasion of the panel Missing Children: Disappearances, Abductions & Exploitation. Global Analysis for Post-2015. 18 March 2016, New York First of all, I would like to express my thanks to the organisation for allowing me to speak to you today about the important subject of missing children. It is a subject that I am confronted with all too often in my work as the Dutch Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and Sexual Violence against Children. In the Netherlands, for instance in 2014, a girl aged 16 went missing. Her family was extremely concerned. The police launched a search after a private detective gave them information about the possible whereabouts of the girl. It still took some time before she was found in a hotel. The police took action, stormed the hotel room and found a man with his trousers round his ankles, the girl on the bed and the pimp hiding in the bathroom. It later emerged from the police investigation that potential clients had phoned 250 times, that the girl had received more than 80 clients in a fortnight and that the money had gone to the 21-year-old human trafficker. This is what I want to talk about
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today, about girls and boys who go missing because they are abducted, misled or abused by human traffickers. The problem arises more often than one might think. If you look at the 2015 figures from the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children, one in five of the reported children gone missing concern children who are victims from sexual exploitation. Human traffickers who have removed the child from parental supervision are prepared to cause injury to a child’s sexual, psychological and physical integrity, to take away their youth and deploy them as tools purely for financial gain. The problem extends to girls and boys, respects no frontiers and affects children of all ages. For instance, Europe is being confronted with Nigerian girls and women who have gone missing and who are being sexually exploited under the coercion of a voodoo spell, with Vietnamese children who run away from reception centres and are subsequently forced to work as ‘gardeners’ within houses to produce cannabis, and with Roma children who are bought by gangs with the aim of having them to steal and beg. These are just a few examples that demonstrate how widespread the problem of human trafficking in combination with missing children really is. The question that must arise in everyone’s thoughts as soon as a child disappears is: ‘What are they running from, where are they running to and who is making them run’? The actual fact of them being missing can equally well be a symptom that points to the real problem: Human trafficking. The exploitation of children. To prevent children going missing as much as possible the underlying problem has to be addressed. There are three steps needed: Step one: Prevent and anticipate children going missing Step two: Find the children as soon as possible. Step three: Prevent children going missing again It sounds logical and simple, doesn’t it? Even so, the first and the third steps are often disregarded while it is precisely here that a distinction has to be made. It is only then that the child is still in sight, which gives the opportunity for concrete measures.
Step 1 Preventing children going missing. The first step. Most children run away from youth care and foster care institutions. Figures in the United States show that three-quarters of the children who are possible victims of human trafficking and who have been reported missing disappear from youth and foster care. In the Netherlands, approximately ninety
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children annually disappear from youth care institutions and are seriously suspected of being victims of a human trafficker. Half of them disappear for a long time. That is almost one child a week. To prevent this happening, we must do everything we can to spot the signs beforehand. To train youth care workers and foster care staff to see the signs of human trafficking. They are the first responders and those who work with this vulnerable group. The protection of the group of children who are captured or ‘captivated’ by a human trafficker entirely depends on recognising the signs and acting upon them. If a child in youth care is spotted who could be a potential victim of human trafficking, a possible disappearance must be anticipated immediately. The key lies in building up a relationship of trust and covering the risks. A feature of young victims is that they can completely come under the spell of a human trafficker. To break this spell, a safe situation has to be created. It is the job of the social workers to make children realise that they have fallen into the hands of a trafficker and not in the hands of a loving friend offering the promise of a wonderful future. This is not always easy or successful. It is a well-known fact that the victims of human trafficking, and notably young girls who are in love with their human trafficker, could run away several times before they actually realise what is happening. The same is true for Vietnamese and Roma children who fall prey to traffickers in the Netherlands. They do everything they can to disappear with their human trafficker. They lie, they threaten and use all kinds of tricks. These groups have often been brainwashed or they have been put under heavy pressure and threatened. This is why it is crucial that, besides prevention, other measures are taken as well to anticipate on these children disappearing. Therefore, a risk and safety analysis must be made. Risk analysis serves to ascertain what protection the victim needs to prevent him or her disappearing and falling again into the hands of the trafficker. Here the police play a crucial role. The police have the expertise for estimating the threat of human traffickers. To protect children in the Netherlands, the most vulnerable girls are sometimes placed in secure youth care institutions under the authority of the courts and with the aim of protecting them against their traffickers. It is a drastic precaution but necessary if nothing else helps.
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Alongside the risk analysis, a safety analysis is also needed. An analysis with the aim of mapping the victim’s network. Who is that ‘friend’ for instance, who does she mix with and where does she stay? Ask about the use of social media, screen visitors and above all take a photograph that can be used in the event of any search. This information has to be stored in a central location and shared as much as possible with the police if the victim disappears. This is the information that can make all the difference between protection or exploitation.
Step 2 Step two is to find the under-age victim as fast as possible. To prevent various bodies waiting to see who will act first, it is important to reach agreements on who will take the lead and in what instances, if a child disappears. A multi-agency protocol. It must be clear beforehand what resources can be deployed by the various bodies. If these things are only thought about once a child has gone missing, it is too late. In emergency cases, where there are clear signs that the victim has gone to a human trafficker, time is the most crucial factor. In particular, children who are being used for sexual exploitation are regularly transported from town to town to be exploited in the illegal circuit, which seriously complicates the search. One must consequently start at once using the right means and methods. An appeal to the public is one of the possibilities. This encourages the public at large to keep an eye out for younger children. If need be, the whole country can be transformed into a huge ‘gone missing’ poster. Advertising hoardings, highway signs, apps, text messages and email can be used to find the child. Targeted searches can be carried out in certain regions or specific institutions can be activated. Even so, we must scrupulously ascertain how opportune it is to deploy these methods. It depends very much on the urgency of the matter. My fear is that by being publicly labelled a victim of human trafficking, the child may be stigmatised for life with all the ensuing consequences.
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And then there are possibilities of using technological means to find children. In the United States, for research purposes, the database of missing children was linked to websites where people were offering paid sex. It turned out that several children who were missing could be found in this way. The technology, PhotoDNA, that can be used for this purpose, with Google and Microsoft leading the way, is becoming increasingly more adept at linking photos. Even if these photos are taken in different spaces and if the child for example has a different colour of hair and is wearing different clothes.
Step 3 The third and last step begins when the child has been found. Then we have to ask ourselves who should collect the child. A person close to the victim, the police or a social worker? To a large extent, this depends on the situation in which the child is found. In the case of the girl being sexually exploited in a hotel I mentioned earlier, the situation determines that the police must take action. At the same time, arrangements have to be made for the immediate care of the girl and the initial medical and psychological needs ascertained straight away. These steps are crucial for building up a relationship of trust with the victim with the aim of extricating the child from her human trafficker. If that tie is not broken, protection is at risk of failing. Once the victim has returned to a safe situation, the time has come to ask what happened. Research shows that an interview of this kind does not always take place with unaccompanied children that were found again. The same applies to missing children in the Netherlands, while in fact it is precisely these interviews that are indispensable in gathering investigative information and gaining insight as to why the victim disappeared in the first place. The interview also forms the basis for establishing the risk of a new chance of going missing. The crucial element in these interviews is to find out what power the human trafficker has over the child. Are family or friends being threatened? Is the child in love with the perpetrator? Or does the perpetrator possess sexually explicit material of the child? Has the child been made an accessory to a criminal offence by the human trafficker?
All very dreadful things but tried and tested methods that are deployed by human traffickers.
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In the Netherlands, for instance, a boy went missing who was forced by human traffickers to have sex with men and to film this. After, the sex the victim had to blackmail the men into paying money by threatening to put the pictures online. When the victim was found, the boy was afraid to tell his story. He was afraid that he would be punished. This is why it is crucial to explain the non-punishment principle to the victims. That there is the possibility that they will not be prosecuted or will be not given a sentence if they have been forced to commit a criminal offence by the human trafficker. This example demonstrates that chains need not be of iron but can also be created by fear and threats. Knowledge and trust can break these chains and free these children from their human traffickers.
Closing words That brings me to my closing words. The protection of women and men and, in particular our children, against exploitation is one of the greatest challenges we are facing as a society. Children who go missing are additionally vulnerable to seeing their youth and the sense of their own worth being sacrificed to the inhuman impulses of a human trafficker. It is up to us to stop that from happening. It must be a fundamental right of every child to be protected from harm. I have made a first move in that direction by describing these three steps. I close my contribution with repeating the question that should be engraved in everyone’s mind whenever a child goes missing: ‘What are they running from, where are they running to and who is making them run’?
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JULIE WARD, MEP MEMBER OF EUROPEAN PARLAIAMENT (UK) CO-FOUNDER OF EUROPEAN PARLAIAMENT INTERGROUP ON CHILDREN’S HUMAN RIGHTS
Introduction: The promotion and the protection of children’s rights are enshrined in the EU Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights. While Member States have the primary responsibility on children’s rights, past EU action and legislation have clearly made a difference – from protecting children from violence, sexual abuse, trafficking to addressing discrimination and exclusion. Common action at EU level is still necessary to live up to the new challenges and ensure better protection for all children, especially the most vulnerable.
1. What does it mean to be a champion for children's right in the European Parliament Role and aim of the intergroup in the EP: o
to mainstream children's rights across the work of the EP
o
to promote children's rights across EP's policies and activities
o
to raise awareness of children's rights and how EU policy, legislation and funds affect the lives of children in Europe and globally
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o
to engage children in decision making, monitoring and evaluation through promoting their involvement within MEP's constituency and in EU debates
Concrete actions from MEPs: Legislative and parliamentary work Concretely, members of the intergroup make sure to promote the issue of children's rights in their respective committees and coordinate among them to push the issues on the different agendas. They do so through: o
tabling AM to relevant reports and opinions and being a link member in their respective committee. Particularly relevant committees: LIBE, CULT, DEVE, EMPL, AFET, FEMM
o
submitting written questions to the Council and the Commission
o
putting forward written declarations and encouraging their colleagues in the Parliament to support the initiatives in favour of the rights of the child
o
using the budget control competence of the EP to monitor and track funding related to children's rights
Their other activities Members of the intergroup are also champion of the children rights and can promote the issues through other activities, like organizing events and exhibitions in the EP (example of CATS) to raise awareness around the issue, or taking part of campaigns in partnership with NGOs and other institutional partners such as Eurochild, UNICEF, Save the Children, World Vision, Children of Prisoners, etc. MEPs come into public office with a range of experiences in their fields of interests. By maintaining links with local, regional, national and international actors and organisations, they can have greater currency in respect of credibility, speaking about real world situations and providing a platform for the voices of marginalised people such as children. Visiting projects on the ground or problem areas, in order to see for themselves the challenges and solutions, is important especially when this adds to knowledge and informs parliamentary work.
2. What the EU and the EP do regarding Missing Children in particular 2.1 EU cooperation and civil society initiatives 116 000 - EU wide Hotline
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In November 2010 the Commission adopted a Communication 'Dial 116 000: The European hotline for missing children'. Its objective is: o
To renew the call on the EU countries to implement the missing children hotline as a matter of priority;
o
To ensure the same high quality of service throughout the EU.
When institutional cooperation is not enough, other initiatives are set up: MISSING CHILDREN EUROPE Missing Children Europe is the European federation for missing and sexually exploited children. We represent a network of 30 NGOs in 24 countries in Europe. Their mission is to protect children from any harmful situation that may lead to, or result from, them going missing. They do this by supporting the development of effective cross-border solutions, raising awareness of these issues, developing effective networks and cooperation channels and promoting the implementation of supportive legislation for the best interests of the child. AMBER Alert Europe AMBER Alert Europe is the European Child Rescue Alert & Police Network on Missing Children. It has 18 members (law enforcement, ministries & NGOs) in 14 countries. Its Police Network consists of over 35 experts representing law enforcement from 12 EU countries. Cooperation with Frontex and UNHCR In close cooperation with FRONTEX and UNHCR, AMBER Alert Europe is currently involved in projects to save children at risk at EU external air borders. Effective cooperation between national police and border guards protecting the outer borders of the EU is critical to protect children at serious risk of harm such as trafficking and abduction, including refugees and unaccompanied migrant children.
2.2 In the Parliament: Current Written Declaration* of Missing Children There is currently an ongoing initiative to adopt a written declaration* on improving emergency cooperation in recovering endangered missing children and improving child alert mechanisms in the EU Member States
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250 000 children are reported missing in the EU each year. When a child is abducted and killed, in 76 % of cases the child was murdered within three hours of the abduction. The search for an endangered missing child often stagnates at internal borders. 37.5 % of Europeans live in border areas. When the public are asked to search for a missing child that is in imminent and serious danger, it is crucial that this is done as soon as possible. The Council and the Commission are therefore called by the declaration to enhance better cross-border cooperation and improve the identification and protection of children at borders, as recommended by AMBER Alert Europe (the European Child Rescue Alert and Police Network on Missing Children). The Commission is hence called upon to make every effort to encourage the practice whereby, when a child is at risk in a border area, or law enforcement agencies suspect that the child has crossed an internal border, law enforcement agencies, border authorities and the public in the other country are informed immediately. * A written declaration is a text of a maximum of 200 words relating exclusively on a matter falling within the competence of the European Union. They do not, however, bind Parliament, that is, they cannot be considered as an act of the Parliament representing its position, but only those of its authors and signatories. 2.3 With the refugee crisis, Europe is facing a growing problem of missing unaccompanied Migrants In
spite
of
the statistics provided
by Eurostat and EMN,
the
exact
dimension
of
unaccompanied minors in the European Union remains uncertain. However, according to existing data, the problem is growing. Arriving in Europe for various reasons, these children represent a particularly vulnerable group. They are children and migrants at the same time. Whether as countries of destination or transit, all Member States are concerned. Faced with this complex and transnational challenge, the EU has made a priority policy issue. The common European approach is structured around the principle of "best interests of the child" set out by the UN Convention on Children's Rights (CRC). In recent years, the protection of unaccompanied minors in EU law has been considerably strengthened. The European Parliament stressed in particular that the situation of migrant children deserves special attention because of their vulnerability and the risks they face.
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The protection of children must be the main driver of the Member States and the EU in the context of migration to the EU, stressed the Parliament.  Interested parties have reported a number of concerns. These include detention, legal representation, methods of age determination and the return and reintegration in the country. It also appears that non-minor asylum seekers do not receive the same level of protection as that enjoyed by children seeking international protection.  More info can be found in the House of Lords' enquiry submissions from EPRS, Missing Children Europe, and the office of Julie Ward.
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CECILIA ANICAMA PROGRAMME SPECIALIST TO THE OFFICE OF MARIA SANTOS PAIS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE TO THE SECRETARY GENERAL ON VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN I
like this picture (AFI Logo) because it shows that the topic this morning is a global topic that happens in every country, in every region, in spite of the cultural or geographic boarders. It might have different patterns. Now if we are looking to Europe we have this number of refugees and migrants, and if we look to Asia we see patterns of sexual exploitation trafficking, but if we look at central Africa we will also have to address the issue of missing children but in context of conflict for example. In Latin America, there are patters of widespread violence associated with organized crime, drug trafficking, trafficking of weapons and arms and so on. So, what we do in our office is a global mandate, like trying to advocate globally with governments, and with all stake holders in societies to mobilise all actors to prevent and to effectively stop all forms of violence against children everywhere. In normal settings in the home, in the school, institutions, care and justice system, workplaces, communities and in the online setting.
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We have some estimates in terms of what is going on in terms of violence against children. We know that there are about 2 billion children in the world now. But one billion children worldwide are exposed to violence. It can be any form of violence. Half the children in the world suffer violence daily. Their lives are marred or defined by one word, when we speak to them; ‘Fear’. We have been told in meetings with children that are affected by violence. Many times, we hear from them that their lives are defined by fear. Also, we know in terms of human trafficking for example, with the UNODC data says that two of three children who are victims of trafficking are girls. As the National Rapporteur told us, this topic affects both boys and girls in different way, but both boys and girls. We know that this is a big concern and we want to turn this situation from sadness to happiness. They can build a world that can be as big as children’s dreams. That is our talks and our big challenge. Despite the concerns, big challenges still persist. We have many opportunities to move forward and to reverse this picture of sadness and violence into a world that can be peaceful and inclusive and to break the cycle of violence. Because what happens to one child, one individual in a society, affects all the society. We know that in terms of data how prevention and the lack of prevention and the response to violence costs countries. In terms of money, it is estimated about 7 billion dollars, the cost of lack of prevention worldwide. We have a lot to do. Since this mandate was established, this mandate specifically the Special Representative to the Secretary General on Violence Against Children in 2009, until now (2016), there has been a lot of progress. In terms of legislation, for example, of the many countries who have adopted solid legal framework. I can give you two examples. In terms of sexual exploitation there are about 96 countries that have some sort of legislation to adequate national legal frameworks to connect to the international legal framework, like the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, optional protocol on the sale of children asks them to do. And also, there are many more countries who are adopting legislation to end all forms of violence. In 2006, when the UN study on violence against children was endorsed by the UN General Assembly by all member states, there were only sixteen countries who had that kind of legislation banning all forms of violence against children including in the home and
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family is the key and step to prevent violence. Because this means that the country is sending a message that no violence, in any form is allowed, is tolerated, is acceptable in the country. It’s just that, it will not stop the problem, but it will give the opportunity to the country to take the necessary measures to transform the culture of tolerance and a culture that still condones violence. And in terms of policies, we have about 90 countries that have some type of strategy or policy to prevent and to address violence against
children.
But
we
still
continue to see this big challenge, the gap between what is written in international
instruments,
and
what is said in national legislation, and what happens in the reality in the daily lives of children. This is our big challenge. To overcome these challenges we need to prevent, we need to start early in life, to strengthen families because we need to prevent to the children from going into institutions, and we need to prevent children being left without parental care. To do that, we need to create a loving and caring environment since they are in the womb of their mothers. Creating healthy families is the key to build peaceful and consistent societies. We need to keep working on strengthening national legislation, having more policies, effective mechanisms to provide counseling to prevent that they become victims of violence. But when they are victims or exposed to violence, we need to provide assistance that will prevent re-victimisation and will give them the necessary and legal assistance and all the multidisciplinary assistance that is needed when a child is a victim of violence, and that has to be anchored in a strong national child-centered child-protection system that involves the combination of all sectors in societies. And we need obvious data. More data, because without data we cannot inform how policies are being implemented and we cannot monitor and evaluate that. There are 3 core preventions that we are children are exploited and all forms of violence.
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I would like to bring to your attention to key global opportunities at this moment. This year we are celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the study of violence against children. But 2016 is the 20th anniversary of the world congress on sexual exploitation that was held in Stockholm 20 years ago. And also, it's the first year to start the implementation of the global development agenda and this is a historic moment, because the global development agenda included a specific target, 16.2, one of the goals that all countries must adhere to by 2030 is elimination of violence, exploitation and torture of children. Last Friday, the UN Statistical Commission agreed on a set of 230 indicators, because it is important how we are going to move there toward 2030 to eliminate all forms of violence. There are 3 indicators that we have to keep very high in our attention to measure this. One indicator (16.2.1) the number of children who have been victims of physical and psychological violence, (16.2.2) child trafficking and exploitation and (16.2.3) addresses the issue of sexual violence. So, we have not only the framework and the recommendation, but we are also moving ahead in terms of having the adequate measures to make a real change for children. Another important global process, that is relevant to addressing the issue of missing children, is the the UN Global study on children deprived of liberty. Because once children go into institutions, in many countries we still continue to see that they are exposed to many different forms of and incidents of violence. Not only by the people who are responsible in this institution to take care of them, but because they also do not have the opportunity to develop fully and to achieve fully their potential as children. This study is still in a very early process but there will be some time this year and independent experts who will conduct this global process. All the situations of deprivation of liberty in situations of conflict and in situations of nonarmed conflict worldwide beyond justice institutions and it is an opportunity for everyone in the society, not only the government, to contribute to the analysis and the research to come out with recommendations how to address the topic of children deprived of liberty and the global situation of children deprived of liberty. I want to stop here by reminding us all that when were concerned with children, prevention and response, we have to do it hand-in hand with children. We have to listen to their views and their opinions. There is no way to success if we do not listen to them and we don't engage them as real agents of change. Thank you. 36
Bre Beckner presentation Bishop Outreach Hello, I'm Bre Beckner from Bishop Outreach. Thank you for inviting me. You are all here because you are aware of human trafficking and the cost to society, so I am not going to take the next several minutes throwing numbers and statistics at you since you all probably know them backwards and forwards. Instead, I am going to tell you why, in my mid-40s, I changed the direction of my life and dedicated it to fighting human trafficking on the front lines. I'm sure you've all had those chance meetings with people that changed your perception about something -- but how many of you have had such a meeting that changed your entire life? I met Bishop when he was promoting his book and at the end of that meeting, as it so frequently happens in life, he said, "If there is anything I can ever do for you, don't hesitate to call." I, like most, filed that away as a "thing you say to be nice" response and moved forward with my day. His book had made me aware that human trafficking exists in the U.S., but I had assured myself that it would never happen in MY town and stayed in my safe bubble. Fast forward two months. My youngest daughter, a middle school student at the time, came home after the first day back from Christmas vacation in tears. As she sat in my office, sobbing, she explained that a girl in her class -- a child she rode the bus with and whose locker was next to hers in PE -- was missing and had been for 30 days. The kids had all assumed that she had gone to spend Christmas with her mom early (as her parents were divorced), but an assembly had let them know that she had been missing the entire time. My child said that she didn't think anyone was taking it seriously and uttered six words that started my new journey -- "Mom - you have to DO something." Now, I didn't know what she expected me to do, as I was no longer in law enforcement and even when I was, I never directly worked a missing child case, but I could not live with myself if I told her no, so I did all I could think to do; I called Bishop in a "put your money where your mouth is" moment. I explained that I didn't know if the girl was being trafficked, all I knew was that she was not at home in her own bed. He had a team in my town less than 24 hours later and while my husband and I knew nothing about any of it, we went out with them and the girl's dad following up on every lead. Those leads led us to the most crime-ridden areas of our town and we pounded the pavement for two days and nights. The second night, things got real (as they say) when an enforcer from a local MC (an outlaw type motorcycle gang) came and found us to invite us to leave HIS territory as we were "bad for business." His business, as it turned out, was trafficking girls and drugs. Our presence caused such a commotion that on the third day, the missing girl was dropped in a parking lot in a neighboring state. Several weeks later, when Bishop asked my husband and I if we would like to join his team permanently, the answer was a no-brainer. That missing girl really opened our eyes as she was not some nameless/faceless child in another country or in a big city. She was our own child's classmate and that brought the point home that human trafficking can and does happen everywhere -- even in your own back yard.
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As an investigator for Bishop Outreach, I spend a lot of my time combing through sites like Backpage and on social media looking for our victim. A lot of these kids are not physically abducted -- they are what we call "Romeo'd in." They meet someone, either online or in person, who seems to be a "perfect match." That person, the "Romeo," seems to understand exactly what their frustrations are -- from parents who are too strict to parents who don't seem to care -- and they lure them in with a "way out." Life, in the beginning, is a party as the Romeo makes it all about them. Nails, hair, jewelry, new clothes, parties with plenty of drugs and alcohol. When they're invited to dance for some "friends" (aka clients), all of the attention shifts to them and they start to believe that they are in charge and living large. The rude awakening of their reality sets in when they are "turned out" under the "care" of a "house mom" or an "enforcer" but by then, it is too late to walk away. They're constantly told how they can never go home because of the illegal things they've done and because their parents would not want them once they found out what they had become. With the help of drugs and time, the victims start to believe this. For local law enforcement's part, a teens classified as a runaways gets less attention than a murder, home invasion, rape, etc. because there are only so many police officers on the force and so many hours in a day. This is in no way me slighting law enforcement, it's just reality. This is where NGO's, like Bishop Outreach, can really help bridge the gap. Not only can we put in the man hours for investigative help, we can also track the traffickers as they move from city to city or state to state. Sadly, once a trafficker leaves a jurisdiction, local law enforcement may pass the case to their counterparts in the new area, but then the investigation must start over and LE finds themselves one step behind because traffickers move the girls so frequently. With our relationships with various federal units, once they cross state lines, we are able to present a much broader picture in one package, rather than pieces from different cities. We can also assist on the actual rescue ops as all of our team members are either law enforcement or military (current and former). When the victim has been rescued, our partners help with both aftercare and legal services that cost the victim's family nothing. Yes, it is a lot of work. Yes, it is a lot of heartache because unlike on TV, the good guys don't always win. But I cannot imagine myself doing anything else. I've seen with my own eyes that human trafficking can and does happen everywhere. Every victim, regardless of how they got there, is someone's child and that is simply unacceptable. Thank you. I would like to show you all a video before my husband, JT, speaks. It is, of course, a dramatization, but it shows just how quickly a child can disappear.
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JT Beckner Bishop Outreach
Hi my name is JT Beckner. I want to thank you for inviting me here today. It is an honor and privilege to be among such passionate and distinguished people. My wife, Bre, told you a little about what we do and how we came to be a part of Bishop Outreach. As the Shield Team Leader for Bishop Outreach, I have many hats that I wear -most of which put me in contact with victims, family members, law enforcement and, of course, the monsters in the dark and the evil that really does lurk in the shadows. In the few minutes I have, I want to share nothing about stats or numbers. Instead, I want to tell you about the house we ran across in our first case that Bre mentioned. This was a house that, from the outside, looked like any other in the neighborhood. It was a house with a one car driveway and a small yard but what lay inside was anything but normal. Inside, the interior walls had been gutted, turning the house into an open square, like a suite apartment. There were 3 stripper poles placed in the middle with chairs and couches pushed against the wall. The kitchen had been turned into a bar and the smell of dope burning and smoke was everywhere. This is what is known as a Party House. The thing I will never forget about this house was walking inside to see 12 little girls around the ages of 16 and under standing around in their bras and panties. Most were high or drinking. They were there being forced to dance for a house full of grown men who were putting dollars in their panties just like a strip club. Little did we know then that this is part of a system that is used to condition and brainwash girls in preparation for the next phase which is where the beatings begin if they
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don't lay down and have sex with whoever men the gangs, pimps, traffickers can run through wherever they are set up. I will never forget the looks in the eyes of those girls or how empty and lifeless they appeared. It was as if their very souls were broken into a thousand pieces. I would love to stand here and tell you how we saved them and got them to safety but, due to legal issues and a supposed police operation that was going on at the time, we didn't. Instead, we were told by the police to leave and not return, so on that dark cold night, we ... I walked away knowing that we had to leave those kids behind. I see their faces every time I close my eyes. That's part of what drives me to walk in the darkness that I do and to stare into the abyss of evil and stand for these victims. Now, I want to shift gears and tell you about some of our other cases where we were not powerless. Let me start with a young lady that we did rescue. Her trafficker was a special kind of evil. He used a branding iron to burn a marking brand into her skin, and he beat her relentlessly when she refused his orders. He used a box cutter to cut the insides of her genitals when she refused to have sex with his clients, and more than once, he tortured her by showing her a revolver, placing one bullet in the chamber and spinning it shut then shoving it in her vagina and pulling the trigger -- all the while laughing. The sounds that came from this brave lady when she was rescued -- when the moment came that she realized she was actually free -- will be a sound that I nor any of the team members present that night will ever forget. Then there was the girl who was taken right out of a public library. I can't count the hours I spent on the phone with her mom, asking the hard and invasive questions about her child and family in order to pass along info to Bre and her team of investigators so we could find this 14-year-old. This child managed to get away and run to a neighboring house where she contacted her mom who gave her my number. She called me while hiding in a closet, scared to death. In the background, we could hear the pimps outside in the street yelling and screaming about how when they found her they were going to kill her cause no b*tch was getting away from them. I nearly broke when she asked me, "Mr. JT are you coming to get me?" Luckily, we were able to contact Homeland Security. They got officers to her and she was rescued. Let me tell you about the great-grandma of a 6-year-old little boy whose mother was taking him with her and her pimp to the hotel room while the mom was being sold. His just being in the room was bad enough but the evil didn't stop there. These two people allowed johns to molest that child for a price and a favorite "game" for the pimp was to put a pillow case over the little boy's head and let the johns take turns peeing on his face. This great-grandma's heart was broken because she knew that in order to save her greatgrandson, she was going to have to destroy her own grand-daughter. I can't forget the mother whose child had been trafficked and brainwashed for so long that when she turned 18 during the course of our investigation, though she had been found, she made the choice to go back to her pimp and the life she has become accustomed to. The phone call we had with the mother and the police officer was gut-wrenching. To hear a mother being told that her daughter was an adult and was making a choice to refuse help legally and there was nothing law enforcement could do, was something words can't describe. The pain in that mother's voice was tangible, but it was the gratefulness that someone cared enough to help that took my breath.
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Lastly, let me share the story of a young 17-year-old who was rescued and testified against her trafficker. We escorted her home and then helped get her into a treatment program. She called me a year later and said, "Mr. JT I just want to call and say thank you for all ya’ll did. My mom and I both are in counseling and doing good and I have a part time job and starting my first semester in college. I just wanted you to know and to say thank you." These are just a few examples of the many rescues or cases we have worked. The faces I have seen or the voices I have heard and will carry with me the rest of my life. These victims are the reason that I and the rest of the team at Bishop Outreach do what we do. Scripture tells us we are to be a light in the dark unto others. For me, that means being a light of hope for these victims trapped in a darkness most people will never know or experience and standing in the gap -- fighting for them against the monsters that lurk there because despite what some would have us believe, the darkness is very real and monsters really do lurk there.
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Ms. Wendy Nelson Carlton Travel, delivered by Lois Hermann, WRERN
As a Carlson board member, Vice President of the Carlson Family Foundation and Carlson family member, I am honored to present the following statement regarding Carlson’s efforts to combat the sexual exploitation of children in the travel and tourism industry to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women 60 – 2016. Carlson is keenly aware that child trafficking is a complex, worldwide problem, the pieces of which the public, private, NGO sectors, civil society and academia must be accountable for and collaborative with one another to resolve. In an effort to leverage our unique capabilities and responsibilities as a global corporate citizen, Carlson has sought opportunities for more than 15 years to protect children through various platforms and partnerships. The first such opportunity came to our attention in 1999 with an invitation from Her Royal Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden, who requested that Carlson become a cofounder of the World Childhood Foundation which supports projects around the world to prevent the abuse and exploitation of children, including trafficking. In 2004, Carlson made the decision to take a public stance on the specific issue of child sex trafficking in the travel and tourism industry when my mother and former Carlson CEO, Marilyn Carlson Nelson, signed The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children
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from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism (The Code). At the time, the discussion of this dark issue was almost taboo in the industry. Given our prior engagement in children’s issues, the U.S. State Department approached Carlson to take a leadership position. We learned that the travel industry can be at times an unwitting accomplice in this crime against children, which often plays out in hotel rooms. Once this grim situation was brought to our attention, we could not turn away. Carlson made the decision to become the first global, North American travel and hospitality company to sign The Code which asks that corporations train their employees on what to watch for and how to report suspicious activity. In effect, Carlson’s hotel employees worldwide became a virtual army of eyes and ears in defense of exploited children. We then went on to use every opportunity to encourage our travel industry colleagues to join us in this fight. Since Carlson’s signing, Delta Airlines, Sabre Holdings, Orbitz Worldwide and several major hospitality companies have signed The Code. In 2010, Carlson became a signatory to the UN Global Compact, thereby furthering its commitment to human rights across all business units. And, in 2011, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, one of the world’s largest travel management companies, began issuing advisories on electronic tickets issued in the U.S. to destinations where there is a prevalence of child sex tourism. We asked our customers to join us in reporting suspicious activity to the National Human Trafficking hotline, an organization which our Family Foundation proudly supports. Many of our executives and senior management have also served on NGO and industry boards that are combating this issue at both the global and local level. ECPAT USA (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes) has suggested that The Code’s mission can be advanced within the industry if more hotel companies communicate their commitment and require training on this issue at the franchisee level. Carlson remains committed to encouraging others in the travel industry to incorporate this issue into their ethics policies, employee training and supplier contracts in the hopes that one day protecting the world’s children will no longer be considered a “responsible business” initiative but rather a standard business practice.
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ISBN: 978-0-9980092-7-8
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