The international community has taken an important step in addressing the horror of organized trafficking in women and children, says Lynnetta Hamstra, associate director of the women’s ministries department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church worldwide.  On November 15, the United Nations approved a treaty aimed at fighting illicit trafficking of humans and drugs, and money laundering.  Under the “Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime,” nations will work towards adopting streamlined extradition procedures and uniform international laws relating to human trafficking.

“This cooperative approach will empower governments to more effectively pursue the international smuggling rings that deal in human trade,” says Hamstra. “More than 1 million individuals, predominantly women and children, are tricked or forced into slavery each year. Some women are sold as workers or domestics; many are sold into the sex trade.” Hamstra says that the so-called “feeder countries” of this trade include places such as Albania, Southeast Asia, the Ukraine, and Mexico.

The treaty must receive a minimum of 40 signatures of member governments and be ratified by their legislatures before it is enshrined in international law.  The process of obtaining signatures will begin at a United Nations conference in Palermo, Italy, in mid-December.

The women’s ministries department of the Adventist Church has focused on the global trade in women and children as part of the department’s campaign to raise awareness of critical challenges facing women around the world.  Other issues the department concentrates on are: illiteracy, poverty, threats to health, employment conditions, and abuse. 

Photos are available to accompany this story.  To view, go to www.adventist.org . To download higher resolution photos follow the link at the end of the online article.