Human Trafficking in [Costa Rica Street Children in [Costa Rica] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Costa Rica] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery In the first ten years of the 21st
Century - 2000 to 2009
Costa Rica is a source, transit, and destination country for
women and children trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual
exploitation. To a lesser but increasing extent, Costa Rica is a source,
transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked into
forced labor, particularly in agriculture, construction, restaurant work, the
fishing industry, and as domestic servants.
- U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2009 [full country report] |
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CAUTION: The following links have been
culled from the web to illuminate the situation in ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Child smuggling is good business www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=122&art_id=qw106436052192B235&set_id=1 [scroll down] Guatemala City - A recently-busted
child smuggling ring charged handsomely for children sent to prospective
United States and Japanese parents, say investigating prosecutors. Ringleaders charged US couples up to $80
000 (about R568 000) for a child, and Japanese couples around $40 000 (about
R284 000), say the government prosecutors who are looking into 85 cases from
the past two years. On Sunday, Costa
Rican investigators in San Jose rescued nine Guatemalan infants assumed to
have been for sale to foreigners. ***
ARCHIVES *** U.S.
Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - The commercial sexual exploitation of children is a continuing
problem in Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices – 2005 TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS – Although
the law prohibits the trafficking of women and minors for the purpose of
prostitution or forced labor, there is no comprehensive legislation to
address all forms of trafficking. The lack of a comprehensive
anti-trafficking law inhibited the government's ability to prosecute and
convict traffickers, and prosecutors relied on several criminal statutes to
bring traffickers to justice. There were reports that persons were trafficked
to, from, and within the country, most often for commercial sexual
exploitation. Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2005 [35] The Committee welcomes the
proposed amendment of the Adoption Act as a follow up to its previous
recommendation to review its legislation in order to bring it in full
compliance with article 21 of the Convention and the 1993 Hague Convention on
the Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Inter-country
Adoption. But it remains concerned that this bill is still pending with the
Legislative Assembly and that the practice of private or direct adoption
which results in cases of trafficking is still not effectively prohibited. Child
Trafficking Network Arrested in Costa Rica At 6am this morning the Judicial
Investigation Organization (OIJ) broke up another human trafficking ring,
which was dedicated exclusively to the trafficking of minors less than 1 year
of age. A total of 14 arrests were made, including a female Family
Judge who had been working in Liberia for 15 years on cases including
adoption of minors. Her computer and documents were confiscated from the OIJ
in Liberia to undergo investigation in San Jose. The judge was said to be
facilitating the sale of the minors who were obtained either illegally or
purchased from poor and indigenous families who did not want the children for
around $50 each, for a portion of the profits. They then sold the children
for an estimated $10,000. The group would contact pregnant women in free
clinics who could not afford the children and then have them put up for
adoption. Protection Project - Costa Rica [DOC] FORMS OF TRAFFICKING - Costa Rica is believed to have
the region’s largest child prostitution problem. One report claims that
3,000 underage girls are prostituted in Costa Rica, many of them trafficked
from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Many
children are promised work in Costa Rica, only to be sexually exploited when
they arrive. Costa Rican children are believed to be trafficked to other
countries for sexual exploitation purposes as well. Freedom
House Country Report - Political Rights: 1 Civil Liberties: 1 Status: Free Human Rights Overview by Human
Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights Worldwide Authorities Probe Possible Child-Trafficking Network www.ticotimes.net/dailyarchive/2003_09/Week4/09_23_03.htm#story_one At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] Child Welfare Agency (PANI) and
judicial authorities yesterday continued to investigate a possible international
child-trafficking network operating out of Costa Rica, following a Sunday
night police raid of an unlicensed adoption agency in La Uruca,
San Jose where nine Guatemalan babies were found. Child smuggling is good business www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=122&art_id=qw106436052192B235&set_id=1 [scroll down] Costa Rica: Female Labour Migrants and Trafficking in Women and Children [PDF] www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/documents/publication/wcms_117928.pdf www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/gems/download/swmcos.pdf [page 3]
FOREWORD -
Changing labour markets with globalization have
increased both opportunities and pressures for women to migrate. The
migration process and employment in a country of which they are not nationals
can enhance women’s earning opportunities, autonomy and empowerment, and
thereby change gender roles and responsibilities and contribute to gender
equality. But they also expose women to serious violation of their human
rights. Whether in the recruitment stage, the journey or living and working
in another country, women migrant workers, especially those in irregular
situations, are vulnerable to harassment, intimidation or threats to
themselves and their families, economic and sexual exploitation, racial discriminatio n and xenophobia, poor working conditions,
increased health risks and other forms of abuse, including trafficking into
forced labour, debt bondage, involuntary servitude
and situations of captivity. All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial,
nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE
RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT ARTICLES.
Cite this webpage as: Patt, Prof. Martin,
"Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery – |
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Human Trafficking in [Costa Rica Street Children in [Costa Rica] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Costa Rica] [other countries]