Human Trafficking in [Liberia Street Children in [Liberia] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Liberia] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery In the first
ten years of the 21st Century
- 2000 to 2009
Liberia is a source, transit, and destination country for
children and women trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial
sexual exploitation. Most victims are trafficked within the country, primarily
from rural to urban areas for domestic servitude, forced street vending,
forced begging by religious instructors and sexual exploitation in brothels
or private apartments. Children may also be trafficked for labor on rubber
plantations and in alluvial diamond mines. Some children in Liberia are
subjected to sexual exploitation by international peacekeeping troops and
personnel from international organizations.
- 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ARTICLE *** Mississippi in Africa: The Promised Land www.prometheus6.org/node/4418 At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
Of the many tragedies set in
motion by the enslavement of African people in the Rather than ending slavery,
Liberia became both a place of enslavement and a host to other forms of
coerced labor that differed from slavery in name only. The immigrants and
their offspring mercilessly exploited the indigenous African population. ***
ARCHIVES *** Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS – NGO
estimates of the number of persons trafficked to the country during the year
ranged between 20 and several hundred. Victims were trafficked within the
country and from neighboring countries for prostitution and labor. Young
children were at a particularly high risk for trafficking, especially orphans
or children from extremely poor families. Trafficking victims were often
subjected to harsh living and working conditions. There were reports of forced
labor; however, none had been confirmed. There also were reports of the
recruitment of child soldiers, but the reports had not been confirmed, and
the matter was under investigation at year's end. Traffickers enticed their victims
with promises of a better life. Parents of trafficking victims were persuaded
that their children would have better food and educational opportunities in
another country and that they would eventually return home. Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2004 [58] The Committee notes that the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 18 August 2003 recognizes the special
demobilization and reintegration needs of child combatants. However, the
Committee expresses its extremely deep consternation at the very high number
of children who have been forcibly recruited into armed forces and armed
groups by all parties involved in the conflict, including children as young
as nine years old. The Committee is also concerned that these children have been
forced to carry goods and weapons, guard checkpoints and often fight in the
front line, while girls have been raped and forced to become servants of the
soldiers as well as combatants. Only the deployment of sufficient
numbers of troops with logistical support by UN member states will provide
the protection that civilians so desperately need. An Amnesty International delegation that
traveled to The
Guns are in the Bushes - Continuing Abuses in Liberia [PDF] IV. ABUSES BY ALL THREE FACTIONS - FORCED LABOR - An employee of a church group noted that There’s a lack of food in the area to feed the fighters, that’s why this forced labor is happening. If people refuse, they are humiliated, beaten, tied, and tortured. Freedom
House Country Report - Political Rights: 3 Civil Liberties: 4 Status: Partly Free Human Rights Overview by Human
Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights Worldwide Amnesty International Report 2008 - Liberia www.amnestyusa.org/annualreport.php?id=ar&yr=2008&c=LBR thereport.amnesty.org/eng/regions/africa/liberia SECURITY SECTOR REFORM - Deficiencies in the judiciary
remained a huge challenge. Court officials administered rules and procedures
in an inconsistent manner, failed to observe basic human rights standards and
engaged in corrupt practices. Although state prosecutors are assigned to
every circuit court, the majority of the circuit courts did not have defence counsels. Trial by ordeal – a practice by which
the guilt or innocence of the accused is determined by subjecting them to a
painful task – remained in wide practice in rural areas. Few improvements
were made in the juvenile justice system during the year. Amnesty International Report 2004 - Liberia web.amnesty.org/report2004/lbr-summary-eng At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] CIVILIANS TARGETED IN ARMED
CONFLICT - Civilians
lived in constant fear of undisciplined armed groups who killed, raped,
forcibly recruited children and looted. After the peace agreement, violence
increased in some areas as command structures broke down and combatants made
last-ditch attempts to seize territory and property before deployment of
UNMIL forces. The gravity of abuses against civilians prompted an emergency
report by the Acting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on 8 August which
described the grievous abuses against civilians and called for international
support in bringing the perpetrators to justice. Rape and other forms of sexual
violence against women and girls, including those who had been internally
displaced and Sierra Leonean refugees, by government, LURD and MODEL forces
were widespread. Young women and girls were abducted and forced into sexual
slavery. Mississippi in Africa: The Promised Land www.prometheus6.org/node/4418 At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
Of the many tragedies set in
motion by the enslavement of African people in the Rather than ending slavery,
Liberia became both a place of enslavement and a host to other forms of
coerced labor that differed from slavery in name only. The immigrants and
their offspring mercilessly exploited the indigenous African population. UNMIL’s Crackdown on Trafficking Puts
Women at Risk www.refugeesinternational.org/content/article/detail/960/ At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
In Child Soldiers of Liberia www.liberia-leaf.org/reports/trials/childsoldiers/soldiers1.htm At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
The people of US
names human trafficking offenders FORCED INTO PROSTITUTION - He added: "It is...
morally unacceptable that hundreds of thousands of men, women and children
are exploited, abused and enslaved by peddlers in human misery." Apart from Greece and Turkey, the other
major offenders named were Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burma, Cuba, the
Dominican Republic, Georgia, Haiti, Kazakhstan, Liberia, North Korea, Sudan, Suriname, and Uzbekistan. 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 [Liberia Street Children in [Liberia] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Liberia] [other countries]