Human Trafficking in [Panama Street Children in [Panama] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Panama] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery In the
first ten years of the 21st Century -
2000 to 2009
Panama is a source, transit, and destination country for
women and children trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual
exploitation. Some Panamanian women are trafficked to Jamaica, Europe, and
Israel for commercial sexual exploitation, but most victims are trafficked to
and within the country into Panama’s sex trade. NGOs report that some
Panamanian children, mostly young girls, are trafficked into domestic
servitude. Government agencies indicate that indigenous girls may be trafficked by their parents into prostitution in |
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CAUTION: The following links have been
culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Panama. Some of these links may lead to websites
that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false. No attempt has been made to validate their
authenticity or to verify their content. ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Nations
Make Progress Against Trafficking in Persons, U.S. Finds The world's most comprehensive
report on trafficking in persons shows governments are making some progress
in their responses to this form of organized criminal activity -- often
called modern-day slavery -- with stronger laws, increased convictions and
greater protections for victims. Consistent with its objective of
inspiring action against human trafficking, the TIP report also issues praise
for localities that have adopted "best practices" in their strides
to prevent trafficking, provide for victims or prosecute traffickers
themselves. Panama has passed a
law that requires businesses in the tourist industry to inform travelers
about laws against child pornography and sex tourism. The city of Madrid has
taken strides to reduce both prostitution and trafficking by targeting the
customers of these illicit endeavors, while at the same time engaging in
prevention and victim assistance efforts. ***
ARCHIVES *** U.S.
Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - Children in Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS – The country
was a destination point for trafficked women. There was evidence that rural
children were trafficked internally to work as domestic servants in urban
areas. The country was a transit point
for Colombian sex workers to other Central American countries and the Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2004 [37] The Committee welcomes the
ratification of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation
in respect of Inter-country Adoption of 1993 but is concerned that there is
still a need for more effective measures to guarantee adoption procedures
respectful of the rights of the child and to prevent the abuse of adoption,
e.g. for trafficking of children. [58] The Committee welcomes the
ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of
children, child prostitution and child pornography. It remains concerned that
sexual exploitation and abuse continue to be serious problems and that the
victims of sexual exploitation do not have access to appropriate recovery and
assistance services. The Committee also remains concerned about the lack of
data to determine the real dimension of the problem of child abuse and sexual
exploitation and about the insufficient measures to prevent and combat
trafficking of children. Freedom
House Country Report - Political Rights: 1 Civil Liberties: 2 Status: Free Human Rights Overview by Human
Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights Worldwide U.S. Library of Congress
- Country Study UNICEF
and Casa Alianza join efforts against violence Assistance to street children and
the search for alternative lifestyles, as opposed to the stigma against
adolescents produced by the phenomenon of gangs or “maras”
constitute a key part of the work of UNICEF and Casa Alianza.
Both organizations share the idea that the solution to the social problems
that affect children and adolescents should come through public policies in
education, health, housing, employment and protection, that is to say,
through the creation of opportunities. The response of the state, faced with
this type of problem, is to punish the children who live in conditions of
poverty. Project DESTINO to Combat Child Labor in Panama [PDF] Many of Panama’s poor and
indigenous children must help their families by working on farms, limiting
their educational development and lifelong opportunities. To combat these
effects, three Panamanian organizations—Casa Esperanza, FUNDAMUJER and Fundacion Tierra Nueva—are
teaming up to provide nonformal and flexible
education opportunities for 7,100 child laborers. The three-part collaboration stems
from a newly launched project funded by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)
called Disminuyendo y Erradicando
el Trabajo Infantil para Nuevas Oportunidades
(DESTINO). DESTINO will target poor and indigenous children in the central
Panamanian provinces of Chiriquí, Coclé, Veraguas, Herrera, Los
Santos, Darién and Comarca
Gnobe Bugle, who are working on family or
commercial farms to help their parents make ends meet. Due to long work hours
and seasonal harvests, these children miss school, making it difficult for
them to keep up with schoolwork, and prompting many to drop out. Despite Panama’s
compulsory-education laws, tens of thousands of children—nearly 58,000 in
2002—between ages 5 and 17 were working. Of this group, only 42 percent
attended school. Nations
Make Progress Against Trafficking in Persons, U.S. Finds The world's most comprehensive
report on trafficking in persons shows governments are making some progress
in their responses to this form of organized criminal activity -- often
called modern-day slavery -- with stronger laws, increased convictions and
greater protections for victims. Consistent with its objective of
inspiring action against human trafficking, the TIP report also issues praise
for localities that have adopted "best practices" in their strides
to prevent trafficking, provide for victims or prosecute traffickers
themselves. Panama has passed a
law that requires businesses in the tourist industry to inform travelers
about laws against child pornography and sex tourism. The city of Madrid has
taken strides to reduce both prostitution and trafficking by targeting the
customers of these illicit endeavors, while at the same time engaging in
prevention and victim assistance efforts. 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 - |
Human Trafficking in [Panama Street Children in [Panama] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Panama] [other countries]