Fighting against Human Trafficking

Human trafficking persists to remain a problem in the world today. Sadly, this problem will only increase over time if, us, humans sit idly by and don't participate in the solution. President Barack Obama has labeled the fight against human trafficking and stopping modern slavery as "one of the great human rights causes of our time." The article Born Free mentions about the Sustainability Development Goals for 2016 or known as the post-MDGs. Several goals included in this document addresses the issue of stopping trafficking. Goal 5 says, "Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls." Under this goal, its purpose is to create gender equality, which results in the end of trafficking of women and girls. Goal 8 mentions, "Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all." The purpose of goal 8 is to end child trafficking along with child soldiers by 2025. Lastly, goal 16 aims to "promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels." This goal proposes to end child trafficking all together. Sub-goals included in the Sustainability Development Goals appear to indirectly affect human trafficking. Three crucial examples are "provid[ing] legal identity for all including birth registration, promoting sustainable tourism and sustainable transport systems...with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities.." People without legal identities along with women, children, and people with disabilities are more vulnerable to human trafficking in general. In addition, tourism generates money within sex trafficking, which only supports and encourages business to take place illegally. These sub-goals might not include human trafficking directly but hopefully will have a positive effect to combating 

These goals are a great starting point to fight human trafficking but 3 out of 17 goals aren't going to burn out the flame of human trafficking or even put out some of the problem. The only way to hope for some change is if the world starts making this human right issue a priority. So easily this issue falls out of the media, public or government importance when other major short lived stories come along. In addition, governments must create a larger fund to combat human trafficking. We must realize that making this issue a priority or contributing more money to this cause doesn't create an absolute promise of eradicating this issue but it does give hope and promise to preventing many people from getting involved or rescue victims out of this awful and illegal business. 

Routes in and out of Colombia

In the country of Colombia, human trafficking still exists. The country's guerrilla groups and other organized groups have encouraged the problem by forcing children into combat, prostitution, selling and transporting illegal narcotics. Sex trafficking is largely linked to tourism and industries that involves foreigners to travel to Colombia to work. 

According to the 2015 trafficking in persons report, the government of Colombia doesn't fully comply with the Trafficking Victims Protections Act standards but are "in the process of bringing themselves into obedience with those standards." The report recommends that the government should increase resources to help victims of human trafficking. In addition, Colombia have increased investigation but they need to continue to prosecute criminals for the crime. Law enforcement should be more organized and efficient in the way they treat human trafficking cases. The government of Colombia has drastically gotten better in the way they handle human trafficking over the past 5 years within the government. The hope for Colombia improving more is even stronger now than before. 

May the world today not stand in silence for this issue but stand to combat human trafficking.