Human Trafficking in [Belgium Street Children in [Belgium] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Belgium] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery Kingdom of Belgium [ Country-by-Country
Reports ] The Belgium is a destination and
transit country for men, women, and girls trafficked for the purposes of
forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Women and girls are
trafficked to Belgium for sexual exploitation primarily from Nigeria, Russia,
Albania, Bulgaria, Romania and the People’s Republic of China (P.R.C.), and
through Belgium to other European countries, such as the United Kingdom. Male
victims are trafficked to Belgium for labor exploitation in restaurants,
bars, sweatshops and construction sites. NGOs reported an alarming increase
in unaccompanied minors entering the country who easily become trafficking
victims. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in
Persons Report, June, 2008 [full country report] |
|
|
CAUTION: The following links have been
culled from the web to illuminate the situation in ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Squalid
road that leads to Belgium It may be the spiritual capital of
the grand European project but, according to a damning new report, Brussels
has also become the European centre for the trade in child prostitutes, who
are being smuggled into Belgium to feed a growing demand. Asylum claims from unaccompanied minors
have almost trebled in six years, says the report from the International
Organisation for Migration (IOM), but it has also emerged that Belgium has
become a 'favoured destination' for modern-day sex slaves - both boys and
girls. ***
ARCHIVES *** Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS –
Trafficking victims continued to come primarily from sub-Saharan Africa
(particularly There appeared to be a decreasing
number of trafficking cases that were the work of organized gangs from
Central and Eastern Europe, particularly Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2002 [27] The Committee reiterates its
satisfaction for the numerous measures taken by the State party to combat the
sexual exploitation and trafficking of children. It is nevertheless concerned
that trafficking for the purposes of sexual or other exploitation is still a
problem. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - This project was carried out in
Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands concerning trafficking for the purposes of
sexual and/or labour exploitation in countries other than the origin as well
as victims of smuggling. The outset of the project was: to identify the
practices and mechanisms of transnational crime related to trafficking, to
contribute towards recommendations policy and to defines durable solutions
for preventing and combating THB. General recommendations are
provided in 14 clusters. However, in each country report, the researchers
offer an assessment of national laws and policies on THB as well as their
assistance programs. The
Protection Project - Belgium FORMS OF TRAFFICKING - Women and children are
trafficked to Belgium primarily for sexual exploitation. Trafficking for
other forms of forced labor also exists. Victims of trafficking in Belgium
are promised jobs in the catering and hotel industry or jobs as au pairs,
dancers, or in prostitution. Some victims are promised marriage or the
opportunity to study in Belgium Nigerian men, Chinese men and women, and
Ecuadorian men and women are trafficked to Belgium for various forms of
forced labor or economic exploitation. Belgian and foreign children are
sexually exploited in Belgium. Foreign
minors are exploited in sweatshops, Turkish bakeries, and Moroccan shops.
They are also used as domestic servants in diplomats’ homes. Sports agents
exploit young soccer players from Africa and South America. Reportedly, gangs organize begging rings
involving minors or people with disabilities. Such gangs operate in large
cities and involve mostly adults or children from Romania. Freedom
House Country Report - Political Rights: 1 Civil Liberties: 1 Status: Free Human Rights Overview by Human
Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights Worldwide 2/ THE
DISAPPEARANCE OF UNACCOMPANIED MINORS VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN BEINGS - A first study published by
Child Focus concerns the disappearance of unaccompanied minors and minors who
are victims of trafficking in human beings. Child Focus has observed in
effect that there are many questions and uncertainties in the field with
regard to this problem. The disappearance of these young people is extremely
worrying as these victims do not have anyone in Belgium to whom they can turn
to when they find themselves in difficulties. These youngsters do not
understand the language, are in a country that they barely know and often are
also seriously traumatised by what they experienced on their journey to Belgium.
Ideal “prey” to fall (again) into the hands of traffickers and smugglers of
human beings. Squalid
road that leads to Belgium It may be the spiritual capital of
the grand European project but, according to a damning new report, Brussels
has also become the European centre for the trade in child prostitutes, who
are being smuggled into Belgium to feed a growing demand. Asylum claims from unaccompanied minors
have almost trebled in six years, says the report from the International
Organisation for Migration (IOM), but it has also emerged that Belgium has
become a 'favoured destination' for modern-day sex slaves - both boys and
girls. The trafficking of adults and
minors for sexual exploitation has been of growing concern to Belgium for the
past decade and has become a priority for the police and the judiciary alike. WHY BELGIUM? - “Most of those destined for
prostitution are young women between the ages of 21 and 30 and teenage girls
under the age of 18.” According to a
report by the Centre for Equal Opportunities, out of about 150 who testified as
having escaped some form of exploitation in Belgium, 88 had been forced into
prostitution. The reported victims were from Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary,
Poland, Liberia, Nigeria, Sudan, China and Thailand. All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial,
nonprofit, and educational use |
|
Human Trafficking in [Belgium Street Children in [Belgium] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Belgium] [other countries]