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Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery In the early years of the 21st Century gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Guatemala.htm
Guatemala is a source, transit, and
destination country for Guatemalans and Central Americans trafficked for the
purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Human
trafficking is a significant and growing problem in the country, particularly
the exploitation of children in prostitution. - |
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CAUTION: The following links
have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Legal Program Advisor for Casa Alianza, Guatemela, Murdered Intercountry Adoption At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 5 September 2011] [scroll down to 6 September 2005] The wave of violence
and impunity that plagues ***
ARCHIVES *** The Department of Labor’s 2004 Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2004/guatemala.htm [accessed 8 February 2011] INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61729.htm [accessed 8 February 2011] TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS
– Trafficking was particularly a problem in the capital and in towns along
the borders with Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 8
June 2001 www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/guatemala2001.html [accessed 8 February 2011] [34] The Committee
notes with deep concern that there was no follow-up to its recommendations to
introduce measures to monitor and supervise the system of adoption
effectively and to consider ratifying the Hague Convention on Protection of
Children and Cooperation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption of 1993.
Concern is expressed at the extremely high rates of inter-country adoptions,
at adoption procedures not requiring authorization by competent authorities,
at the absence of follow-up and, in particular, at reported information on
sale and trafficking in children for inter-country adoptions. It is also
noted that several drafts of adoption laws have been pending in Congress but
never adopted. [50] With regard to
its recommendation on child labor, the Committee takes note of the measures
taken by the State party such as the signing in 1996 of a memorandum of
understanding with ILO for the adoption of the International Program on the
Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC). However, it expresses its deep concern at
the large number of children who are still exploited economically, in
particular those under 14 years of age. How Jonathan Abel, www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/article984066.ece [accessed 8 February 2011] She came from Juan Carlos Llorca,
Associated Press AP, July 31, 2008 www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20080731/guatemala-stolen-babies/ [accessed 8 February 2011] For 14 months, Ana
Escobar studied the tiny fingers of every passing baby, searching for a girl
with pinkies that curved gracefully outward, just like those of her missing
daughter. Then one day she saw her, in
the arms of a foster mother helping process her adoption by an Indiana
couple: A straight-haired toddler who appeared to be a stranger, except for
her unmistakable fingers. "I was
in shock. I could not move. I could not do anything," Escobar told The
Associated Press in an exclusive interview.
DNA tests eventually proved what Escobar already knew: The girl was
her daughter, taken at gunpoint in March 2007, when she was just 6 months
old. Authorities issued
arrest warrants for a doctor, two lawyers and two others in Esther's case.
Authorities suspect they could find more than a dozen other stolen babies in
their review of 2,286 pending U.S. adoptions.
Even some completed adoptions are being questioned: At least two are
under investigation to determine if the children -- now growing up as
American citizens -- were stolen, said Jaime Tecu,
a former prosecutor who is leading the Guatemalan National Adoption Council's
review. Lisl Brunner, Jurist
Legal News and Research Services, March 25, 2008 jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/03/guatemala-adoption-agency-lawyers-on.php [accessed 8 February 2011] Prosecutors
discovered that at least five of the children's mothers had provided false
identities when offering their children for adoption, raising doubts as to
whether the children may have been kidnapped. Child Trafficking Soar in Prensa Latina News Agency,
Jul 23, 2007 genderberg.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=2522 [accessed 8 February 2011] Maria Eugenia Villareal, member of the NGO, said girls aged eight to
fourteen are sold as sex slaves or used in risky sectors like garbage
collection and classification, peddling and construction. Most victims -from
Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador- are misled with promises to
travel to the US yet they are taken to different Mexican cities, including
the capital. Attorney Alex Colop calls serious problem the absence of laws with
severe sanctions for such practices since the perpetrators walk free on bail
or pay a fine. In addition, the
children do not press charges fearing threats from the exploiters or to loose
their income source. Rotary hears account of human trafficking
horrors Andrea M. Galabinski,
At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 5 September 2011] "When we were
in Mission woman found guilty of human
trafficking Associated Press AP, www.ginsc.net/main.php?option=view_article&mode=0&article=1122&lang=en [accessed 30 August 2011] Prosecutors say Ellilian Ramos paid a smuggler $250 to bring the two
women across the Batres and Sales say the
couple promised to pay them $125 a week after smuggling costs were worked
off. Instead, Ellilian Ramos didn't pay them and
threatened to call immigration authorities if they tried to leave. The women said they
also worked for the Ramos' family members and at Papacito's
Day Care, which is owned by Ellilian Ramos' sister.
Both women escaped through a window on Jan. 11, 2005, with help from two
women they met at the business. Guatemalan Attorney Uses Tricks and Deceit
to Take Children from Mothers Intercountry Adoption At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 5 September 2011] In spite of the
fact that Casa Alianza has filed numerous complaints
over the past years regarding illicit international adoptions, and despite
its efforts to put national and international pressure on the Guatemalan
government to institute laws that properly regulate
adoptions, the illicit adoption trade continues to thrive. Unscrupulous
attorneys are the central players in this trade, and they have converted what
should be a noble institution, into a dirty business. Legal Program Advisor for Casa Alianza, Guatemela, Murdered Intercountry Adoption At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 5 September 2011] [scroll down to 6 September 2005] The wave of
violence and impunity that plagues Freedom House
Country Report - Political Rights: 3 Civil Liberties: 4 Status: Partly Free 2009 Edition www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2009/guatemala [accessed 26 June 2012] Human Rights
Overview Human Rights Watch www.hrw.org/americas/guatemala [accessed 8 February 2011] The "legitimate" child-trafficking
rings who sell Elizabeth Mistry,
Sunday Herald ( www.laborlawtalk.com/archive/index.php/t-9379.html [accessed 8 February 2011] Around 3000
Guatemalan children are adopted by families from overseas every year. Almost
all go the US and Canada. In 2002, the last year for which there are figures
available, 15 came to the UK. With no firm legislation governing adoption,
prospective parents have to find their way through a murky system of agents
and lawyers, who charge an average of between £11,000 and £22,000 per
child. Conservative estimates value the Guatemalan baby business at around
£32 million per year. The courts use
poverty as a reason not to return children to their biological parents but
just because a mother or father is poor it doesn’t mean they love their
children any the less, Harris told the Sunday Herald between court
appearances. Protect Guatemalan Human Rights Defenders
from Attacks and Threats Human Rights Defenders, Sept 29, 2004 www.humanrightsfirst.org/defenders/hrd_guatemala/alert_092904_hrd.htm At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here]
In recent weeks,
the offices of two Guatemalan nongovernmental organizations were broken into,
and files containing sensitive case information were stolen. Oftentimes,
Guatemalan human rights organizations that document violations and implicate
those responsible for such violations fall victim themselves to acts of
intimidation and violence such as burglaries, robberies, kidnappings, death
threats, and even murder. The Children of BBC World Service, 28 October, 2000 www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/highlights/001027_adoption.shtml [accessed 8 February 2011] ‘My name is Elivia and I am 32 years old. It was a very painful time
for me. I wasn’t looking to give up my baby. I just wanted work and a
Guatemalan couple offered me a job in their house. I was kidnapped. They kept
me locked up in the house until I was ready to give birth. I was given drugs
to make the birth quicker and then the baby was pulled out of my stomach. I
didn’t see it, I didn’t know whether it was a boy or a girl. Then the couple
told me I was too poor to be a mother and they were going to put my baby up
for adoption.’ Adoption Council of www.familyhelper.net/news/guatemala.html [accessed 20 April 2012] RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
IN November 2003. At
its recently concluded Congressional session the Guatemalan Congress
considered legislation to implement the Hague Convention but did not pass it. Adoptions under fire in Guatemala Letta Tayler,
At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 5 September 2011] But the day after Child Trafficking in Terre des Hommes
/ CUDECA, 2000 At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 5 September 2011] CHILD TRAFFICKING AND
MISSING CHILDREN OR YOUNG PERSONS IN THE PUBLIC CONSCIOUSNESS - Trafficking in
children and the problem of missing children and young persons impresses
itself on the public consciousness only to a very limited extent in these
three Central American states. The entire theme complex is not perceived as a
problem either in public administration nor in Government institutions or
among the populace. On the contrary it is either suppressed or ignored. And
this in spite of the fact that the existence of child trafficking is
basically very well known. Prepared Statement of Attorney General John
Ashcroft at T Visa/Human Trafficking Press Conference January 24, 2002 Attorney General John Ashcroft at T
Visa/Human Trafficking Press Conference, January 24, 2002 www.usembassy.it/file2002_01/alia/a2012401.htm [accessed 8 February 2011] Three years ago,
19-year-old Maria Choz began a terrifying ordeal.
Jose Tecum kidnaped Maria from her parents' home in
Guatemala, smuggled her to his house in Florida, and imprisoned her in a
spare bedroom. By night, Maria was forced into sexual servitude. By day, she
was forced to labor with a tomato picking crew, bringing her wages to Tecum at the end of her grueling shifts. Maria was robbed
of her dignity and imprisoned by a man who put his greed and obsession ahead
of her most basic human right to freedom. NGOs: gladiators of freedom Corradini, Louise & López, Asbel, The UNESCO
Courier, June 2001 [Vol. 54 Issue 6, p40] connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/4646521/ngos-gladiators-freedom [accessed 30 August 2012] The worst kind of
child exploitation is sexual. Maria, a 12-year-old Honduran girl, was
kidnapped in her country, sold in Guatemala
and taken from there to Mexico, where she was bought by the owner of a bar
who forced her to become a prostitute, servicing 20 men a day. Anti-Trafficking Successes in the Southern
District of Texas [PDF] U.S. Department Of Justice, Civil Rights
Division, Anti-Trafficking News Bulletin, Volume 1, Nos. 8 & 9,
August/September 2004 www.nlpoa.org/Aug.%20Sept.%20Trafficking%20Newsletter.pdf [accessed 8 February 2011] [page 4] OPERATION FALLEN
ANGEL
- In June 2000, a thirty-one year old Chinese woman fell from a second story
hotel room in www.friends-partners.org/partners/stop-traffic/1999/0829.html [accessed 8 February 2011] Mario Verzeletti, Coordinator of the Center for Attention to Migrants,
reported that in the last few months, there has been an increase in the
trafficking of Guatemalan children sold in Europe and the UN Special Rapporteur visits Guatemala UNESCO, Communication Division -- Source
:Casa Alianza Press release of 16/07/99 At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 5 September 2011] Casa Alianza has been involved in the fight against the
trafficking of children in Report On The Worst Forms Of Child Labour
Compiled By The Global March Against Child Labour beta.globalmarch.org/resourcecentre/world/guatemala.pdf [accessed 30 August 2012] CHILD TRAFFICKING - The sale of
children is of particular concern in Coalition Against Trafficking in Women CATW www.catwinternational.org/factbook/Guatemala.php [accessed 8 February 2011] TRAFFICKING - Eight El
Salvadoran girls were rescued in a raid on a nightclub in Factbook on Global Sexual
Exploitation - Coalition Against Trafficking in Women CATW www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/guatemal.htm [accessed 8 February 2011] CASE - A yearlong legal
battle has been won by a Guatemalan woman whose baby was a victim of illegal
trafficking in infants. The mother, named Elivia,
was tricked into signing all of the documents necessary, under lax Guatemalan
laws, for a private adoption. In order to control her during her pregnancy,
the lawyer handling the illegal adoption held back Elivia’s
furniture and belongings and gave her 100 Quetzales
($15) a week for expenses. Elivia was even taken,
against her will, to a house in San Pedro Epocapa,
Chimaltenango. After the birth Elivia was prevented
from seeing her baby by nurses, who had been informed that Pablo had been
adopted. It was then that she realized she had been fooled and began to fight
to get her baby back. Guatemalan law permits a mother to stop the process at
any time during a private adoption, but very often the lawyers involved do
not inform the mothers, many of whom are illiterate, of this. 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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