Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery Poverty drives the unsuspecting poor into the
hands of traffickers Published reports & articles
from 2000 to 2025 gvnet.com/humantrafficking/NewZealand.htm
New
Zealand is a source country for underage girls trafficked internally for the
purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. It is also reportedly a
destination country for women from Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan, the People’s
Republic of China, Eastern Europe, and other Asian countries trafficked into
forced prostitution. Unskilled Asians and
Pacific Islanders migrate to New Zealand voluntarily to work legally or
illegally in the agricultural sector, and women from the Philippines migrate
legally to work as nurses. Some of these workers report that manpower
agencies placed them in positions of involuntary servitude or debt bondage by
charging them escalating and unlimited recruiting fees, imposing unjustified
salary deductions on them, restricting their travel by confiscating their
passports, and significantly altering contracts or working conditions without
their agreement. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking
in Persons Report, June, 2009 Check out a later country report here and possibly a full TIP Report here |
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CAUTION: The following links
have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in HOW TO USE THIS WEB-PAGE Students If you are looking
for material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on this
page and others to see which aspects of Human Trafficking are of particular
interest to you. Would you like to
write about Forced-Labor? Debt
Bondage? Prostitution? Forced Begging? Child Soldiers? Sale of Organs? etc. On the other
hand, you might choose to include precursors of trafficking such as poverty and hunger. There is a lot to
the subject of Trafficking. Scan other
countries as well. Draw comparisons between
activity in adjacent countries and/or regions. Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper resources
that are available on-line. Teachers Check out some of
the Resources
for Teachers attached to this website. HELP for Victims New Zealand Police Emergency: 111 Non-emergency: station numbers can
be found at: http://www.police.govt.nz/district/phonebook.html ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Child Trafficking New Zealand Ministry
of Justice - published before October 2003 by the Dept of Courts & the previous
Ministry of Justice www.justice.govt.nz/publications/publications-archived/2002/protecting-our-innocence/child-trafficking [accessed 23
February 2011] www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=3573202 [accessed 4 May
2020] CHILD TRAFFICKING TO
NEW ZEALAND
- While trafficking to New Zealand may be a relatively small problem,
organisations such as the Human Rights Commission and the Police acknowledge
that it has the potential to become a growing problem. Throughout the world
the trafficking of people from socio-economically deprived circumstances has
increased markedly. The New Zealand
Police estimate that there are over 500 Thai women in the sex industry in
Auckland alone. However, it is impossible to determine how many of them are
under 18 years of age, and thus, inherently able to be considered to have
been victims of trafficking. There are many obstacles that prevent trafficked
children from coming to the attention of the police or other authorities. The
majority of the girls are under constant surveillance by their traffickers.
In addition, they may fear the police or believe that they will be in trouble
with New Zealand authorities. The Human Rights Commission has received a
number of telephone calls from health personnel reporting incidents of Thai
girls, under 18 years of age, seeking medical attention, who had been
subjected to sexual violence. However, by the time the Police have become
involved it has been discovered that the addresses given are false or the
girls have been moved to a new location. ***
ARCHIVES *** Jury adjourns for
night in case of Samoan chief accused of human trafficking, slavery Sean Hogan,
one-news, 16 March 2020 [accessed 16 March
2020] It's alleged Matamata
brought people from Samoa to New Zealand with the promise of a better life
for their families by working and earning money in the horticulture industry. However, once in
New Zealand, Matamata did not pay them for the work completed, which often
involved long hours for days on end, prosecutors contend. Multiple witnesses
for the Crown have alleged Matamata physically abused them if they did not
obey his rules or tried to leave the property. 2020 Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices: New Zealand U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, 30 March 2021 www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/new-zealand/
[accessed 18 June
2021] PROHIBITION OF
FORCED OR COMPULSORY LABOR Media reports
during the year suggested migrant workers were vulnerable to forced labor in
sectors including horticulture, retail, agriculture, construction,
hospitality, and domestic service. Reports stated that some migrant workers
from India, Bangladesh, and China, among other countries, were charged
excessive and escalating recruitment fees, experienced unjustified salary
deductions, nonpayment or underpayment of wages, excessively long working
hours, and restrictions on their movement. Some had their passports
confiscated and contracts altered improperly. Victims were often deterred
from filing complaints out of fear of jeopardizing their visa status. PROHIBITION OF CHILD
LABOR AND MINIMUM AGE FOR EMPLOYMENT Small numbers of
children ages 16 to 18 worked in hazardous situations, such as in
agriculture: The law requires them to be fully trained. Children younger than
15 cannot drive a tractor or large vehicle, except children working in
agriculture if they are older than 12 and are fully trained or are being
trained, or if they live on the property. Concerns remained about the
commercial sexual exploitation of children (see section 6, Children). Freedom House
Country Report 2020 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/new-zealand/freedom-world/2020 [accessed 8 July
2020] G4. DO INDIVIDUALS
ENJOY EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY AND FREEDOM FROM ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION? Residents generally
have access to economic opportunities, but the Māori and Pacific
Islander populations have disproportionately high rates of unemployment,
affecting their economic and social mobility. Migrant workers are
vulnerable to exploitative conditions including forced labor in industries
such as fishing, agriculture, construction, hospitality, and domestic
service. The government has taken action to combat these abuses. UN expert warns NZ
over human trafficking problem Julie Middleton, The
www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10360850 [accessed 23
February 2011] www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10360850 [accessed 8 February
2018] Human trafficking
is probably far more prevalent in New Zealand than most people realise, says
Sigma Huda, the United Nations' first special rapporteur on human
trafficking. Most people thought of
human trafficking as forcibly smuggling women across borders to work as
prostitutes, she said, but it was much broader than that. It could also count
among its victims mail-order brides - "you have lots of ads for those in
New Zealand" - migrant workers, foreign fishermen and those in arranged
marriages. While people could enter
such situations quite willingly, said Mrs Huda, they could lose their
autonomy and freedom, become trapped, and become trafficked. Source:
www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3236096a11,00.html, 03 April 2005 [accessed 30 June
2013] A US State Department
report made the allegation last month - for the second time in a year -
despite claims it had misrepresented prostitution data. Foreign Affairs
Minister Phil Goff was scathing about the statement. "If the United
States were to judge itself by the same standards it is applying to New
Zealand, it would be found to be wanting," Goff said. "Of course we
don't have a problem in trafficking in children." US report on NZ
challenged ECPAT News, 17 June
2004 www.ecpat.net/eng/ECPAT_news/US+report+on+NZ+challenged+.htm [accessed 9
September 2011] ECPAT spokeswoman Denise Ritchie says the Human trafficking:
Asia's persistent tragedy Marwaan Macan-Markar,
Inter Press Service News Agency IPS, www.atimes.com/atimes/Asian_Economy/DJ10Dk01.html [accessed 23
February 2011] www.atimes.com/atimes/Asian_Economy/DJ10Dk01.html [accessed 8 February
2018] For its part, New Zealand
is being used by traffickers of Thai women as a "departure point for
Japan, Australia and Cyprus", stated the Coalition Against Trafficking
in Women for Asia-Pacific, a non-governmental organization. The
Protection Project - New Zealand [DOC] The www.protectionproject.org/human_rights_reports/report_documents/zealand.doc [accessed 2009] FORMS OF TRAFFICKING
-
Trafficking to ***
EARLIER EDITIONS OF SOME OF THE ABOVE *** Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61621.htm [accessed 10
February 2020] TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS
– Commercial sexual exploitation of children was a problem. Under the
Prostitution Reform Act, it is illegal to use a person under 18 years of age
in prostitution. A study by the PLRC completed in April 2004 estimated that
approximately 200 young persons under the age of 18 were working as
prostitutes. During the year 3 brothel operators and 1 client were prosecuted
for the use of persons under age 18 in prostitution. The client and two of
the brothel operators were convicted, and one operator was awaiting trial at
year's end. The government worked with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
to address trafficking in children and provided funding for NGO outreach
programs in Shakti Migrant
Services Trust, an anti-trafficking NGO, reported abuses resulting from the
immigration of Indian women for arranged marriages and provided services to
abused women through four refuges located in three cities: 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 – |
