Asian pop stars back fight against human trafficking, August 7

Ricky Martin Fondation: http://www.rickymartinfoundation.org/english/default.aspx

Asian pop stars back fight against human trafficking

Tue Aug 7, 2007 9:48PM IST

By James Pomfret

HONG KONG (Reuters Life!) - Two of Asia's hottest pop acts, Thailand's Tata Young and South Korea's Rain, are to help highlight the fight against rampant human trafficking in Asia in an MTV-backed initiative on Wednesday.

"How could people do this to each other?" Thai pop sensation Tata Young told Reuters by phone from Bangkok.

"To hear all these stories of children and women and men going through human trafficking and exploitation, it hurts me so bad," added the confident, brassy 26-year-old, whose skimpy outfits and best-selling albums have led to her being dubbed Asia's Britney Spears.

Young will help host shows and documentaries on youth music channel MTV which is aiming to raise awareness of what has been described as a "tragic form of modern day slavery" in collaboration with the U.S.-based Agency for International Development (USAID).

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) says economic disparities in Asian countries such as Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia fuel the trafficking of children and women towards Thailand.

Australia, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan are also considered major destinations by the ILO for the trafficking of prostitutes from Indonesia and the Philippines.

Human trafficking is a major global problem, particularly in Asia and Africa. The United Nations estimates 2.5 million people are currently coerced into forced labour or prostitution in a trade worth $7-10 billion annually.

Another Asian star, South Korea's King of Pop, Jung Ji-Hoon -- better known as Rain, will also help MTV publicise the cause.

Read rest of article, visit: http://in.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idINIndia-28869620070807

India to strengthen human trafficking laws: Patil, August 3, India

http://www.newkerala.com/july.php?action=fullnews&id=51387

India to strengthen human trafficking laws: Patil

New Delhi, Aug.3 : Home Minister Shivraj Patil on Friday said that the human trafficking problem in country is no bigger than it is in other nations, and added that the government is seriously thinking about tackling the problem by giving more teeth to existing laws.

Admitting that the issue did exist in India, Patil said the problem required thoughtful tackling.

'Yes, there is a problem of this kind in India. There is no denying (this fact). But to think that it is bigger than what it is in other countries is not correct. If you take into consideration the number of human beings in India and compare with the cases that are taking place, even if one case is taking place that should not be acceptable. And yet if you look at this problem from a correct perspective, we will be able to form a correct opinion,' Patil said in his address at a National Consultation on Preventing and Combating Human Trafficking in New Delhi.

According to the US State Department, South Asia accounts for second highest number of victims of trafficking. India was among 32 countries on US' Watch List, 2006 of countries involved in human trafficking.

'We come across many difficulties, many problems, and that is why it becomes necessary for us to examine the existing laws and find out how the amendments have to be made and introduced in the existing statutes. This process should continue and the Government of India will definitely be able to tackle this issue in this manner,' he said.

Travel rackets thrives in India, mainly in the states of Punjab, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, where human smuggling has been described as an organized crime.

The travel agents thrives on the clamour of desperate Indians to go abroad for lifestyles they know can never afford in the villages and small towns back home.

Hundreds of thousands of women and girls in India are kidnapped, sold, coerced or trafficked for sex in a highly organised, yet illicit trade which is the world's third most lucrative after arms and drugs.

Almost 6,000 cases of trafficking were registered in 2005, but activists say the real number is much higher and on the rise.

According to the International Labour Organisation, 2.45 million people worldwide are exploited and treated like slaves every year, and another 1.2 million people are trafficked.

--- ANI