While encouraged with the response to the training, NATA president and CEO Tim Obitts said more needs to be done to reach all carriers and to widen the scope of training to FBOs. “Some 135 operators were not cognizant of the fact that they had to be trained,” he said. NATA signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in June with the Departments of Homeland Security and Transportation to help extend the DOJ’s Blue Lightning Initiative to general aviation. As countries have closed their borders due to the pandemic, some victims are unable to return home. Nor does it have to involve developing entirely new projects, each with their own set of targets, budgetary requirements, and demands. “As we work together to overcome the global pandemic, countries need to keep shelters and hotlines open, safeguard access to justice and prevent more vulnerable people from falling into the hands of organized crime”, said Ms. Waly, the agency’s chief. For traffickers around the world, each disaster signals a sudden availability of potential prey. China’s Domestic Traffic Approaches 2019 Levels, IATA Applauds French Plan To Offer Covid Tests at Airports, AINsight: Getting Back to Business Amid Covid, Gogo Avance L3 Added as Factory Option on King Air 360, Bombardier Ramping Up for This Year's Internships, British Airways Fined for Failing To Protect Customer Data, Embraer Launches Urban Air Mobility Division Called Eve, Dassault Falcon 6X Rollout Set for December 8, Third and Fourth King Air 350CER Delivered to Customs, Miami-Dade Fire Gets First Leonardo AW139, Swedish Defense Bill Extends Gripen, Add New AEW Aircraft, Mid-Year Aerospace & Air Transport Report.

“You have an increase in economic inequality, stigma, separation from family, the death of family members,” she said, “all of which are well established risk factors for trafficking, and all of which are also the results of both major and localized outbreaks.” The influx of UN peacekeepers (as seen during local and regional outbreaks such as yellow fever in Brazil and Lassa fever in Nigeria) poses an additional risk, she added. I kind of wish we had looked at it before.” Over email, Kenney later confirmed that the reason the organization hadn’t previously explored the link between outbreaks and trafficking in more depth wasn’t because of a lack of interest, “but because health actors who could answer to the Ebola context were simply very busy.”. “One of my worries is that often what gets reported as a gender-based violence issue is actually a trafficking issue,” McCormack said. Press Release. This pandemic has made these things very obvious.”. NATACS CEO Michael Sundheim said the next step is to broaden that reach to FBOs. McCormack expected to spend the year explaining what trafficking prevention could involve in 32 countries where there were a significant number of internally displaced persons, who are at particular risk of exploitation. “It can be a matter of resources for them.”. While 533 companies and 4,723 crewmembers sound like a lot —it’s a great start—there are more out there that need to be trained obviously, and we're going to keep trying.”. Worsnop may not have been able to include Ebola in her research, but she said there are other indicators that would suggest an increase in exploitation in affected regions. “So it’s alarming to hear that, in some places, trafficking victims no longer have access to shelters, some refuges have even closed down due to the virus and others lack protective equipment - putting both victims and staff at risk.”. It’s often a matter of training first responders to recognize incidents of trafficking when they arise, ensuring victims of exploitation receive specially targeted support. A man offered them to find them jobs, but instead sold them to Kandapara. Meanwhile, funding cuts may be exacerbating the very thing that anti-trafficking actors are working to confront: Earlier this month, the World Food Program was forced to slash its food distribution programs by up to 50 percent in trafficking hot spots including conflict-stricken Yemen and refugee camps in Uganda, positioning already socially and economically vulnerable communities on even shakier ground. Independent UN human rights experts have called on States to boost child protection measures to help safeguard the welfare of millions of children who may be more exposed to violence, sale, trafficking, sexual abuse and exploitation during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“They've not given us specifics on that security because they're ongoing investigations,” he said. “But I did what I could with the data that I had.”. “Obviously, the Epstein scandal was horrific and terrible. The trafficker can be anyone, including the victim’s friend or family member and, in turn, anyone can be a victim of trafficking. It is also ramping up support, such as helping anti-trafficking units to get protective equipment, and assisting countries in evaluating the impact of the crisis on resources for victims, law enforcement and justice systems. To combat the use of commercial air transportation as a means to facilitate human trafficking, the U.S. Congress included a measure in the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016 for flight attendants to be trained to recognize and respond to potential human trafficking. “There are two sides of the air charter,” Sundheim said. And then it's also a public-perception issue.”. Others face delays in legal proceedings, as well as a reduction in the support and protection they rely on. The year had begun with such promise, she said. Worsnop said she could immediately see parallels between outbreaks and natural disasters: Both amplify existing vulnerabilities while also endangering others who might not have previously been at risk. The public doesn't seem to be able to recognize the difference.”, And while they didn’t have details, the government agencies have indicated they have come across cases of operators that have been either involved or ensnared in such activity, Obitts said. In common with all the UN’s independent rights experts, she is not a UN staff member nor does she receive a salary from the Organization. Press Release. In response to the MoU, NATACS added the 17-minute Blue Lightning training program to its training suit. A positive sign came earlier this month, when a group of local NGOs in Nigeria signed on for a series of virtual workshops on anti-trafficking. Register today for one of our upcoming webinars! It further highlights indicators of trafficking, including means of control over victims. While the majority of trafficking occurs through the airlines, the role of business aviation can play in the activity made for prominent headlines from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s use of his business jet fleet in and out of Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. The Pandemic’s Hidden Human Trafficking Crisis, 75 percent of humanitarian operations are temporarily on pause, Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Countries that had experienced outbreaks were likely to see an increase in trafficking outflows after the spread of infection, teenage pregnancy increased by 65 percent during the outbreak, 10 percent of young people knew of girls who were being forced into prostitution, The Diaspora May Be Armenia’s Biggest Asset in Nagorno-Karabakh, Welcome to the Final Battle for the Climate. For daily news updates from UN News, click here. Now, despite reports of trafficking during the pandemic, governments are redirecting resources away from counter-trafficking activities—placing added pressure on the humanitarian sector to step up. Lockdowns, travel restrictions, resource cutbacks and other measures to curb the spread of the new coronavirus are putting victims of human trafficking at risk of further exploitation, while organized crime networks could further profit from the pandemic, according to the … Washington state man gets 30 years for human trafficking June 16, 2020 TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A member of a human trafficking ring was sentenced to 30 years in prison after prosecutors said he and fellow gang members paid for motel rooms, setup advertisements and... Italy detains 10 Nigerians accused in human trafficking ring
Now attention turns to the rest of the world. The great powers have taken big steps to fight global warming. The training module also advises against intervening; rather, it states leave that up to the authorities. And while NATA already has had a wide reach, he worries that there are still many more that are unaware of the requirements and might not be prepared to be alert for such activity. State persecution of Muslims in the region depends on high-tech mass surveillance, leaving an open door for other countries to gather intelligence and infiltrate the internment camps. Dorchester Man Charged in Second Superseding Indictment with Sex Trafficking Over 15 Year Period. The hope is that they’ll be able to start drafting informed national protocols on how to respond to trafficking during the pandemic within four to six weeks. Human trafficking can be forced labor, domestic servitude, or forced sex. As for the training itself, it is a relatively short program that explains what human trafficking is, how it typically occurs, signs that it is occurring, and what to do should trafficking be suspected. A little more than a year after the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) began to highlight the issues surrounding human trafficking and associated regulatory requirements for the aviation industry, the organization has teamed up with the U.S. government on its Blue Lightning air carrier awareness and training initiative and has now trained several thousand pilots and hundreds of air carriers on preventative measures. Still, Worsnop doesn’t understand why so many large-scale organizations failed to train their staff members on how to identify victims of trafficking before the pandemic. This article is a collaboration between Foreign Policy and the Fuller Project. We need to do a lot more.”. “It’s what happens when people don’t have livelihoods, don’t have social support, cannot afford health care, cannot afford child care. There are those checks and balances. Readers can find information and guidance on the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) from the UN, World Health Organization and UN agencies here.