Human Trafficking - An Issue That Concerns The Entire Aeronautical Industry.
We all know aviation as the business of freedom. Airlines connect businesses to markets, reunite families and friends, and facilitate tourism and cultural exchange, unfortunately air travel makes it an effective form of transportation for criminals who want to deny freedom to others through the crime of human trafficking.
Human trafficking is the fastest growing and second largest criminal industry in the world. A report by the International Labour Organization estimates that 24.9 million people are living in modern slavery, over 75% of whom are women and children. Almost every country is affected whether it is a source, transit, or destination country. Over 60% of human trafficking victims are known to be trafficked across at least one international border, so we know some are taking flights and passing through airports.
Although the responsibility for identifying, apprehending and prosecuting those perpetrating human trafficking rests with governments and national law enforcement agencies, the airline industry recognizes that it can play an important role in helping to prevent this crime.
That’s why the world’s airlines have launched a global awareness and industry-wide training program called #EyesOpen (IATA). It has two aims. One is teaching flight attendants, gate agents and other airline personnel to spot people who are being unwittingly lured or forced to travel as part of the fast-growing $150 billion-a-year global human trafficking criminal enterprise. The other is increasing the public’s awareness of the crime that happens thousands of times daily around the world, typically right in front of us.
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By: CNLE Law