Download Ben Shaver Botswana Third Committee Kettle Moraine Topic 2

Ben Shaver
Botswana
Third Committee
Kettle Moraine
Topic 2: Measures to Combat Slavery and Human Trafficking
The Republic of Botswana believes that the issues of human trafficking and slavery are ones that
affect each and every state. No one is immune to the damages that arise from this systemic problem. It
is because of how widespread this problem is, as well as its tendency to mostly affect those who are
already marginalized, that this body must take action to combat the issue. As both a destination for
those who have been trafficked, as well as a source of trafficked people, the Republic of Botswana is
well versed in the issues and understands the gravity of the situation.
The Republic of Botswana applauds the steps the UN has taken to combat the issue, however
the Republic of Botswana feels that these actions alone aren’t enough and thus they should be used as
building blocks for subsequent actions. Both the “Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in
Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the UN Convention Against Transnational
Organized Crime” and the UNODC’s toolkit to “Combat Trafficking of Persons” are a step in the right
direction, however, it is the belief of Botswana government that these actions fail in their actual
implementation. Where these previous actions have failed to be implemented correctly seems to be at
the lowest level of implementation, law enforcement officers. While the UNOCD gives these officers
some of the tools needed to handle the complex situations that arise when combating trafficking, it is
the belief of the Botswana government that more training is needed for those who deal directly with
those who have been trafficked, and those who are doing the trafficking. Along with more education of
law officers, the Republic of Botswana believes that due to the lack of basic knowledge of trafficking and
slavery often citizens open themselves up to unnecessary risk, or allow trafficking to carry on under their
nose. By educating the populace more about the issue at hand we can significantly cut down on the
number of people who are trafficked.
An overwhelming majority of those who have been trafficked ultimately end up as sex slaves,
and thus any comprehensive resolution must address the sex trade. An issue that arises when
combating sex slavery is that often those who end up being prosecuted are the slaves themselves. The
Botswana government believes that each state should make the purchase of sex, not the sale of it
illegal. By making this change and prosecuting the “john” instead of the slave, we ensure that those who
are marginalized are not further marginalized by their countries legal system and that the number of
“johns” decreases.
Finally, the Republic of Botswana advocates for the creation of a 4-tier system to classify
countries on how well they are eradicating trafficking and slavery; similar to a system already in place in
many countries. This system could then be used as a benchmark in determining if a country should
receive aid or loans. Tier 4 would be for a country that has taken no steps to eradicate the problem and
tier 1 would be a country that has entirely eradicated trafficking and slavery. This system will create an
incentive for each state to take the necessary steps to accomplish this problem.
The Republic of Botswana believes that through these recommendations, as well as others that
will be introduced by its delegates in committee, this body can take subsequent action to eliminate this
issue that plagues every country. Only through debate and compromise can we find a way to fix the
failures that other solutions have ran into in the past.