Concerns regarding the treatment of unaccompanied children seeking humanitarian protection at the U.S. southern border
U.S. Democrats call for clarity on the protection of children at the southern border, USAID Asia CTIP finds a lack of support for returning Nepali migrants, and Equidem Research reports on the plight of foreign construction workers in Kuwait.
Last Thursday, a majority of U.S. Senate Democrats called for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to clarify testimony given on unaccompanied children seeking humanitarian protection at the U.S. southern border, and whether or not they are all screened for human trafficking and other protection concerns as mandated under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA).
The Act requires CBP to screen all arriving unaccompanied children from contiguous countries to determine, for the main part, whether they are victims of human trafficking, at risk of trafficking, or fear return to their home countries. In addition, the TVPRA mandates that CBP transfers all arriving unaccompanied children from non-contiguous countries into the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement and places them into full court proceedings, whereupon social workers and attorneys may screen them for protection concerns. Together, these TVPRA-mandated protocols are vital to uncovering, preventing, and combatting trafficking, persecution, and other forms of exploitation perpetrated upon children.
When questioned regarding screenings during a 25 June CBP oversight hearing, CBP’s acting commissioner testified under oath that CBP is screening all unaccompanied children who arrive in the United States. However, during the coronavirus pandemic, the number of minors transferred to ORR has fallen precipitously, according to official figures cited by the letter. Due to the pandemic, border enforcement agencies have conducted what are known as Title 42 expulsions – the immediate return of foreign nationals to Canada or Mexico per the CDC guidelines.
Media report that under Title 42 arriving unaccompanied children are returned immediately without affording them any TVPRA-mandated protections. Other reports also indicate that unaccompanied children as young as one year old are transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which holds them in hotels before removing them, without allowing them sufficient access to lawyers and child advocates.
The Senate Democrats have requested that CBP clarify their testimony, as well as provide detailed written descriptions of protection screenings, current numbers, and TVPRA compliance.
Here’s a round-up of other noteworthy news and initiatives:
Walk Free have launched a new toolkit to help business and investors take action to improve human rights standards in their supply chains and combat forced labour, human trafficking and other forms of modern slavery. This library of tools, research, case studies and relevant laws was designed to help businesses and investors understand modern slavery risks, conduct due diligence, improve supply chain practices and reporting and – ultimately – protect workers from modern slavery.
To better understand the short- and long-term needs of the returned migrant population in Nepal, the USAID Asia Counter Trafficking in Persons (CTIP) project, implemented by Winrock International, conducted a quantitative study that reached 195 returned Nepali migrants. Of those interviewed, 92% said they were currently unemployed, 66% reported not having enough income to support themselves, and 31% said they did not have enough food to eat every day. When asked if they had received any support services since returning, 68% indicated that they did not.
The International Secretariat of the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW-IS) is pleased to launch a call for a three-year feminist research and advocacy collaboration with civil society organizations working with women migrant workers in Southeast Asia and Europe, on issues related to women’s rights to work and mobility. They invite CSOs working at the community level with migrant and trafficked women in Southeast Asia (with priority countries the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand) and Europe to apply to be part of this project undertaking country-level research and advocacy with migrant and trafficked women.
The Centre for Child Law invites you to join the launch of its report, ‘Child Trafficking in South Africa: exploring the myths and realities’ on Friday, 21 August 2020 at 10am SAST. Drawing on empirical research the report shows that despite a progressive framework of laws and policies designed to protect the rights of children in South Africa, including non-nationals, the realities of children on the move are being regularly ignored. Furthermore, the use of unsubstantiated claims about child trafficking are being used to justify repressive policies and practices which place children at greater risk.
Equidem Research has investigated the situation of construction workers in Kuwait whose employer hasn’t paid salaries since March, has not provided food or water since April, has retained their passports, and threatened them for complaining. The 88 construction workers, including 37 Indians, are demanding their wages, and plane tickets to return to their respective countries.
Several weeks ago the Freedom Keys Research Project launched an online survey on strategic planning in anti-slavery organizations. Thanks to all who responded! The full report is now available. A key conclusion is that many organizations do not have a considered position with regards to perpetrators, and when dealing with them they do so without having any theoretical framework, organizational interest, or intentional organizational capacity in place.
The 2021 applications for the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s Stop Slavery Award are now open. The award celebrates the vital contribution of businesses, NGOs, grassroots organizations, the public sector and journalists in the global fight against modern slavery and human trafficking.
USAID Asia CTIP is calling for research concepts on labour migration in the Bangladesh-Malaysia corridor to investigate the full spectrum of costs borne by Bangladeshi workers on their journey from Bangladesh to Malaysia, and to study how these costs increase vulnerability even before they reach their destination. The applicants should be based in Malaysia and consider partnering with a team based in Bangladesh, and applications from Bangladesh are encouraged on the condition that a partnership exists with a team in Malaysia.
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