Afghan Refugees the Victims of Human Trafficking in Netherlands

Over 6,000 people in the Netherlands are the victims of human trafficking every year, two-thirds of whom are coerced into the sex trade, a considerable number of victims are Afghan refugees, according to statistics 2018.

 Ariana News Agency-

Among the victims of human trafficking in the Netherlands, which Afghan refugees are the majority, the victims are sexually exploited, not limited to women and girls, but foreign men or boys.

The Afghani parent-less kids are among the asylum seekers who have been taken there and disappeared from the refugee’s camps in Netherlands.  In 2015 a total of 160 such kids disappeared in the Netherlands, in 2017 that increased to 360.

According to US human rights report in 2018, within the past five years, Netherlands has been the origin and destination for the transit of men, women and children for sexual exploitation and forced labor.

Documents released by UN Human Rights Council acknowledged the widespread human trafficking in Netherlands and demanded its government to take serious measure for combating the issue.

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights released a report on 24 February, 2017 and pointed to the disappearance of kids in Netherlands. It also expressed concerns over women discrimination and sexual exploitation and demanded the serious investigation and stop of human trafficking and the protection of the victims.

Significantly, one of the main causes of human trafficking is prostitution which also has increased the country’s terrorist attraction.  Its government also receives a lot of tax from the players of the prostitution.

According to National Rapporteur on Human Trafficking Herman Bolhaar, only one in five victims end up on the radar of CoMensha, the coordination center against human trafficking. Current estimations say that between 5 and 7 thousand men, women and children fall victim to human trafficking in the Netherlands each year.

The National Rapporteur on Human Trafficking and Sexual Violence against Children monitors policy in these fields and advises the government on necessary changes. In the coming weeks the government will present a major plan of action against human trafficking. Five Ministries worked together on this plan.