forced labour. In Asia, “in the majority of cases the victims are tricked into travelling voluntarily on airlines…the traffickers promise them non-existent jobs in the foreign countries, [and] secure the tickets, passports and the travel documents for the journey”6


, according to the International Labour Organisation.


Aviation Industry’s Efforts in Combating Trafficking The research is complicated and the data is vague but it does yield insights into this very complex phenomenon. The next questions then are how and where do we target efforts to combat trafficking? As mentioned, recent efforts have focused on


raising and training. Most often, this has taken place in the law enforcement arena with police and other law enforcement officials being trained to view prostitution and organised crime through a human trafficking lens, being trained to spot victims and traffickers and being trained in how to interact with potential victims. But this is not enough and we know it. Civil society actors and others have also been working with international agencies and law enforcement to devise additional methods to combat trafficking by focusing on both the supply and demand ends of the issue.


Recognising that the airline industry has been and is being used to facilitate human trafficking, in recent years a range of governmental, nongovernmental and


3. Taken from Interview with Christopher Lowenstein- Lom, spokesperson for the Asia-Pacific regional office of the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) detailed by Macan-Markar, Marwaan. “Airlines Turn Modern Day Slavers”. IPS - Inter Press Service. February 26, 2009. <http:// www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=45780>


4. Human Trafficking, the Government’s Strategy. HM Government, United Kingdom, 2011. Page 15<http://www.homeoffice.gov. uk/publications/crime/human-trafficking- strategy?view=Binary>


5. Human Trafficking, the Government’s Strategy. HM Government, United Kingdom, 2011. Page 15<http://www.homeoffice.gov. uk/publications/crime/human-trafficking- strategy?view=Binary>


6. Final Evaluation Report on the United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT), GLOS83. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Vienna, Austria. Independent Evaluation Unit, May 2011. <http://www. unodc.org/documents/commissions/ WG-GOVandFiN/In-depth_evaluation_ report_UN.GIFT_May_2011.pdf>.


7. Press Release: Safe Migration Information Kit, IOM Indonesia. February 15, 2011. <http://www.iom.int/jahia/Jahia/media/press- briefing-notes/pbnAS/cache/offonce/lang/ en?entryId=29201>


February 2012 Aviationsecurityinternational www.asi-mag.com 25


“…the Blue Lighting Initiative is considered to be an action plan to arm flight attendants with the tools necessary to combat child trafficking…”


corporate actors, including many airlines themselves, have started to work together to combat the problem.


research, education, awareness


The United Kingdom, in its recent strategy on human trafficking, details the purpose of its Risk and Liaison Overseas Network (RALON) noting that: RALON officers work with airlines and local border control authorities to ensure passengers hold the right travel documents before they travel to the UK. In 2010 they prevented over 67,000 people with incorrect, counterfeit or fraudulently obtained travel documents from travelling to the UK. RALON officers have trained


carriers on routes that are commonly used by traffickers to enable them to identify traffickers and their victims.7 The strategy also


example where: The UK Border Agency identified a


trend of Nigerian adults and children arriving at UK airports destined for the vice industry in Europe. The RALON officer in Paris noted the profile and was able to intervene with six victims who were referred to local law enforcement for care. The officer used this profile to identify one of the suspected traffickers and working with her partners in the French Border Police not only


highlights an


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