12 May 2014
Bilbao Campus
“Human trafficking, which has been a legitimate and socially accepted practice for centuries, is today one of the most lucrative illicit activities along with drug and arms trafficking”.
This is the current picture presented by the lecturer in Labour Law at the University of Deusto, Javier Arrieta and PhD student Josune López in an opinion article published in El País newspaper on Sunday, 11 May, following the news on the dismantling of a network involved in the exploitation of Pakistani workers in Gipuzkoa last March.
Arrieta and López refer back to history for a more in-depth analysis. Following its chronology, they date back to the time when the slave trade was formally abolished which, as they recall, “has not prevented human trafficking from being operated on the verge of legality, even now the 21st century, virtually on every corner of the planet”.
Their presentation is supported by figures: Specifically, according to UN estimates, this type of crime affects more than 2.4 million people, its eradication being one the main challenges faced by the International Community”.
They also offer a very precise definition of labour exploitation: “Broadly speaking, human trafficking involves the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of coercion, fraud, or abuse of power for exploitation purposes. That is, this practice is a multifaceted process whose ultimate goal is the exploitation of a person...”.
