Brasília, November 10, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The Latin American Institute for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (ILADH) reveals that Brazil is responsible for 15% of the women sold to South America. According to ILADH representative Carolina Bastos, this activity makes use of the structure of organized crime to spread internationally. "One of the difficulties in combatting the traffic in human beings is that the criminals are several steps ahead of us in terms of advances in their operating modes," Bastos observes. According to her, UN studies indicate that, if it continues to grow at the current rate, in five years the traffic in human beings will be as profitable as drug-dealing.

The traffic of human beings worldwide is worth R$ 12 billion annually, according to the UN. It constitutes the third most profitable illegal business, surpassed only by drug-dealing and the contraband trade in arms. A person transported illegally to another country can cost as much as US$ 30 thousand on the black market.

The traffic of human beings serves three types of activities: for commercial sexual exploitation, for use as slave labor, and for the sale of human organs. According to the investigator, the Brazilian cases are in large part related to the sex industry. Women between 15 and 20 years of age represent 60% of the total number of victims. Then come girls in the 10-15 age bracket (30%), and, finally, women between 20 and 25 (10%). The victims are generally lured by false promises, such as a good job or marriage with a foreigner.

To handle the problem, the ILADH wants to put together a national system to prevent and combat traffic in human beings, involving federal, state, and municipal government institutions, as well as entities from organized civil society. Sexual tourism, especially in cities along the coast, are also in the institute's sights. One of the goals is to expand the investigative capacity of the police and the judicial system, improving upon current instruments of repression.

Next February an International Seminar on Sexual Tourism and Traffic in Human Beings is scheduled to be held in Pernambuco. This event will offer an opportunity for national and foreign authorities to exchange their experiences derived from systems to prevent and suppress these criminal activities. (DAS)