'A Council of Europe convention on trafficking of women Essay

'A Council of Europe convention on trafficking of women - Essay Example generally and unanimously agreed by researchers, international institutions – including the International Organization for Migration (IOM, 2010), various agencies of the United Nations (UNESCAP, 2010), as well as human rights groups which are established to confront the issue and prevent its rise and spread, that human trafficking and especially trafficking of women and children is expanding at a rapid pace, and is considered to be an exceptionally lucrative business, and needless to add, a gross violation of human and women’s rights. Human trafficking is regarded as one of the most lucrative activities in the realm of organized crime, world-wide, and ranks among the top three crimes in the world, including trafficking in arms and drug trade. Furthermore, despite being recognized as one of the top three crimes across the globe, and having a wide nexus of traffickers dealing in smuggling of humans across borders, the perpetrators of such a ghastly crime often get away with lesser punishments as compared to those involved in drug dealing and arms trafficking (Ethridge, Handleman, 2009). The issues of human trafficking and concerns related to it have been raised ever since the beginning of the twentieth century. The ignominious trade attracted world attention since the framing of the first international counter-trafficking treaty signed in 1904 (Weissbrodt, Vega, 2007, Pp. 41) and the movement to prevent such blatant disregard toward human life, gained momentum since 1990s. However, the innumerable efforts to curb this trade have been rendered futile, as is evident from the range of studies and available literature which point to the fact that the phenomenon is actually on the rise. The studies also reveal that the major cause behind such a trade is the growing disparity between the rich and the poor as well as the widening economic gap between nations (Chandra, Herrman, et al., 2009; Thachuk, 2007; Siegel, Nelen, 2008). Women, and children, invariably fall