xii Introduction
vio­lence if they ­ were to report abuses to authorities. In some countries, laws are
written and enforced in such a way as to punish trafficking victims rather than ­those
responsible for initiating trafficking operations.
By no means is ­ human trafficking limited to forced ­ labor and the sex trade. Many ­
people have been trafficked and forced to participate in the illegal drug trade. Some
are forced to transport narcotics between places. ­ These ­ people, sometimes known
as drug mules, are often subject to arrest and prosecution by authorities who are
trying to regulate the illegal narcotics trade. Drug mules, like forced laborers and
forced sex workers, are often less than 18 years old.
In vari­ous parts of the world, young ­ women have been trafficked as brides and
forced to marry men in other countries. This is a par­tic­ u ­ lar issue in China, where
the government’s history of allowing ­ couples to have only one child has resulted in
a considerable shortage of ­ women of marriageable age. Hence ­ women are brought
into China from Southeast Asia and other places as brides for single Chinese men.
Forced marriage is also a ­matter of concern in the ­Middle East, where young girls
from other countries are forced into marriage with men who are often much older
than themselves. Young ­women from Rus­sia, Ukraine, and other countries become
mail-­order brides who marry men from the United States and Western Eu­rope. In
all of ­these cases, the welfare of ­ women who cross international bound­aries to marry
men whom they had not known is dependent on the goodwill of their husbands,
who in some cases subject them to beatings, physical abuse, and emotional abuse.
Infants and small ­children are sometimes kidnapped and sold illegally to adoptive
parents.
The international community has made concerted efforts to reduce ­ human traf-
ficking, although vari­ous types of ­human trafficking remain widespread, and mil-
lions of ­ people are currently victims of trafficking. In general, trafficking is regarded
as a violation of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration on ­Human Rights, which
was ­ adopted in 1948 and has since guided international laws and policies concern-
ing trafficking and other ­human rights violations. (The text of the Universal Dec-
laration on ­Human Rights can be accessed at http://­www.un​.­org​/­en​/­universal​
-­declaration​ - ­ human​ - ­ rights​ / ­ .) In the United States, the. State Department is charged
with monitoring ­human trafficking through its Office to Monitor and Combat ­
Human Trafficking.
Many types of commodities are trafficked in large quantities. The most common-
place and lucrative type of commodity trafficking involves illegal narcotics.
According to some estimates, the production, trafficking, and consumption of
vari­ous illegal drugs account for as much as 1–2 ­percent of the world’s economy.
The illegal international trade in weapons and armaments is also a common prac-
tice. Guns and other weapons have long been trafficked to countries experiencing
civil or international wars in order to arm factions fighting for control. The illegal
arms trade and the illegal drug trade are often linked to each other in that illegal
drugs can be traded directly for armaments or in that profits made from drug traf-
ficking can be used to purchase arms.
Gemstones and wildlife are also subject to trafficking. ­ These items are subject to
being trafficked especially ­ because most can be found only in small areas of the
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