International illicit trade in human organs is on the increase, fueled by growing demand and unscrupulous traffickers. In order to truly understand the problem of organ trafficking, an analysis should take into account the various perspectives that come into play in this multifaceted issue. With contributions from international scholars and experts
International illicit trade in human organs is on the increase, fueled by growing demand and unscrupulous traffickers. In order to truly understand the problem of organ trafficking, an analysis should take into account the various perspectives that come into play in this multifaceted issue. With contributions from international scholars and experts
Thanks to recent progress in biotechnology, surrogacy, transplantation of organs and tissues, blood products or stem-cell and gamete banks are now widely used throughout the world. These techniques improve the health and well-being of some human beings using products or functions that come from the body of others. Growth in demand and absence of an appropriate international legal framework have led to the development of a lucrative global trade in which victims are often people living in insecure conditions who have no other ways to survive than to rent or sell part of their body. This growing market, in which parts of the human body are bought and sold with little respect for the human person, displays a kind of dehumanization that looks like a new form of slavery. This book is the result of a collective and multidisciplinary reflection organized by a group of international researchers working in the field of medicine and social sciences. It helps better understand how the emergence of new health industries may contribute to the development of a global medical tourism. It opens new avenues for reflection on technologies that are based on appropriation of parts of the body of others for health purposes, a type of practice that can be metaphorically compared to cannibalism. Are these the fi rst steps towards a proletariat of men- and women-objects considered as a reservoir of products of human origin needed to improve the health or well-being of the better-off? The book raises the issue of the uncontrolled use of medical advances that can sometimes reach the anticipations of dystopian literature and science fiction.
In this book, Susanne Lundin explores the murky world of organ trade. She tracks exploited farm workers in Moldova, prosecutors in Israel and surgeons in the Philippines. Utilizing unique source material she depicts a rapidly growing organ market characterized by both advanced medical technology and human trafficking.
Trafficking in human organs is an emerging criminal activity which presents a clear danger to both individual and public health, while breaching human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking in Human Organs seeks to protect individual rights by addressing this illegal act from a criminal law perspective. The Convention aims to tackle this crime both at national and international levels by harmonising national legislation, identifying the various offences that constitute trafficking in human organs and laying down the foundation for more efficient cross-border co-operation. It also covers preventive measures and the legal situation of the victims. Wide accession to the Convention is essential in the fight against a crime that is, more often than not, transnational in scope.
This edited volume examines the contemporary practice of human trafficking on the African continent. It investigates the scourge of human trafficking in Africa from the broader international and regional perspectives as well as from a country-specific context. Written by a multi-disciplinary panel of academics and practitioners, the book is divided into three sections that highlight a wide range of issues. Section One examines the theoretical and legal challenges of trafficking. Section Two focuses on the regional and nation-state perspectives of human trafficking along with selected cases of trafficking. Section Three highlights the impact of trafficking on youth, with specific attention given to child soldiering and female victims of trafficking. Providing a multi-faceted approach to a problem that crosses multiple disciplines, this volume will be useful to scholars and students interested in African politics, African studies, migration, human rights, sociology, law, and economics as well as members of the diplomatic corps, governmental, intergovernmental, and non-governmental organizations.
If most Americans accept the notion that the market is the most efficient means to distribute resources, why should body parts be excluded? Each year thousands of people die waiting for organ transplants. Many of these deaths could have been prevented were it not for the almost universal moral hand-wringing over the concept of selling human organs. Kidney for Sale by Owner, now with a new preface, boldly deconstructs the roadblocks that are standing in the way of restoring health to thousands of people. Author and bioethicist Mark Cherry reasserts the case that health care could be improved and lives saved by introducing a regulated transplant organs market rather than by well-meant, but misguided, prohibitions.
“An unforgettable nonfiction thriller, expertly reported….A tremendously revealing and twisted ride, where life and death are now mere cold cash commodities.” —Michael Largo, author of Final Exits Award-winning investigative journalist and contributing Wired editor Scott Carney leads readers on a breathtaking journey through the macabre underworld of the global body bazaar, where organs, bones, and even live people are bought and sold on The Red Market. As gripping as CSI and as eye-opening as Mary Roach’s Stiff, Carney’s The Red Market sheds a blazing new light on the disturbing, billion-dollar business of trading in human body parts, bodies, and child trafficking, raising issues and exposing corruptions almost too bizarre and shocking to imagine.
This report, which comprises three booklets, provides a comprehensive analysis of the crime of trafficking in persons and how different countries are responding to this crisis. Countries worldwide have been detecting and reporting a larger number of victims and are also convicting more traffickers than ever before. This may well be the result of an increase in the capacity to identify victims over the last few years. While the number of reporting countries did not significantly increase, the number of victims reported in different countries did increase. The trend has unfortunately been growing over the past few years.
This handbook is an international, comprehensive, reference tool in the field of trafficking in people and slavery. It covers everything from historical perspectives to cutting-edge topics to provide a high-level and systematic examination of the field which is at the forefront of both research and practice. It has an impressive breadth of entries from leading experts and international organisations to NGOs on the ground. This handbook is truly global with contributions from scholars and practitioners on virtually every continent (e.g. Europe, North America, Australia, Africa, Asia, and South America). This book also covers problematic areas that cannot be found in other reference works. The Palgrave International Handbook of Human Trafficking is divided into eight key sections: 1. History of Slavery and Trafficking in Persons 2. Explanations and Methods of Inquiry 3. Types of Trafficking in Persons 4. Trafficking in Persons and Response Mechanisms 5. Organizational Profiles 6. Country, Region and Local Response Mechanisms 7. The work of Non-Governmental Organizations 8. Future Issues and Directions in Controlling Trafficking in Persons.
