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| Gabon's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Paul Toungui (Left) officially recognizes Gabon's Accession to Anti-Trafficking Protocol (Source: UN Treaty Collection) |
The Mail (United Nations) - Gabon’s government signed 2 UN treaties designed to fight and deter human and arms trafficking. The 2 treaties are part of the 2000 UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and falls under the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) authority. The human trafficking treaty provides an internationally accepted and binding definition for the crime and recognizes the human rights of victims. Yuri Fedotov, UNODC Executive Director, believes that Gabon’s treaty signing will provide stability to Central Africa by Gabon’s pledge to deter and fight the expansion of both crimes.
Source:
(Reliability: 6/10)
Comment: (Source Reliability: The source receives a 6 rating because of the fact that no information is provided into Gabon's motivation for entry into the protocol or detail into Director Fedotov's contention into why this entry equates to a safer Africa. The lack of detail into Gabon's motivation limits the ability to deduce forces responsible into the entry (diplomatic pressure, domestic demand, leadership agenda, etc.) or the effectiveness of UN efforts in or around Gabon and its government. Director Fedotov's statement of a safer Africa from this entry proves to be vague. One can not determine if this statement means an increased UN role or influence in Gabon or a stronger Gabon policy on trafficking. A rationale for this statement not provided in this source as well.)
Comment: A June 2010 report from the US State Department listed Gabon within the Tier 2 watch list of nations with respect to human trafficking. Consistent with the Tier 2 watch list definition, Gabon has been making reforms to improve anti-trafficking policies, trafficker prosecution, and victim protection as of 2009. Gabon remains a Tier 2 watch list nation due to the fact that little has been done to curb trafficking and little has been done to study the scope of Gabon human trafficking activity. Progress which has been made in prosecution has been seen in policy and legislation yet there has been little activity in prosecution. However, Gabon has made progress in victim protection and prevention.
As international diplomacy in terms of aid or economic relations in part is based on a nation's actions against trafficking, it is possible that Gabon's entry into the UN convention could be an attempt to gain positive attention and eventual contact with the international community. The statement made by Director Fedotov maybe evidence to that possibility. However, because of the lack of detail into Director Fedotov's statement and lack of statements from the international community to that respect, no level of confidence can be given to this prediction. Consequently, this predicted motivation is a hypothesis with very little evidence which does not give any level of likelihood which disproves or approves it.
Comment: (Source Reliability: The source receives a 6 rating because of the fact that no information is provided into Gabon's motivation for entry into the protocol or detail into Director Fedotov's contention into why this entry equates to a safer Africa. The lack of detail into Gabon's motivation limits the ability to deduce forces responsible into the entry (diplomatic pressure, domestic demand, leadership agenda, etc.) or the effectiveness of UN efforts in or around Gabon and its government. Director Fedotov's statement of a safer Africa from this entry proves to be vague. One can not determine if this statement means an increased UN role or influence in Gabon or a stronger Gabon policy on trafficking. A rationale for this statement not provided in this source as well.)
Comment: A June 2010 report from the US State Department listed Gabon within the Tier 2 watch list of nations with respect to human trafficking. Consistent with the Tier 2 watch list definition, Gabon has been making reforms to improve anti-trafficking policies, trafficker prosecution, and victim protection as of 2009. Gabon remains a Tier 2 watch list nation due to the fact that little has been done to curb trafficking and little has been done to study the scope of Gabon human trafficking activity. Progress which has been made in prosecution has been seen in policy and legislation yet there has been little activity in prosecution. However, Gabon has made progress in victim protection and prevention.
As international diplomacy in terms of aid or economic relations in part is based on a nation's actions against trafficking, it is possible that Gabon's entry into the UN convention could be an attempt to gain positive attention and eventual contact with the international community. The statement made by Director Fedotov maybe evidence to that possibility. However, because of the lack of detail into Director Fedotov's statement and lack of statements from the international community to that respect, no level of confidence can be given to this prediction. Consequently, this predicted motivation is a hypothesis with very little evidence which does not give any level of likelihood which disproves or approves it.
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