Trafficking in women and children is one of many important global issues deliberated by the Human Rights Committee, which is currently holding its 78th session in Geneva (14 July - 8 August). Mandated to monitor the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its Protocols by States parties, the Committee is composed of 18 independent human rights experts and meets three times a year.

One of the States parties to report to the Committee at this session is Slovakia, which stated that it had enacted a strict definition of the criminal offence of trafficking in people, and particularly in children. Its Ministry of the Interior has set up a special department dealing with trafficking in human beings.

The following articles on trafficking are selected from recent issues of the UN Chronicle.

Issue 2, 2003

• "Exploited, Not Educated: Trafficking of Women and Children in Southeast Asia"
  by Mikel Flamm, freelance writer and photojournalist based in Bangkok,Thailand. He has covered human-interest issues, ranging from refugees, street children, children of war and prostitution to trafficking of children in Southeast Asia.
  
  
• "Pile Them High, Sell Them Cheap: Women and Sex for Sale"
  by Liz Willmott, She has also served as a spokeswoman for Amnesty International.

WebArticle, 2003

• "Disagreement on Fighting Violence against Women"
  by Consuelo Remmert

Issue 2, 2002

• "Voices that Deserve to Be Heard"
  NGO Working Group on Women, International Peace and Security

Issue 2, 2001

• "What the United Nations Should Do about People Smuggling"
  by Philip Ruddock, Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Australia

Issue 1, 2001

• "Prostitutes in High Demand in Kosovo"
  by Sergei Vinogradov

These stories and more can be found at UN Chronicle Online at www.un.org/chronicle.

The UN Chronicle print edition is published by the United Nations Department of Public Information in English and French, and co-published in Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish. It is not an official record; the views expressed in individual articles do not necessarily imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.

To subscribe to the magazine, contact UN Publications at publications@un.org or (800) 253-9646, or go to www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/order.htm.

Please pass this UN Chronicle E-Alert on to anyone whom you think it might interest.