Human organ trafficking on the rise as demand outstrips supply

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 30 December 2020:

The black market for human body parts is booming in the Middle East. A kidney now costs 262,000 dollars (131 million CFA francs); the heart costs 119,000 dollars (60 million CFA francs) and the liver costs 157,000 dollars (79 million CFA francs).

Beware of fake foreign agencies promising to take you abroad to work.  They process your papers, pay your plane ticket and take you abroad pretending they will find you a job, but instead, they kill their victims, recover their vital organs for sale.  Many people have been offered jobs in the Middle East, and so far their families have been unable to locate them.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime has published this statement:

The transplantation of healthy organs into persons whose own organs have failed, improves and saves thousands of lives every year. But demand for organs has outstripped supply, creating an underground market for illicitly obtained organs.

Desperate situations of both recipients and donors create an avenue ready for exploitation by international organ trafficking syndicates.

Traffickers exploit the desperation of donors to improve the economic situation of themselves and their families, and they exploit the desperation of recipients who may have few other options to improve or prolong their lives.

Like other victims of trafficking in persons, those who fall prey to traffickers for the purpose of organ removal may be vulnerable by virtue of poverty, for instance. One factor that is distinct in this form of trafficking in persons is the profile of culprits; while some may live solely from criminal trafficking activities, others may be doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers and health care professionals who are involved in legitimate activities when they are not participating in trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal.

The transnational organized crime syndicates are involved in trafficking people for the purpose of organ removal and the organs themselves. The Trafficking in Persons Protocol supplementing the Transnational Organized Crime Convention includes trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal.

UNODC response

Trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal was on the agenda of the Working Group on Trafficking in Persons established by the Conference of Parties to the Organized Crime Convention at its fourth session, from 10 to 12 October 2011.

The Working Group recommended that States make better use of the Convention and Trafficking in Persons Protocol in combating trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal.

The Working Group recommended that States parties to the Convention should encourage relevant United Nations entities, including UNODC, to gather evidence-based data on trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal, including root causes, trends and modus operandi, with the aim of facilitating better understanding and awareness of the phenomenon while recognizing the difference between trafficking in organs, tissues and cells.

The Working Group also requested UNODC to develop a training module against trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal, and provide technical assistance, especially in regard to investigation, exchange of information and international legal cooperation.

2 Comments

  1. This a classic, when a government abandons its core responsibilities, like providing security for its people, creating an economic environment where people can live, and work towards achieving their dreams for their families and communities at large and be to work and provide for their families. Get the education that will enhance their living standards, good roads, abundance of electricity supply, able to practice your own religion, being recognised as a fellow human and not as a different person from an other tribe, able to get that bank loan, without the need of having any political connections, to get that job on your merits and qualifications, not because Bio is my relative.

    To be able to owe your own piece of land without feeing a government minister who will use his powers to take it away from you, to be treated equally in the eyes of the law, nor force conscription into the army as in the case of that dictatorship in Eritrea, or any other security organs of the state and no corruption by your elected representatives. Sierra Leone looms large and once all of the above is adhered to by our elected African leaders, there will be very little incentives in the Middle East or North Africa, for our brothers and sisters risking every thing, to seek greener pastures or become refugees in foreign lands.

    The majority of Sierra Leoneans who sought refuge in Liberia and Guinea during the RUF wars, can attest to that. There is no place like Sierra-Leone. Just to hear the Krio language spoken properly is a breath of fresh air. Then you say to yourself I am amongst my people. There are horrible stories happening with would-be migrants by people smugglers, and the sorry part of it, our inept African governments like the AU is aware of these crimes against humanity, but you hardly ever hear them raise their concerns for the flight of our African brothers and sisters in the middle east. I am sure if these human sacrifices or abuses were taking place in Sierra Leone, or better still happening against the Lebanese community or any Middle Eastern community in our country, Bio and other governments will hear about from their counterparts in the Middle East. We need action not empty words.

  2. The predatory tendencies of rich people are slowly unveiling themselves like the costumes of gruesome monsters being transformed with every moment that comes and quickly passes away into oblivion. As if Poverty has not traumatized Africans enough she has now totally reconstructed her game over our lives into another sickening dimension by buying, stealing or robbing the desperate and needy of their healthy God-given human organs; Gentlemen – a new era is upon us, one in which only the fittest of the fittest shall survive. Armageddon is here. Prepare for an all out war against the poorest of the poor, sick, vulnerable and the weak. Africans must hold on to the ways of wisdom and listen to prudent advice.

    Be vigilant at all times and should not trust the utterances of serpents and vultures that promise to take them to strange lands overflowing with milk and honey for there is no such place, and there are no streets pave with gold and diamonds anywhere except in omnipotent Heaven – I know because my Bible and the Quran tells me so. Children its time to grow up – quit being naïve and being swayed to and fro like grass by every strange wind that comes and goes; Put your trust in the Almighty and he will direct your ways and strengthen the work of your industrious hands no matter what that appears to be.
    You must strive very hard to eat healthily and wisely so that longevity will be yours – avoid sugars, canned foods and saturated fats for they are known to clog arteries; eat a lot of organic healthy grains, fruits, nuts and drink plenty of water to flush your kidneys.

    Please remind yourself always you have got only one life to live and you are what you eat; Go ahead enjoy your healthy meals made with organic poultry that is raised without pesticides, hormones and mammalian by-products in their feed and live as long as you wish for that is the ultimate divine will of Almighty God. And the Lord said,” My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he is also flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.” Whoooooh! a hundred and twenty years folks, that is how long you are supposed to live so forget the “Vanilla Ice creams, Jello and Mello Yellow, the spicy fish and chips, crispy jelly donuts, fried chicken, pork entrails and cow-tails and pepperoni pizza made with yummy delicious cheddar and mozzarella cheese – They are not good for your heart, liver and kidneys.(lol) Happy New Year!

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