Preventing and Combating Trafficking of Human Organs
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Draft Resolution: The Beat Goes On and On
Introduction to the Committee
The UN General Assembly (UNGA) is the main policy-making body of the UN. As all member states are part of this committee and have an equal vote, it provides a unique setting for multilateral discussions on issues that the international community faces, including matters relating to indigenous peoples. The General Assembly meets in regular sessions from September to December every year.
Introduction to the Topic
Organ Transplantation
Organ Transplantation is a surgical process that requires organs either from a deceased or living donor. It is a surgical operation in which a failing organ in the human body is removed and replaced with a functioning one. It is often the only treatment for end stage organ failure, such as liver and heart failure. Kidney transplantation is by far the most frequently carried out transplantation globally. It is generally accepted due to its cost effectiveness and benefits in quality of life. The procurement of organs for transplantation involves the removal of organs from the bodies of deceased persons. In all cases the removal of organs from the deceased person must follow legal requirements, including the definition of death and consent.
Some countries have obtained legislative frameworks that automatically categorise deceased people as donors, unless there has been a specific request for the contrary. The specific request is known as “opting- out”. Countries such as Austria, Chile, Spain and Belgium employ an “opt-out” system. Categorising by default the deceased as donors has proved to result in waiting lists for organ donations to run at a faster pace. Some countries however employ an “opt-in” system in which people have to actively sign up to donate their organs after death, such as Germany, the USA and Greece.
Trafficking in human organs, tissues or cells
The trafficking in human organs, tissues or cells, often shortened to the abbreviation THOTC, may be defined as;
“The handling of any human organ, tissue or cell obtained and transacted outside the legal national system for organ transplantation.”
This kind of trafficking has a wide scope, as it may occur in the form of buying and selling organs/tissues from living persons, but also as stealing organs/tissues from deceased persons. The trafficking of human organs is also known as transplant commercialism, in which an organ is treated as a commodity, including being bought or sold or used for material gain.
The Transnational Nature of Organ Trafficking
Travel for Transplantation & Transplant Tourism
Travel for transplantation is the movement of organs, donors, recipients or transplant professionals across jurisdictional borders for transplantation purposes. Travel for transplantation becomes transplant tourism if it involves organ trafficking and/or transplant commercialism or if the resources devoted to providing transplants to patients from outside a country undermine the country’s ability to provide transplant services for its own population. When human organs become commercialised and require monetary payment, the altruistic nature of medical operations, especially organ transplantation, fails.
The demand for organs that the altruistic systems fail to fulfil is met only with the coexistence of a black market for human organs. The point when a state cannot fulfil the need for organ transplants for its own population is the point where trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal and organ trade are connected and transplant tourism via illegal transactions occurs. Transplant tourism is a deeply rooted phenomenon and will be maintained as long as the waiting lists for organ transplants are long and insufficient.
Global Aspect of Organ Trafficking
The participants of organ trafficking and transplant tourism, such as the donors, recipients, surgeons and criminal agents usually come from and operate in different parts of the world. As an example, the headquarters of a criminal organisation could be in Egypt, agents in Syria to gather victims and the recipient anywhere in the world. The issue of organ trafficking is therefore a great example of the effects of globalisation and its negative effects. In other words, it is a public health issue that touches everyone in the international community and lives off of the incapabilities of national health systems, the gap between supply and demand of organs and the lack of appropriate regulatory frameworks.
Vulnerable Groups
As mentioned previously, consent from a donor is necessary to maintain legality in the use of organs for a transplant. The decision to remove an organ must be an honest, well-informed choice, which requires full, objective, and locally relevant information and excludes vulnerable persons who are incapable of fulfilling the requirements for voluntary and knowledgeable consent. A vulnerable person’s situation may be easily hidden and their consent may be effortlessly forged by those who operate depending on carefully scripted cover-up stories and corruption.
Impoverished people
International crime takes advantage of people’s poverty. In many cases the source for organs in the international human organ trade are the impoverished. For example, a farmer that lives in a village in Nepal that makes less than 5 USD per week could be promised to make the money that they would make in one or two years of labour and would be highly likely to accept such an offer. However in this scenario they are being tricked and exploited without fully understanding the consequences of what they are agreeing to. In many cases they are also deceived, as they are often given much less money than they were promised. Medical care is very important after removing organs, and most of these donors are not provided with any assistance. This often leads to long term health issues that affect their ability to work and support themselves and their families.
Children
According to international law, any person under the age of 18 is considered by international law. Not unlike impoverished people, children involved in human trafficking for the purpose of organ removal are exploited, deceived and abused. Due to them being children, consenting to an organ transplantation is insignificant and pointless to even refer to it as a possible justification of the act.
Refugees
Refugees are one of the most vulnerable groups of the international scene. Unfortunately, refugees do fall under the category of the victims of international organ trade, due to the situation that they find themselves in. Many brokers and criminals that focus on organ trade defend their actions by saying that “simply” taking an organ from someone that is fleeing from war is a very small act in comparison to what they have experienced. Many refugees lack the proper funds to travel, and as a result often resort to selling organs. “Middle” countries such as Egypt with a loose legal framework are employed to enable such transactions. In a report presented in the European Parliament in 2012 it was stated that African refugees were exploited and were found dead in the Senai desert with their organs missing by corrupt Egyption doctors.
Prisoners
Prisoners are another vulnerable group that are exploited. Organ removal from prisoners is not a crime that is widespread throughout the world, meaning that there haven’t been reports of it in many countries. However a majority of reports of organ harvesting have been published about the People’s Republic of China, making the country one of the most important case studies when it comes to research of organ harvesting from imprisoned people.
Negative Impacts of Organ Trafficking
Substandard medical services and medical complications
In the majority of cases, when a medical operation is committed illegally and in secrecy, it will not meet the standards of quality necessary for such a procedure. Many of these procedures have led to health complications and irregularities. In many cases where death is not necessary and avoidable to remove a (vital) organ from someone, death is still a common outcome. This is a result of substandard medical services, anesthesiologists, surgeons and nurses provide. Medical complications do not only occur post operation, but also during and before. Spread of viruses and other diseases such as HIV is highly possible due to low quality hospitals and disregard of hygiene.
Brokers, or in other words the middlemen seek the success of the deal between the supplier and the recipient by misleading hospital personnel who are unaware of illicit undertakings. They come up with carefully scripted cover-up stories to convince medical staff that the donation is a purely voluntary act. Legal documents are often forged to prove that the transplantation is between relatives, in order to convince the medical staff the organs will be used for a determined match.
Lack of follow-up medical care and the consequence of its absence
Donors and victims are not treated the way normal patients are meant to be taken care of. Post surgery follow-up care is vital for the patient’s well-being and survival. Victims and unsuspecting donors are never sufficiently informed about the consequences that such procedures result in. Trafficking for the purpose of organ removal entails life-long health consequences for victims. Common side-effects as a result of lack of follow up care are constant fatigue and dizziness, regular pain and seizures. The consequences are often very detrimental and decrease the self-sufficiency of victims dramatically. Mental disorders often come hand in hand with the physical effects. Many victims experience high levels of anxiety and depression after they realise that they have been exploited and that their decision will haunt them for the rest of their lives.
Conclusion
The trafficking of human organs is a scheme of rather high complexity, brutality and dispersion. The more advanced human rights protection is, the more elaborate the means to violate it are going to be. There is a long way to go in order for the United Nations and other international actors to say that the matter is being combated.
Questions a Resolution Should Answer
How can the protection of victims be ensured?
What measures can be taken to ensure the well-being of victims?
How can the problem of organ shortages be solved?
How can the United Nations counteract the trafficking and commercialisation of human organs?
Practical Advice for Research
Is the population of your country vulnerable to organ trafficking?
Does your country have a legal framework that benefits organ trafficking?
Does your country suffer from an organ shortage and rely on the trade of human organs?
Country Suggestions
The United States of America
China
Belgium
Germany
Turkey
Syria
Brazil
Chile
Austria
Greece
Egypt
Spain
India
Iran
Keep in Mind:
The primary focus of this topic block is the trafficking of human organs. Trafficking of persons is interlinked with this issue, however if discussed it should be in regards to trafficking persons for the purpose of organ removal.
