Opium Trade in Afghanistan Linked to Human Trafficking

Geneva: Lisa Schlein reports for VOA News that: The Geneva-based International Organization for Migration says there is a connection between the illegal trade of drugs in Afghanistan and human trafficking. IOM is holding a three-day workshop in the Afghan capital, Kabul, to make government officials more aware of the problem and the need for them to take action.

In her report, Schlein notes that:

"According to the 2006 State Department Report on Trafficking in Persons, Afghanistan is a source country for women and children.

The IOM says children are trafficked within the country to work as beggars or as bonded labor in the brick kiln and carpet making industries. It says women and girls are kidnapped or sold for forced marriages. They are pushed into prostitution and sometimes used to settle debts or to resolve conflicts.

Internationally, IOM says Afghan women and girls are being trafficked primarily to Iran, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia."