Birkerød Gymnasium’s Model United Nations conference (BIGMUN)
Session VII
Commission of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ)
Topic 2: Combatting organ harvesting
Introduction
Organ harvesting is the process of organs, tissues, and cells (OTC) being forcibly removed from often living patients and given to those who can afford them. Often lower class individuals are taken advantage of by the promise of being raised out of poverty by selling these parts, yet usually end up more sick and just as poor as there is no guarantee what can happen to them once an organ is removed. Organ harvesting is generally a forced procedure, where tissue matches are made and then the ‘donor’ is killed. Most recent cases have been the thousands of prisoners in concentration camps in China used for organ harvesting, and in 2006, around 4,000 Falun Gong were persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in conjunction with military personnel and surgeons.[1] The Falun Gong are targeted because of the refusal to align their faith with the beliefs of the communist party.
Definition of Key Terms:
Organ Harvesting- Organ harvesting is the sourcing and procurement of OTC from non-willing or dead ‘donors’ in order to be sold across an illegal market to the highest bidder.
Falun Gong- aChinesesystemofmeditation,martial-artsexercises,andspiritual teachings.[2]
Transplantation- aplant,organ,person,etc.,thathasbeentransplanted.[3]
Transplant Tourism- The practiceoftravellingtoanothercountry…forsolidorgantransplantation.[4]
Background Information
World-wide, the need for organ donations is in high demand as the need outnumbers the donations available. For most of commercial organ trade history, it was banned in most countries. Iran being the only exception. [5] In recent years, countries are beginning to give financial aid and compensation to live donors. Organ trade on the black market has been difficult to track and find sufficient numbers of trade. Post-operation, most illegal donors do not face the care and compensation compared to those who use legal donating means, often leaving with infection from a procedure that has the same risk as some simple cosmetic procedures. China has been a main contributor to the organ donation with around 12 000 kidney and liver transplants. Yet, these transplants were allegedly from dead prisoners. [6] A vicious circle is created by the black market and organ harvesting. Families kept on waiting lists are forced to look into other means of finding suitable transplants, and due to stagnated processes and waiting lists with a minimum of 2 years waiting time, there is a high demand for black market organs. For example in America, a new name is added onto a waiting list every 12 minutes, and 21 people a day die from organ unavailability[7]. This then creates the need for a supply, and with prisoner and minority numbers going unchecked in China and India, there is a variety of blood, tissue, and organ ‘donors’ to take from. Some incidents in America include Kendrick Johnson (17) being found dead inside a gym mat in 2013, with his brains, liver, and lungs being replaced with newspaper.[8] Two years later, Nicholas Rodriguez (24) was deemed lost in a prison riot in the state of California, but was later found in a rubbish bin with his abdominal organs removed.[9] TheCouncil of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings seeks to take into account human beings who are being trafficked with the purpose of removing organs for selling on, aiming to help victims and ensuring their rights are clarified for any legal or court rulings on the matter.
Major Countries Involved
- The United Kingdom of Great Britain
- Canada
- The United States of America
- India
- Pakistan
- China
Each of these countries has experienced an increase in illegal organ and OTC selling. As science has progressed, so has the need for experimentation on the human body; from bone stealing to ‘rented space’ in a woman’s womb, many countries experience trade nationally and internationally. Each country mentioned faces year long waiting lists, and an illegal trade going on in (what is considered ‘The Red Market’) continues over the Internet.
Relevant UN Resolutions
Resolution 23/2- Preventing and combating trafficking in human organs and trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal
Resolution A/RES/70/179 -Improving the coordination of efforts against trafficking in persons
Resolution 2015/23 -Implementation of the United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons
Resolution 24/2 -Strengthening crime prevention and criminal justice responses with respect to trafficking in cultural property and other related offences
A/RES/68/192 -Improving the coordination of efforts against trafficking in persons
Some relevant organisations include China National Organ Donation & Transplant Committee (CNODTC), the International Society for Organ Donation and Procurement (ISODP), The Transplantation Society (TTS), and the World Health Organization (WHO)
Previous Attempts to Solve the Issue
The World Health Organisation’s Department of Essential Health Technologies sought to make a clinical research paper seeking to trace and pin point certain transplants and transplant tourism in 2006. Its aim was to give a global perspective on the numbers and volume of international organ transplants. The information can be found here: http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/85/12/06-039370/en/ .
The international organisation Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting questioned the ethics in Chinese hospitals and prison camps regarding forced organ harvesting, and were met with insufficient ‘reforms’ [10] and that certain laws were claimed to be mainly just media propaganda.
In 2016, The European Parliament created and debated upon a resolution that abolished forced organ harvesting from prisoners in China along with a plea to the Chinese Government to reassess the matter.
Possible Solutions
1. Distinctions should be made between trafficking for OTC and trafficking of humans for the purpose of organ removal as authorities in many countries cannot differentiate, thus legal procedures fall short in regards to the rights of victims or families.
2. Full transparency should be demanded with any organ or OTC transplant, with the possible formation of an international code and standard check for all organs.
3. Encouragement in medical facilities to reach out to other firms in order to avoid families seeking organs from the black market
4. Finding ways to speed up the waiting list procedure through a fast sign up, a priority check with regards to illness, age, and gender.
5. Creating awareness in local hospitals in certain areas where organ trafficking are high to document the risks and debunk any myths or falsified ‘benefits’ such as the promise of post-procedure care or ‘long term benefits’.
Links used
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=32521#.WG0pqfkrLIU
http://www.stoporganharvesting.org/what-is-organ-harvesting/
http://www.dafoh.org/
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/85/12/06-039370/en/
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=32521#.WG0pqfkrLIU
http://www.stoporganharvesting.org/what-is-organ-harvesting/
http://faluninfo.net/topic/5/
http://www.stoporganharvesting.org/what-is-falun-gong/
1
[1] “What is Organ harvesting?” Who is doing this? Falun Dafa Association of Washington D.C., n.d. Web 05 Jan 2017. < http://www.stoporganharvesting.org/what-is-organ-harvesting/>
[2] “Falun Gong.” Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 05 Jan. 2017. <http://www.dictionary.com/browse/falun-gong?s=t>
[3] “Transplantation.” Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 05 Jan. 2017.
<http://www.dictionary.com/browse/transplantation?s=t>
[4] “Transplant Tourism.” Medical Dictionary.com, n.d, Web. 05 Jan 2017. <http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/>
[5] "Experts warn against organ trade".BBC News. 2007-01-08. Retrieved2008-02-18. Web. 05 Jan 2017
[6] Yosuke SHIMAZONO “The organ-exporting countries.” The state of the international organ trade: a provisional picture based on integration of available information. www.who.int.
< http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/85/12/06-039370/en/> N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Jan. 2017.
[7] Dianne SMALL. “Organ Harvesting, Human Trafficking and The Black Market”, March 23, 2016. Web 05 Jan < https://www.decodedscience.org/organ-harvesting-human-trafficking-black-market/56966>
[8] Dianne SMALL. “Organ Harvesting, Human Trafficking and The Black Market”, March 23, 2016. Web 05 Jan < https://www.decodedscience.org/organ-harvesting-human-trafficking-black-market/56966>
[9] Dianne SMALL. “Organ Harvesting, Human Trafficking and The Black Market”, March 23, 2016. Web 05 Jan < https://www.decodedscience.org/organ-harvesting-human-trafficking-black-market/56966>
[10] PRESS RELEASE, October 19, 2016; WASHINGTON <http://www.dafoh.org/pr101916-statement/>, Web 05 Jan 2016