The initiative in the early 2010s by the Parliamentary Assembly – and subsequently its Committee of Ministers – to combat trafficking in human organs in Europe and beyond shall be welcome. This led inter alia to the establishment in 2015 – and the entry into force in 2018 – of the open Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking in Human Organs (CETS No. 216) – also known as the “Santiago Convention” – which a clear majority of Council of Europe member States have already signed or ratified.
The issue has gained renewed notoriety following a reported recent surge in forced, illegal “harvesting” and ‘trafficking” in human organs. This is a practice that apparently is imposed on many prisoners of conscience, belonging to minorities that are often kept in confined, virtual labour-camp conditions.
This is understandably causing worldwide horror and protests, with potential serious ramifications for the future, such as boycotts by human rights interests and even countries as regards sports and other events. In consequence, the parliaments of Canada, Great Britain and the European Union, as well as the United States House of Representatives, have adopted resolutions condemning forced organ harvesting.
The issue of involuntary “harvesting” and “trafficking” of human organs should be examined anew in the light of renewed alarm over such odious practices in countries where large populations are kept in prison-like conditions, such as in the People’s Republic of China. The world community has to put a global halt to such intolerable acts – where a goal would be to have the People’s Republic of China and other countries ultimately join the open Santiago Convention.