The contemporary world has witnessed a technological revolution in the field of financial technology, which gave rise to cryptocurrencies as a decentralized electronic monetary system.However, this technological development has also entailed serious criminal uses, as criminal organizations have exploited the characteristics of these currencies to facilitate human trafficking crimes.This study addresses the conceptual framework of cryptocurrencies and human trafficking crimes by analyzing their definitions and distinctive features.It then provides a detailed review of the methods of using cryptocurrencies in various stages of human trafficking crimes, starting from financing recruitment and transportation operations, through collecting proceeds from the sexual exploitation and forced labor of victims, to money laundering and concealing criminal proceeds using advanced technologies.The study aims to uncover the technical and financial mechanisms exploited by criminal organizations in using cryptocurrencies to finance human trafficking crimes, analyze the legal and security challenges facing international counter-efforts, and offer practical recommendations to develop legal frameworks, enhance international cooperation, and introduce advanced regulatory technologies to confront this growing phenomenon.
NGOs can foster a more inclusive and effective civil society in the Global South by collaborating and amplifying marginalized voices. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) must prioritize establishing robust relationships with local communities and advocating for their needs to achieve a favorable outcome. As Sandri (2017) stated in his article, "Humanitarian aid to refugees in the Jungle refugee camp of Calais necessitates a diverse array of resources," including housing, food, healthcare, and education. This justifies the responsibility for humanitarian assistance. A later study estimates that around 117.2 million people will be displaced worldwide by 2024, mainly in countries at risk from climate change (UNHCR, 2023).As a result, the refugees' grievances are increasingly complex and unmanageable. Consequently, a thorough policy to allocate and maintain a just global responsibility will come into effect. By enabling peer-to-peer crowdfunding and ensuring secure digital storage of identity documents, blockchain technology can present creative options to assist marginalized individuals. However, it is essential to assess the ethical and logistical consequences of these technological advancements and protect the privacy and rights of refugees. Using blockchain technology, a secure digital identification system can be created that helps refugees overcome common Frontiers in Human Dynamics https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-dynamics identification obstacles. However, the blockchain system may need to be more effective for refugees in regions with limited access to technology or reliable internet connectivity, as this solution may need to be more practical for them. Also, certain refugees may need the necessary knowledge or resources to navigate and employ a sophisticated digital identification system efficiently. For instance, the absence of internet infrastructure may present a challenge for a refugee residing in a remote camp to access the blockchain system, impeding their ability to verify their identity and access essential services. Mballa et al. (2020) found that refugees residing in urban areas with improved connectivity and resources may find the blockchain system more accessible and advantageous for establishing secure identification. As he stated in his article, this system may encompass critical documents, such as diplomas, health records, and birth certificates, to facilitate the reconstruction of refugees' lives. Although the integration of important documents may be beneficial, it does not address the fundamental problem of internet connectivity and access in remote regions, which remains a significant obstacle to the implementation of a sophisticated digital identification system such as blockchain, as other scholars such as Ager and Stronger (2008) have noted. Problems with internet access might slow down the rollout of blockchain-based identification systems in more remote places. The research primarily centers on the traditional approach to refugee management while shedding light on future developments in refugee management systems, particularly regarding providing aid and assistance. It's important to consider that individuals in these areas may require assistance using such systems as they may have limited access to reliable connectivity.Moreover, relying heavily on online verification procedures can disproportionately affect marginalized communities with limited access to reliable internet services.Additionally, concerns about privacy and security may arise from storing sensitive personal information on a blockchain platform. Despite these challenges, blockchain-based identification systems have the potential to mitigate identity theft, streamline bureaucratic processes, and provide stability and security for displaced individuals. It is imperative to prioritize the needs of countries in the Global South and ensure they have the necessary resources to help those in need cope with the increasing number of refugees (Valenti, 2022). It is imperative to address the root causes of displacement and strive for sustainable solutions.According to Habib et al. (2023), a decentralized strategy focusing on openness and accessibility is a possible solution to the difficulties of sharing resources. This approach encourages stakeholder collaboration and strengthens the sense of community ownership of resources. Due to its immutability and security, blockchain technology can efficiently manage and distribute resources to refugees, as Corte-Real et al. (2022) found. By creating an immutable registry of funds allocated to refugees, aid can be distributed more efficiently and reliably. At the same time, direct peer-to-peer transactions minimize the need for intermediaries and reduce the risk of corruption and fraud (Nwuluu & Damisa, 2023). 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In the last decade, gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) have come to the fore of policy debates about AIDS prevention. In stark contrast to global AIDS policy during the first two decades of the epidemic which excluded MSM from policy outside the West, UNAIDS now identifies MSM as "marginalized but not marginal" to the global AIDS epidemic. This dissertation provides an account of this controversial reversal of global AIDS policy and uses it as a point of departure for understanding the role of intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) like UNAIDS in the formation of global health priorities.In contrast to the emergence of other health and social policy issues, various studies observe that efforts to establish a global agenda for addressing HIV and AIDS have been highly concentrated within intergovernmental organizations. How and in whose interests do new priorities emerge within AIDS IGOs? Health policy researchers argue that IGOs have considerable influence in the formation and dissemination of health policies around the world. However, there is a particularly rich debate among sociologists and political scientists about whether and how IGOs can act autonomously and pursue policy priorities that are not supported by states. Because these organizations generally lack enforcement power and are dependent on states for financial resources and legitimacy, IGOs have traditionally been conceived as lacking autonomy to pursue their own policy interests independent of the interests of states. Yet, recent interventions by sociologists have shown how IGOs strategically navigate the demands of states and even attempt to reconfigure the external environment to promote alignment with the policy interests of the IGO. Nonetheless, concerns about resources continue to plague IGOs and often constrain their agency. In this dissertation I argue that a key limitation of existing studies on the autonomy and influence of IGOs is their narrow focus on the decision-making and agenda-setting stages of policy making. I extend sociological research on the influence and autonomy of IGOs by addressing how concerns about implementation shape the particular structures and strategies that AIDS IGOs adopt in order to pursue their own policy interests. Many of these strategies are not easily understood by existing theories of IGO behavior which argue that as bureaucracies, IGOs will seek to expand their autonomy and influence in a sector. In contrast, I argue that IGOs with limited power to enforce policy implementation by states are highly sensitive to an implementation-autonomy trade off and may actually give up some autonomy in decision-making in order to facilitate broader implementation by states. IGOs also face additional barriers to implementation due to decentralization of the organization at the regional- and country-level and competition from other IGOs, nongovernmental organizations, and bilateral and private donors. Using archival data from World Health Organization's Global Programme on AIDS and its successor, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), two IGOs mandated by the United Nations to coordinate a global response to AIDS epidemic, I show in Chapter 1 how concerns about implementation have shaped decisions about the organizational structure of these IGOs. In addition, I show how implementation concerns have promoted the adoption of particular strategies - organizational inreach, interorganizational cooperation, evidence-based advocacy, and bidirectional pressure - to align policy preferences among states, other organizations, and even their own staff. The use of these strategies by AIDS IGOs has had consequences beyond the decision-making phase of policy development. Drawing on a novel dataset compiled from five waves of UN Country Progress Reports on HIV/AIDS (2003, 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2012), I show in Chapter 2 that the use of these strategies has promoted the alignment of national AIDS programs with UNAIDS policies on MSM over time. On the ground, IGO interest in HIV among MSM has also provided new technologies for seeing MSM in hostile political contexts. As I show in a country-case study presented in Chapter 3, claims for the recognition of same-sex sexualities in Malawi have had the most institutional success within the national AIDS programs which increasingly identifies MSM as a key target for public health intervention. Additionally, links between Malawian organizations and transnational research and advocacy networks have provided a context in which (male) same-sex sexualities have become statistically visible and institutionalized, providing a basis for future grassroots mobilization. At the same time, however, IGO interest in MSM has reinvigorated opposition to homosexuality among Malawian political elites and ordinary citizens. In Chapter 4 I introduce original household survey data collected in Malawi in 2012 (N=1491). Building on qualitative findings from Chapter 3, I use these data to quantitatively examine the effects of variation in aid allocations across Malawi's administrative districts on attitudes toward homosexuality. Results show that in districts with higher levels of annual aid per capita, individuals hold more negative views of homosexuality. Thus while IGOs have had a substantial effect on state-level and donor-level adoption of policy priorities, they have had much less success in changing public views toward homosexuality on the ground. These results suggest that models of global diffusion that utilize policy change as an indicator for cultural change may be greatly overestimating cultural change on contentious issues like homosexuality.In sum, IGOs have become central actors in the formation, diffusion, and implementation of AIDS policy concerning same-sex sexualities. They develop new policy ideas and set priorities that may diverge substantially from the interests of member states, both rich and poor. However, IGOs also face considerable barriers to implementing their policy priorities: from reluctant states to the decentralization of staff across dozens of country offices to competition from other organizations and private donors. In this dissertation I show how barriers to implementation shape the structures and strategies of IGOs. As such, this work contends that IGOs are not simply disinterested forums in which states pursue their own interests or passive collections of rules and norms, but autonomous, influential, and self-interested actors that shape the policymaking process and the world around them, sometimes in unexpected and undesirable ways.
Rifat Atun, Martin McKee, Francis Drobniewski, Richard Coker
OBJECTIVE: To develop a methodology and an instrument that allow the simultaneous rapid and systematic examination of the broad public health context, the health care systems, and the features of disease-specific programmes. METHODS: Drawing on methodologies used for rapid situational assessments of vertical programmes for tackling communicable disease, we analysed programmes for the control human of immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and their health systems context in three regions in the Russian Federation. The analysis was conducted in three phases: first, analysis of published literature, documents and routine data from the regions; second, interviews with key informants, and third, further data collection and analysis. Synthesis of findings through exploration of emergent themes, with iteration, resulted in the identification of the key systems issues that influenced programme delivery. FINDINGS: We observed a complex political economy within which efforts to control HIV sit, an intricate legal environment, and a high degree of decentralization of financing and operational responsibility. Although each region displays some commonalities arising from the Soviet traditions of public health control, there are considerable variations in the epidemiological trajectories, cultural responses, the political environment, financing, organization and service delivery, and the extent of multisectoral work in response to HIV epidemics. CONCLUSION: Within a centralized, post-Soviet health system, centrally directed measures to enhance HIV control may have varying degrees of impact at the regional level. Although the central tenets of effective vertical HIV programmes may be present, local imperatives substantially influence their interpretation, operationalization and effectiveness. Systematic analysis of the context within which vertical programmes are embedded is necessary to enhance understanding of how the relevant policies are prioritized and translated to action.