Human Trafficking

Human Trafficking, the transportation, recruitment, harbouring, despatch, or procurement of people using force, fraud, threat, or coercion, in order to exploit them through slavery, debt repayment, or organ removal. The trafficking of human beings has become an increasingly significant issue. It is estimated that approximately 600,000 to 800,000 people (2006), especially women and children, are trafficked annually worldwide. Virtually all countries are affected by the practice, and traffickers are believed to make between US$7 and 10 billion (2003) annually from trafficking business.

Trafficking has its roots in ancient practices of slavery and the slave trade. However, it has acquired a different meaning since the beginning of the 20th century. While slavery and the slave trade were commonly associated with transporting African slaves to Europe and North America, trafficking was initially understood to take place for prostitution and sexual exploitation of women and girls within Europe, hence the term “white slave traffic” was commonly used. However, it is now accepted that people are exploited for a wide variety of purposes. In the United Kingdom, for example, many people from Central and Eastern Europe are forced to work in agriculture and manufacturing while those from Asia are commonly exploited in food processing industries and domestic work. The deaths of more than 20 Chinese cockle pickers at Morecambe Bay in 2004 can be seen as a prime example of people being exploited for non-sexual purposes.

Different types of individuals and groups are known to facilitate the trafficking process. There are cases where family members are involved; many parents in Thailand and India sell their children in order to sustain themselves economically. Individual criminals or small groups of criminals also engage in trafficking. This is relatively common in Central and Eastern European countries such as Poland. Further, the involvement of more sophisticated organized criminal groups is evident. Groups such as Chinese Snakehead, Japanese Yakuza, and Russian Mafia are notorious for trafficking people for profits. Moreover, there is growing evidence to suggest that members of the United Nations peacekeeping missions and other international organizations also take part in the trafficking business.

A common method of recruitment employed by traffickers is the placement of advertisements falsely promising good jobs with high salaries in wealthy countries. Attracted by the promise of a better life, victims pay substantial amounts of money to traffickers for transportation. In some cases, people are forcibly recruited—traffickers use violence, intimidation, and abduction. During the process of trafficking, torture and physical or sexual violence is used to maintain control over victims. In addition, many of those trafficked are forced to travel in overcrowded lorries and shipping containers for long periods of time and consequently suffer from exhaustion, dehydration, and malnutrition. When the destination is reached, victims realize that there are no lucrative jobs and are forced to accept so-called “3D” jobs (dirty, dangerous, and demeaning) with minimal pay. Their freedom of movement is severely restricted because the traffickers confiscate travel and identity documents from victims and lock them in their place of work—often a sweatshop, factory, or brothel. Afraid of retaliation by traffickers and of law enforcement actions (detention and deportation), victims rarely approach the authorities for assistance.

The rapid growth in trafficking and its transnational nature have prompted the international community to take urgent action, and a major advancement occurred when the United Nations adopted the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, attached to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, in December 2000. One key aspect of this international treaty is that it adopted a definition of trafficking for the first time. It is important to stress that trafficking is not to be confused with “smuggling” of human beings. Although these terms have been used interchangeably in the past, there is a consensus that they are different practices. This was made clear by the adoption of an additional instrument to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, namely the Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air.

In comparing the definitions of trafficking and smuggling given in these instruments, the following characteristics can be identified. First, trafficking is carried out with the use of coercion and/or deception, whereas smuggling is not, indicating that the latter can be a voluntary act on the part of those smuggled. Second, trafficking entails subsequent exploitation of people, while the services of smugglers end when people reach their destination. Third, trafficking can take place both within and across national frontiers, although international movement is required for smuggling. Finally, entry into a state can be both legal and illegal in the case of trafficking, and smuggling is characterized by illegal entry.

Trafficking of human beings undoubtedly is a criminal justice issue. It affects the territorial integrity of countries as the practice in many cases involves the facilitation of illegal crossing of borders in violation of national immigration laws and policies. It also threatens the rule of law and the political foundation, because traffickers resort to violence and corruption as means to advance their business. The usual response at the national level has been crime and immigration control, aiming to prosecute and punish traffickers and reduce the flow of trafficked people. In the United Kingdom, relevant laws in this regard include the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, the Sexual Offences Act 2003, and the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004. At the international levels, organizations such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the European Union have attempted to facilitate law enforcement cooperation among member countries.

It is widely recognized that trafficking is also a human rights issue because it violates a wide variety of established human rights, norms, and principles, including the right to life, liberty, and security; freedom from torture and slavery; racial and other discrimination; and freedom of movement. This means that a human rights framework is also necessary to encourage the governments and other members of the civil society, such as non-governmental organizations, educational institutions, and lawyers, to adopt a holistic approach that not only addresses the process of trafficking itself, but also wider issues surrounding the practice such as the causes and consequences.