An Introduction to Human Trafficking - United Nations Office on ...

AN INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING: VULNERABILITY, IMPACT AND ACTION
Article 3 of the <strong>Trafficking</strong> Pro<strong>to</strong>col specifies a non-exhaustive range of purposes of
exploitation that are associated with trafficking (“at a minimum, the exploitation of the
prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery
or practices similar <strong>to</strong> slavery, servitude or the removal of organs”). When adopting
new laws, some States have made a distinction between “sexual exploitation” (such as the
exploitation of the prostitution of others and forced marriage) and “labour exploitation”
(i.e. forced labour and servitude). 4
Several countries facing considerable instances of child trafficking, such as Benin, have
incorporated the concept of “worst forms of child labour” in their legislation on human
trafficking. 5 This is based on the definitions in the International Labour Organization (ILO)
Convention No. 182, the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, and includes forms
of exploitation not covered by the <strong>Trafficking</strong> Pro<strong>to</strong>col. The <strong>Trafficking</strong> Pro<strong>to</strong>col is quite
specific in its definitions that, when a child is recruited or transported, the illegal means
(“threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception,
of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of
payments or benefits”) mentioned in article 3, subparagraph (a), are irrelevant for the case
<strong>to</strong> constitute trafficking. 6 However, in some countries new legislation does not reflect this
provision, meaning that investiga<strong>to</strong>rs must be able <strong>to</strong> show that children under 18 have
been subjected <strong>to</strong> the same forms of abusive control as adults while being recruited or
transported for their cases <strong>to</strong> be categorized as trafficking. Further, some countries define
a child as being under 15 or 16 years of age rather than 18.
The net result of the varied ways in which States have amended their legislation is that
representatives of one State, when referring <strong>to</strong> a case of human trafficking in communications
with representatives of another State, may not be referring <strong>to</strong> the same practices.
This result clearly contradicts the intentions of the <strong>Trafficking</strong> Pro<strong>to</strong>col. It also means that,
when collecting data about cases of trafficking in persons, there are still no common criteria,
so that States that have similar trafficking patterns may issue public information that
suggests that the patterns in the two countries are quite different. All States that have ratified
the <strong>Trafficking</strong> Pro<strong>to</strong>col should therefore review their legislation surrounding both
trafficking and the various forms of exploitation prohibited by the Pro<strong>to</strong>col <strong>to</strong> ensure that
they are in compliance with its provisions. They can use a <strong>United</strong> <strong>Nations</strong> <strong>Office</strong> on Drugs
and Crime assessment <strong>to</strong>ol <strong>to</strong> assess their compliance. 7 For example, one State in Latin
America which ratified the <strong>Trafficking</strong> Pro<strong>to</strong>col in 2004 faced difficulties when the legis-
4
As debt bondage is a form of servitude, in principle any irregular migrant who has <strong>to</strong> work for a specified
employer <strong>to</strong> pay back an ex<strong>to</strong>rtionate loan (<strong>to</strong> finance his or her travel expenses) can be regarded as trafficked. In
practice, this interpretation is sometimes contentious, as some migrants argue that it is legitimate <strong>to</strong> take such loans
(and repay the substantial interest by working), as they have little access <strong>to</strong> alternative sources <strong>to</strong> finance their
migration.
5
Benin, Loi N° 2006-04 du 5 avril 2006 portant sur les conditions de déplacement des mineurs et la répression de la
traite d’enfants en République du Bénin (see http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/)..
6
Article 3, subparagraph (c), of the <strong>Trafficking</strong> Pro<strong>to</strong>col specifies: “The recruitment … or receipt of a child for
the purpose of exploitation shall be considered ‘trafficking in persons’ even if this does not involve any of the means
set forth in subparagraph (a) of this article”.
7
<strong>United</strong> <strong>Nations</strong> <strong>Office</strong> on Drugs and Crime, “<strong>An</strong>ti-trafficking assessment <strong>to</strong>ol: a <strong>to</strong>ol for rapidly assessing
jurisdictional concordance with the requirements of UN <strong>Trafficking</strong> Pro<strong>to</strong>col and the UN Convention against
Transnational Organized Crime”, 2003.
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