Trafficking in human beings: human rights and ... - unesdoc - Unesco

lives during the course of their journey. A human rights framework is also relevant in
dealing with smuggling of human beings. 12
Traffi cking and exploitation is – and is recognised as being – a violation of the victim’s
human rights. It should not only be viewed as an issue for criminal law enforcement
but as a concern regarding human rights implementation. But traffi cking is not itself a
human rights issue – but a criminal law issue with a strong human rights dimension. This
should be kept in mind. Traffi cking poses a serious threat to both security of States and
of human beings and to the protection and promotion of human rights. Questions such
as protection of victims of traffi cking and the necessity to have a human rights approach
to these, the possibilities of – within the criminal law regime – considering traffi cking a
crime against humanity, the possibilities of prosecuting but also of protecting witnesses,
the necessity to combine a more holistic protection of migrants rights (human rights)
in order to effectively combat traffi cking networks (criminal law) will be considered.
Thus the analysis will also briefl y include considerations on how it is necessary to address
violations of human rights which are part of the root causes, and also how such a protection
will further the prevention of traffi cking and how it may infl uence the possibilities of
combating international organised crime, again showing how the two systems interact
and overlap. An interesting aspect of this is how the protocols may in some cases give
more force to human right implementation since they could be more easily justiciable
than many rights found in human rights instruments.
Problems and concerns related to the Protocols have surfaced in the past years. It is argued
that they focus too narrowly on sexual exploitation in a way that both genders ‘victims’
and diverts attention away from other forms of traffi cking. Similarly, others claim current
policies take an overly state-centric perspective, leading to a focus on the symptoms of
a problem without properly addressing its causes. The securitization of the issue, it is
asserted, serves not only to criminalise and thus demonize individuals who are otherwise
survivors of gross human rights violations, but offers the state an opportunity to unduly
extend its authority over its citizens, in many cases severely encroaching on civil liberties. 13
These critiques will form part of and be addressed by the analysis of the relevance and
fl exibility of the Protocols in the research.
Examples will also be drawn from regional and national legislation which should be
in conformity with the Protocols when States are parties to these and when possible
and appropriate case law will be included. It is also relevant to draw upon regional and
national law, including case law, since different legal systems infl uence each other and are
used to interpret terms found in one another.
12 Obokata, T.: Traffi cking and Smuggling of Refugees from a Human Rights Perspective. Paper presented
to the International Conference on Refugees and International Law: The Challenge of Protection.
13 Howard, N. and Lalani, M.: “Editorial Introduction: The Politics of Human Traffi cking”. St. Anthony’s
International Review. Oxford 4:1 (2008): 5-15.
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