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

There is tension between two key sets of concerns: the sovereignty and
interests of nation-states as discrete units in international relations; and
the violations of the human rights of persons in a particular process of
migration labelled ‘human traffi cking’. When there is insuffi cient grasp
of the reasons for the phenomenon of human traffi cking, policy tends to
lurch inconsistently in different directions – often suppressing the voices
of those affected. There are currently six perspectives on sex traffi cking and
related actions:
A moral problem that leads to intervention for the abolition or prohibition of
prostitution or commercial sex;
A problem of organised crime that leads to legislative reforms, policing and
the penalising of criminal networks;
A migration problem that leads to border controls (passport and identifi cation
papers);
A public order problem that leads to awareness campaigns, publicity about
risks, and changing cultural practices;
A labour problem that leads to intervention such as improving working conditions
and labour monitoring systems, and abolishing child labour;
A human rights problem and a gender issue that lead to intervention to address
violence against women and children
UNESCO: Poverty, Gender and Human Traffi cking in Sub-Saharan Africa:
Rethinking Best Practices in Migration Management, p. 60
Lobbying efforts by the Human Rights faction focused on the defi nition of traffi cking in
persons, promoting a broad and inclusive defi nition to cover all traffi cking into forced
labour, slavery and servitude, irrespective of the nature of the work or the sex of the
traffi cked person, and clearly excluding voluntary, non-coercive prostitution or other sex
work. This means that sex work and traffi cking are different issues, whereby traffi cking is
defi ned by the presence of coercion, deception, debt bondage, abuse of authority or any
other form of abuse in relation to the conditions of recruitment and/or the conditions
of work. It also means that a distinction is made between adults and children, whereby,
to qualify as traffi cking, an element of coercion is not required in the case of children as
their legal status is different from that of adults. Additionally, the human rights faction
worked to include human rights protections for traffi cked persons, regardless of their
willingness to act as witnesses for the prosecution and including the right to a safe shelter,
social, medical and legal assistance, the ability to sue for back wages and damages, as well
as residency and working permits during judicial proceedings. Finally, an important goal
was the inclusion of an anti-discrimination clause to ensure that traffi cked persons are not
subjected to discriminatory treatment in law or in practice. 47 The other bloc regards the
institution of prostitution itself as a violation of human rights, akin to slavery. This lobby
47 Ibid. p. 81.
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