Human Trafficking in Transnational Criminal

Law

Professor Rob CurrieSchulich School of LawHalifax, NS

“Modern Day Slavery”

One of the leading organized crime enterprises on earth

800,000 people trafficked across borders per year (lowball estimate)◦80% are female◦50% are children◦Majority forced into

prostitution/sexual slavery

Human Trafficking in LawWhat human trafficking is not

◦Slavery: “chattel” slavery, exercising all of the rights of ownership over a person

◦Migrant smuggling: procuring illegal entry of people into a country, in order to obtain a material benefit (usually money) but often linked to human trafficking

Human Trafficking in LawHuman Trafficking Protocol to the

UN Convention on Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) – 124 party states

UNTOC is “framework” convention

Obligation on countries to criminalize organized crime offences and also Protocol offences

Human Trafficking in LawArticle 3 – Use of terms For the purposes of this Protocol:

(a) “Trafficking in persons” shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the 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 to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs; (b) The consent of a victim of trafficking in persons to the intended exploitation set forth in subparagraph (a) of this article shall be irrelevant where any of the means set forth in subparagraph (a) have been used; (c) The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring 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; (d) “Child” shall mean any person under eighteen years of age.

Human Trafficking in Law3 elements:

◦A) an action (eg recruitment, transportation)

◦B) a means used to carry out the action (eg threat/use of force, coercion, abduction)

◦C) exploitation (eg prostitution, forced labour, removal of organs)

Regional Human Trafficking TreatiesCouncil of Europe Convention on Action

Against Trafficking in Human Beings

ASEAN Declaration Against Human Trafficking

Inter-American Convention on Trafficking in Minors

Africa: regional strategies and initiatives