Just Passing Through? International Legal Obligations and Policies of Transit Countries in Combating Trafficking in Persons

Abstract

This article identifies several key characteristics of transit countries, including: (1) geographic proximity to attractive destination countries; (2) insufficient legislation and weak enforcement to deal with trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling; (3) liberal immigration policies; and (4) an operational criminal infrastructure to facilitate trafficked persons’ entry into and exit from a country. The challenges faced by transit countries — compared with origin and destination countries — are discussed, and then a focused analysis is provided of the measures that transit countries should pursue to prevent trafficking, prosecute traffickers and protect victims. The article concludes that global efforts to improve the response of destination and origin countries for human trafficking must be expanded to hold transit countries accountable in addressing this problem.