Special Section: Developing Frameworks for the Protection of Trafficked Persons

Abstract

In the second decade after the creation of the anti-trafficking framework – which includes the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (2000) – one fact is clear. The problem of human trafficking has not been eradicated and whilst policy-makers are still testing policy responses, reliable research and data on human trafficking is needed. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) explains that although 90 per cent of countries have introduced legislation criminalizing human trafficking since the Trafficking Protocol entered into force, the number of convictions globally has remained extremely low (UNODC Global Report, 2014, Preface, 1). In the same report it is asserted that “without robust criminal justice responses, human trafficking will remain a low-risk, high-profit activity for criminals”. Further the UNODC has released a series of Issue Papers on key aspects of the definition of trafficking in persons under the Trafficking Protocol which illustrate that different approaches to this crucial definition exist in various jurisdictions. The European Commission by contrast has adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on “Preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims”. The EU has a “comprehensive, integrated approach that focuses on human rights and on the victims of trafficking” (EU Strategy 2012-2016, 3), whilst at the same time recognizing the criminal justice context. The EU system encompasses two avenues for protection of trafficked persons; first the “trafficked victim” provisions for assistance and support laid down in Directive 2011/36/EU and secondly, the “international protection” route as asylum seeker or beneficiary of subsidiary protection provided by the EU Qualification Directive 2011 (Directive 2011/95/EU on “Standards for the qualification of third country nationals . . . as beneficiaries of international protection . . .”). Nevertheless, an evaluation of the success of the measures adopted in the EU, recognizes their practical limitations and effectiveness, especially in terms of data and identification of trafficked persons, see the European Migration Network Study (European Commission, EMN Study, 2014). This short collection contains articles from both researchers and the policy perspective, and from different countries and regions to assist in filling the gaps in understanding of the problem of human trafficking. It deals with the common issue of how to devise responses to the crime of human trafficking which protect trafficked persons from exploitation whilst at the same time responding to the broader objectives of the Trafficking Protocol. The collection includes articles on Mexico, Vietnam, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, as well as from the Thailand-Burma border. It covers issues relating to trafficked children and persons trafficked for labour and sexual exploitation. It critically examines key requirements for devising a holistic response to human trafficking, which includes protection of trafficked persons. In 2012 the EU launched the EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings 2012-2016 (EU Strategy 2012-2016). It calls for Member States to adopt inter alia: