State-Sponsored Human Trafficking in Belarus: The Weaponization of Migration and Exploitation

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article focuses on an issue that hitherto has received relatively little academic attention: state-sponsored or state-facilitated human trafficking. Some cases of this practice, such as governments forcing their citizens to pick cotton, are clear cut; some are more contested. This article uses the case study of Belarus to consider whether weaponizing migrants for political gains can amount to the crime of human trafficking. The issue came to the forefront in late 2021, when, with the helping hand of President Lukashenko, thousands of people from the Middle East gathered at Belarus’ border with Poland hoping to enter the EU and, presumably, to claim asylum. The migrants became trapped at the EU external border in forests with no food, water, or shelter. In doing so, the article also considers the meaning of exploitation in the context of human trafficking, as well as the scope of human trafficking under Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Findings of this article have an impact on policy making in particular foreign policy. By shedding further light on what state facilitated human trafficking looks like, the authors provide clarity on the law and, hopefully, provide a forewarning to other states on what they should not be doing.