Meeting the minimum standards of the Palermo Protocol: The case of South Africa

Magister Legum - LLMThis research is aimed at evaluating the adequacy and effectiveness of the legal framework dealing with human trafficking in South Africa. To achieve this purpose, a comprehensive overview of the punishment, prevention of human trafficking in South Africa was looked into as well as victim protection. An overview of the history of slavery and an analysis of the modern conceptualisation of human trafficking indicate that human trafficking is a highly complex concept, and that there are various approaches to the understanding of the concept of human trafficking. There are various definitions of trafficking found in international instruments of which the most important has been identified as that contained in the Palermo Protocol. The definitions vary also because trafficking is closely related to the phenomena of migration, slavery and smuggling of humans. The study further identifies some significant root causes of trafficking The research concedes that although common-law crimes, statutes and transitional legislation can be utilized to challenge some trafficking elements, these offences are not comprehensive enough to amply deal with the crime’s complexities and provide only a fragmented approach to combating the crime. The study shows that South Africa has adopted specific legislation, namely the Trafficking Act. The research further establishes also that international, regional and sub-regional instruments on trafficking and related aspects of trafficking provide guidelines for developing effective strategies to deal with trafficking within the region. The counter-trafficking strategies as found in treaties, protocols, declarations and resolutions, which focus specifically on combating trafficking and those with a human-rights focus, obliges States to prosecute traffickers, protect those who are vulnerable to trafficking as well as those already trafficked and establish measures for prevention. This research further highlighted the importance of preventing human trafficking which starts with government but non- governmental organisations play a vital role in this element as well

Trafficking in Persons: U.S. Policy and Issues for Congress

[Excerpt] This report focuses on international and domestic human trafficking and U.S. policy responses, with particular emphasis on the TVPA and its subsequent reauthorizations. The report begins with a description of key TIP-related definitions and an overview of the human trafficking problem. It follows with an overview of major foreign policy responses to international human trafficking. The report then focuses on responses to trafficking into and within the United States, examining relief for trafficking victims in the United States and discussing U.S. law enforcement efforts to combat domestic trafficking. The report concludes with an overview of current anti-trafficking legislation and an analysis of policy issues

Trafficking in Persons: International Dimensions and Foreign Policy Issues for Congress

[Excerpt] Trafficking in persons, or human trafficking, refers to the subjection of men, women, and children to exploitative conditions that can be tantamount to slavery. Reports suggest that human trafficking is a global phenomenon, victimizing millions of people each year and contributing to a multi-billion dollar criminal industry. It is a centuries-old problem that, despite international and U.S. efforts to eliminate it, continues to occur in virtually every country in the world. Human trafficking is also an international and cross-cutting policy problem that bears on a range of major national security, human rights, criminal justice, social, economic, migration, gender, public health, and labor issues. Although there is widespread support among policy makers for the continuation of U.S. anti-trafficking goals, ongoing reports of such trafficking worldwide raise questions regarding whether sufficient progress has been made to deter and ultimately eliminate the problem, the end goal of current U.S. anti-trafficking policies. This report explores current foreign policy issues confronting U.S. efforts to combat human trafficking, the interrelationship among existing polices, and the historical and current role of Congress in such efforts

Sex Trafficking and the Attribution of Blame: A Comparison between Vietnamese and American Perception of Sex-trafficked Individuals

Sex trafficking is one of the most persistent issues in Asian countries and specifically in Vietnam. Hundreds of Vietnamese are trafficked daily across the world, but mainly in Taiwan, Malaysia, South Korea, Laos, China, and Thailand. Sexually trafficked individuals are reported to have symptoms of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidal tendencies, and physical violence. Despite the increasing number of victims, there is a lack of empirical research on issues relating to the impact of human trafficking on Vietnamese people and especially the public attitude about the problem. The current study examined the public’s general knowledge of trafficking myths, their willingness to believe in the trafficking situation, and their tendency to place blame on the victim, in relation to the sex of the participants and the sex of the victims. Vietnamese citizens across the country (N= 922) responded to a vignette portraying a sex trafficking situation and completed the Human Trafficking Myth survey. Results indicated that the sex of the participants and the sex of the victims significantly correlated with the participants’ perception of the human trafficking myths, trafficking story and victim’s responsibility. Acknowledging the paucity of cross-culture empirical research, the current study also compared the Vietnamese sample with the American sample that completed similar scales. The results of study 1 and 2 have the potential to serve the needs of anti-trafficking campaigns in Vietnam and support the collaboration of different countries in their effort of combating human trafficking

Pathologies of Security Governance: Efforts Against Human Trafficking in Europe

The trafficking of women and girls for the purpose of sexual exploitation has reportedly been booming in Europe since the 1990s. Governments, international organizations, and private actors have addressed the causes and consequences of sex trafficking in various ways. This article shows that the concept of security governance helps to understand efforts against human trafficking and their shortcomings. The anti-trafficking security governance system consists of five approaches: legal measures, prosecution, protection, prevention in countries of origin, and prevention in countries of destination. Although progress has been made, the security governance system is marked by several pathologies, especially a lack of programs that prevent trafficking in countries of origin and destination, insufficient protection for trafficked persons, and deficient networks bringing together the various actors involved in anti-trafficking. To make governance against human trafficking more effective, efficient, and just, the security governance system must be better balanced and networked

A Non-Parametric Learning Approach to Identify Online Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is among the most challenging law enforcement problems which demands persistent fight against from all over the globe. In this study, we leverage readily available data from the website "Backpage"-- used for classified advertisement-- to discern potential patterns of human trafficking activities which manifest online and identify most likely trafficking related advertisements. Due to the lack of ground truth, we rely on two human analysts --one human trafficking victim survivor and one from law enforcement, for hand-labeling the small portion of the crawled data. We then present a semi-supervised learning approach that is trained on the available labeled and unlabeled data and evaluated on unseen data with further verification of experts.Comment: Accepted in IEEE Intelligence and Security Informatics 2016 Conference (ISI 2016

The Facts About Human Trafficking for Forced Labor

Defines human trafficking, details the various forms of forced labor, and explains the United States’ efforts to limit it worldwide, with special reference to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 and 2003. This law provides tools for the U.S. to combat trafficking in persons, both domestically and abroad. One of the key components of the law is the creation of the Trafficking in Persons Report

The Rise of Mobile and the Diffusion of Technology-Facilitated Trafficking

In this report, researchers at the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy (CCLP) reveal how those involved in human trafficking have been quick to adapt to the 21st-century global landscape. While the rapid diffusion of digital technologies such as mobile phones, social networking sites, and the Internet has provided significant benefits to society, new channels and opportunities for exploitation have also emerged. Increasingly, the business of human trafficking is taking place online and over mobile phones. But the same technologies that are being used for trafficking can become a powerful tool to combat trafficking. The precise role that digital technologies play in human trafficking still remains unclear, however, and a closer examination of the phenomenon is vital to identify and respond to new threats and opportunities.This investigation indicates that mobile devices and networks have risen in prominence and are now of central importance to the sex trafficking of minors in the United States. While online platforms such as online classifieds and social networking sites remain a potential venue for exploitation, this research suggests that technology facilitated trafficking is more diffuse and adaptive than initially thought. This report presents a review of current literature, trends, and policies; primary research based on mobile phone data collected from online classified sites; a series of firsthand interviews with law enforcement; and key recommendations to policymakers and stakeholders moving forward

Human Trafficking in Europe: An Economic Perspective

Based on a document originally prepared for the Eleventh Economic Forum of the Organization for Economic Security and Cooperation in Europe, held in Prague between 20-23 May 2003. Attempts to comprehend and document human trafficking’s underlying economic dimensions, and places the concerns of trafficking within broader migration analysis (including the role of irregular migration). It also comments on the financial flows involved in trafficking, and on the different patterns of financing trafficking services. Further, it contains a brief review of the evidence, as to the extent to which organized crime is involved in human trafficking

Roadblocks to Effective Representation of Uncharged Indefinitely Imprisoned Clients at Guantanamo Bay Military Base

In Part I, this Note will discuss the current epidemic of human trafficking, the various ways the United Nations and the United States have attempted to combat trafficking, and highlight the importance of U.S. prosecutorial duties of witness protection that are especially implicated in human trafficking cases. Part II will present criticisms of efforts by the United Nations and the United States to protect victims of trafficking and their family members. This part will also focus on current U.S. protections afforded to families of human trafficking survivors and programs such as the Witness Security Program, from which U.S. lawmakers may model family protections. In Part III, this Note will argue that, despite an increase in cost, it is crucial that future legislative efforts expand current protection programs to better, and more quickly, protect families of victims. Offering family members in imminent harm derivative continued presence, currently only available to survivors of trafficking, is essential to the goals of U.S. trafficking legislation. Expanding protections for family members would accomplish three goals: (1) allow the survivor to feel secure in coming forward, knowing that her family members will not be harmed; (2) encourage survivors to come forward and cooperate with law enforcement officials, which could lead to further prosecutions of human traffickers and increase the protections offered to survivors of human trafficking; and (3) permit prosecutors to adhere to their duties of witness protection, which extend to family members who are in imminent danger due to the witnesses\u27 cooperation. This Article discusses the many barriers to effective representation and the lawyering realities on the ground at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. There are certainly many, but let me recount a recent experience