Lost in implementation? Human rights rhetoric and violations — a critical review of current European anti-trafficking policies

2010 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bärbel Heide Uhl
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Trafficking In Human Beings

AbstractHuman rights rhetoric is a predominant approach in European anti-trafficking policies. Human rights activists, however, criticize measures designed to combat trafficking in human beings as being inherent harmful and a violation of human rights. The article examines the historical foundations and rationale of the anti-trafficking framework and focuses on two central concepts that pose a challenge to the overall understanding of trafficking due to the lack of international legal definitions, namely the concept of 'exploitation' and 'trafficked person'. The author argues that a clarification of these concepts should be worked upon and consequently the culture and politics of the external identification of trafficked persons should be transformed into securing the agency of (migrant) workers.

Trafficking and Slavery

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tenia Kyriazi
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Regulatory Framework ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
European Court ◽  
Relevant Case ◽  
Trafficking In Human Beings

Although the legal notion of slavery has been defined in article 1 of the 1926 Slavery Convention, it is currently being widely used to encompass various practices of abuse, oppression and exploitation. Trafficking in human beings is one such practice, extensively being referred to as a contemporary form of slavery. This article attempts to establish the legal criteria on the basis of which trafficking in human beings can constitute slavery and to define states’ obligations deriving from it, in the light of the recent relevant case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, and to highlight its impact to the current European anti-trafficking regulatory framework.

scholarly journals Human Trafficking in Thailand in Perspective of Human Rights Law

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 505-514
Author(s):  
Natalia Sihotang ◽  
Channarong Wiriya
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Human Trafficking ◽  
Country Of Origin ◽  
Transnational Crime ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Transit Country ◽  
Trafficking In Human Beings ◽  
International Human ◽  
The Government

Trafficking in human beings is increasingly due to the greatest gain of the perpetrators. Human trafficking is a global humanitarian problem. With the involvement of many countries, both as a country of origin, destination and transit country, making this problem more complex. The complexity of the problems is increasing as the neighbors and organized transnational crime networks are organized. Thailand is one of the transit countries, sources, and destinations for international human trafficking. These conditions led to the Government of Thailand began to realize the urgency of the dangers of human trafficking. This problem is increasingly complex because human trafficking is related to child and female prostitution.

scholarly journals Human Trafficking – Between Punishable Human Rights Violations and Decriminalization

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 272-292
Author(s):  
Anja Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Human Trafficking ◽  
Organized Crime ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Illegal Migration ◽  
Trafficking In Human Beings ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Human Rights Based Approach ◽  
Opposite Tendency

The necessity of combating human trafficking is often justified by the violation of human rights of the victims of human trafficking. Criticism has, however, repeatedly been voiced that the victim-centred, human rights-based approach has not been consistently applied - because, in reality, state interests in effectively combating (organized) crime and securing borders against illegal migration take precedence. An opposite tendency criticizes the criminalization of human traffic on the grounds that human rights are not violated in every case within the definition of human trafficking, and criminalization is inappropriate in such cases. Furthermore, various parties point out that there is little empirical data on trafficking in human beings, and the available data is unreliable. This contribution aims to provide an overview of these issues and argue in favour of a nuanced examination of phenomena covered by the legal definition of human trafficking.

Equality Rights and Non-Citizens in Europe and America: The Promise, the Practice and Some Remaining Issues

1996 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-275
Author(s):  
Tom Clark ◽  
Jan Niessen
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
The North ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
International Human

The article discusses the fundamental role played by the notion of equality and shows that a general promise of equality is a hallmark of the UN system to which non-citizens’ may lay claim. Recent international juridical practice shows a progressive move towards equality between citizens and non-citizens in civil and social rights. An international human rights doctrine and norms have been established for distinguishing between differentiation which is legitimate and discrimination. The article examines the effect of the international test and doctrine of equality for some of the key rights at issue in practice for several categories of non-citizens. The article reflects on the interpretative power of the texts of regional human rights treaties on State obligations under a ratified human rights treaty. When States enter into treaties involving human beings for whatever purpose, for example the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or the Treaty on European Union (EU), they do not do so in a legal vacuum. Human beings attract human rights from treaties at the international and regional level. Many States have entered one or more of these human rights treaties so that any other additional treaty must be consonant with the existing human rights treaty obligations. One of the human rights treaty promises is that of human rights in equality. The article argues that when States jointly grant rights or benefits under a further treaty, the further treaty must ensure that the rights jointly granted must be granted in equality. The article concludes that to ensure the promise of non-discrimination for non-citizens requires further initiatives and suggests efforts to ensure treaties impacting non-citizens are ratified (especially those relating to economic and social rights and migrant workers), a review of existing treaties involving non-citizens, a more careful application of non-discrimination provisions by human rights treaty bodies and further efforts to establish the equality doctrine and norms in international human rights law by seeking to use the doctrine in complaints and reporting mechanisms.

scholarly journals Prohibition of trafficking in human beings under the auspices of human rights

2021 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-26
Author(s):  
Tijana Šurlan
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Human Trafficking ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
International Treaties ◽  
Theoretical Formulation ◽  
European Court ◽  
Trafficking In Human Beings ◽  
The Republic

The following work is dedicated to the consideration of the prohibition of human trafficking from the aspect of human rights. The initial thesis is that human trafficking cannot be reduced only to the criminal law aspect, but that by standardizing this prohibition within the constitutions and international treaties in the field of human rights, this institute is positioned hierarchically at the highest level of the legal order. In the first part of the paper, the legal framework is examined, primarily international law and then constitutional law. The second part analyzes the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Serbia. The analysis of courts` decisions was used as a basis for the theoretical formulation of the most important aspects of the prohibition of trafficking in human beings as a category of human rights. Special emphasis was placed on the consideration of the positive obligations of the states undertaken by the ratification of international treaties in the field of human rights and the matter of the fight against human trafficking.

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