ABSTRACT
The present research paper aims at touching one of the most sensitized issues in the human society, that is, human trafficking. What is human trafficking? How is it done? Why humans are made victim to such a menace? What are the different forms of human trafficking? What are the causes and the impact of human trafficking on individuals and society? All the questions will be answered in this research paper. In addition to this, we will also talk about the international conventions and protocols such as – Palermo Protocols; UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crimes, 2000; Council of Europe Convention and EU Directives along with the role of UN High Commissioner for Refugees and International Labor Organization. We will also take a brief look at the Indian national legal framework relating to human trafficking like – Indian Penal Code, 1860; Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, 1956; Constitution of India; Information and Technology Act, 2000. After all this, we will go through the Anti – Trafficking Bill, 2018 which is currently in the Parliamentary Standing Committee for re-consideration. We will talk about the loopholes in the bill by closely critiquing it and answer the question, that is, what are the Victim Compensation and Witness Protection Schemes or are there even any, at subsequent stage. Besides, we will take a glance at some of the important and landmark cases and judgments which are adding to the development of human trafficking laws. At last, we will sum up our discussion by giving up some of the suggestions and recommendations that are needed to be taken into consideration in the upcoming Anti – Trafficking Legislations and also to eliminate this despicable evil from the lives of the individuals to make this world a better place for living.
KEYWORDS – Human Trafficking, international legal framework, cases, judgments, Anti – Trafficking Bill 2018, Palermo Protocols.
“People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason why the world is in chaos is because things are being loved and people are being used.”
-Unknown
These two lines are very well depicting the current situation of our human society. The people are not loved but used. They are being sold in the same manner as the commodities are sold. And, this is the reason why the world is in so much chaos. All the humans are born with certain rights. In the general parlance, we call those rights as human rights. Each and every person enjoys these rights by virtue of being human. And, it is the obligation of the people to respect each other’s rights. Here, the question arises is that are we really fulfilling our duty? Do we really respect the rights of other humans? Is this the kind of humanity that we are talking about these days? Why do we call ourselves as humans even? To answer all such questions, it is expedient to have an understanding about one of the organized crimes that leads to the grave violation of human rights, that is, human trafficking.
Before starting with the concept of human trafficking, let us first start quoting some facts and figures relating to the same to have an idea about the terrible situation across the globe. According to International Labor Organisation,
At any given time in 2016, an estimated 40.3 million people are in modern slavery, including 24.9 million in forced labor and 15.4 million in forced marriage.
It means there are 5.4 victims of modern slavery for every 1000 people in the world.
1 in 4 victims of modern slavery are children.
Out of the 24.9 million people trapped in forced labor, 16 million people are exploited in the private sector such as domestic work, construction or agriculture; 4.8 million persons in forced sexual exploitation, and 4 million persons in forced labor imposed by state authorities.
Women and girls are disproportionately affected by forced labor, accounting for 99% of victims in the commercial sex industry, and 58% in other sectors.
These figures are horrible and insane. But this is what it is! And, the dangerous thing is that these figures are increasing tremendously. This is high time that we should have stricter laws and legislations to combat this global issue of human trafficking.
WHAT IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING?
Merriam Webster Dictionary defines the word “human trafficking” as “an organized criminal activity in which human beings are treated as possessions to be controlled and exploited (as by being forced into prostitution or involuntary labor).” This definition gives us a very narrow understanding as it mainly talks about only two aspects of human trafficking – “prostitution” and “forced labor”. There are many more aspects which are related to human trafficking. All these aspects are defined by an international protocol, that is, Palermo Protocols.
Article 3(a) of Palermo Protocols defines, “Trafficking in persons” shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control of another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.”
We can conclude the above definition by answering three major questions:
What is done?
The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbor, or receipt of persons.
How is it done?
It is done by creating threat, use of force, coercion, abduction, deception, inducement of alluring payments.
Why is it done?
It is done for exploitative purposes like sexual activities, slavery, bonded labor, organ removal, forced marriage, child soldiers, and what not.
Human Trafficking refers to the trading of persons or quid pro quo of persons for illegal purposes. It is recognized as an organized crime and also known as modern-day slavery.
FORMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING
There are numerous ways by which people are trafficked and exploited to execute the heinous crime of human trafficking. Let us have a brief discussion about the same.
ORGAN HARVESTING
The trafficking in organs involves removing a part of the body, commonly kidneys and liver, for the purposes of illicit trading. The trading of organs is increasing day-by-day at international levels. In this techno-savvy world, as the technology for transplantation of organs is increasing, the organ trafficking is also rising up. A victim, either forcefully or freely, gives the consent for the organ removal because they are in the need of money, but are then cheated, or are paid less than the promised price.
FORCED MARRIAGE
Forced Marriage is when one person or both the persons are put under pressure to marry someone or to marry each other respectively against their will. The consent in such cases is obtained fraudulently or by undue influence or by coercion. Generally, the objective of forced marriage is either to take individual outside the country or to gain access in a country for some illegal purposes.
SENDING CHILDREN IN WARS
The one of the most vulnerable groups of human trafficking are children because it is easier to manipulate them. They do not have developed sense of danger and they can be easily recruited to the armed conflicts as soldiers. They may be used either for frontline combat by engaging them directly in the acts of violence or within auxiliary roles of informants. This type of practice is most prevalent in parts of Africa and Asia.
LABOUR EXPLOITATION
This refers to the situation where people are coerced to work, either voluntary or involuntary, in hazardous conditions. Due to lack of employment opportunities in their region, they tend to migrate from their inhabitant areas to the place of work. And, they are generally engaged in factories, mines, industries where they are not paid even minimum wages for their work. Moreover, they are not allowed to leave their workplace. This is one of the main reasons why illegal immigration is heading up. Debt Bondage and Child Labor form the parts of forced labor.
DRUG TRAFFICKING
Drug Trafficking refers to the cultivation, manufacturing, distribution and sale of the substances which are restricted by the Drug Prohibition Laws. Children are made soft targets to smuggle illegal drugs from one place to another.
SEX TRAFFICKING
Sex Trafficking is when an individual engages in a commercial sex act as a result of force, fraud or coercion. Sexual exploitation occurs in various settings including brothels for prostitution purposes, pimping, strip clubs, massage parlors, private homes, sex tourism, pornography, mail order brides or bride trafficking and many more. Women and Children are the most common victims of sex trafficking. LGBT identifying individuals, especially transgender, are increasingly found to be victim of sex trafficking.
SLAVERY
The word ‘slavery’ refers to the conditions where people are treated as the property of another person, household, company, corporation or government. This is the status of a person over whom ownership rights are exercised. Slaves are held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase, or birth, and are deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to receive compensation in return for their labor. Forced domestic servitude also forms the part of slavery where people are forced to work for long hours for little pay. They may also suffer physical and sexual abuse.
FORCED CRIMINALITY
This is when somebody is forced to carry out criminal activity through coercion or deception. It includes begging, pick-pocketing, bag snatching, ATM theft, selling of counterfeit goods and all. Mostly, children are exposed to the vulnerability of forced criminality.
These crimes are happening in every corner of the world and can include any person regardless of age, socio-economic background or location. Women, children and transgender are the most vulnerable groups exposed to human trafficking. As a result, each form can look very different. The statistics of these crimes are rising at an alarming level despite of having so many legislations, both at national and international levels, to combat this global issue.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING: CAUSES AND EFFECTS
To effectively understand the concept of human trafficking or modern slavery, we must first understand what causes it and how it affects those involved. The root cause of human trafficking is traffickers. But what attracts traffickers to do such type of crimes? The answer is simple. It is the vulnerability that creates opportunity for traffickers. Now, the major question arises that what are vulnerable conditions and actually who falls prey to such crimes?
The conditions are – poverty; unemployment; displacement due to wars, political instability, and natural disasters; lack of education and knowledge; poor and broken family conditions; social and cultural practices; inadequacy of proper legislations and law enforcement agencies. The vulnerable groups include women, children, and LGBTQ communities, undocumented migrant persons, poverty-stricken and downtrodden. It is easy to manipulate these people and traffickers are trained to identify vulnerability. That’s why; these people become the soft-targets of these heart-core traffickers.
The effects of human trafficking are too harsh to handle for the victims. It has the power to impact someone’s life forever. The consequences are not only limited to the extent of physical trauma but also comprise mental, psychological and sociological harms. The physical trauma includes sexually transmitted diseases, diabetes, cancer, injuries, infections, and other illnesses. A lack of proper medical care allows these conditions to spread and worsen often affecting an individual’s health permanently. It also has a severe impact on the mental health and social life of the victim, including, depression, stress, memory loss, anxiety, fear, guilt, shame, difficulty in relationships, isolation from the society and many more.
Not only victims, but the traffickers are too affected by the outcomes of human trafficking. The traffickers also experience trauma because of what they see and do to others, and many traffickers have been victimized themselves at some point in their lives.
INTERNATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK
There are a number of laws and legislations that are adopted by international forums in order to combat the menace of human trafficking. Let us have a brief look about the major international legislations.
The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), Adopted by General Assembly resolution 55/25 of 15 November 2000, is the main international instrument in the fight against transnational organized crime. The Convention is further supplemented by three Protocols, which target specific areas and manifestations of organized crime. Countries must become parties to the Convention itself before they can become parties to any of the Protocols. The three Protocols are as follows:
The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2003), is the first global legally binding instrument with an agreed definition on trafficking in persons. Article 3(a) talks about the definition of trafficking in persons and Article 3(b) states that ‘consent’ becomes irrelevant when the child is below 18 years of age. Also, Article 5 tells us about the criminalization.
The Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air (2004), deals with the growing problem of organized criminal groups to smuggle migrants, often at high risk to the migrants and at great profit for the offenders.
The Protocol against Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, their Parts and Components and Ammunition (2005), is the first legally binding instrument on small arms and its purpose is to promote, facilitate and strengthen cooperation among State Parties in order to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, which declares in Article 4 that “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.”
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966, in Article 8 states that “(1) No one shall be held in slavery; slavery and the slave trade in all their forms shall be prohibited. (2) No one shall be held in servitude. (3) No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour.”
The Convention to Suppress the Slave Trade and Slavery of 1926, which states in Article 2 that the parties agreed “to prevent and suppress the slave trade and to progressively bring about the complete elimination of slavery in all its forms.”
The Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery of 1956, which states in Article 3(1) that “the act of conveying or attempting to convey slaves from one country to another by whatever means of transport, or of being accessory thereto shall be a criminal offense under the laws of the States Parties to this Convention and persons convicted thereto shall be liable to very severe penalties.”
The Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of Prostitution of Others of 1949. The Preamble to this Convention provided that “Whereas prostitution and the accompanying evil of traffic in persons for the purpose of prostitution are incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person and endanger the welfare of the individual, the family and the community.” Article 17 thereof provides that States parties are required to “undertake, in connection with immigration and emigration, to adopt or maintain such measures ASE are required, in terms of their obligations under the present Convention, to check the traffic in persons of either sex for the purpose of prostitution.”
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women of 1979, which, in Article 6, calls upon States parties to “take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of women.”
The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women of 1993, which defines “violence against women” to include “rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women and forced prostitution.”
The Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1989, which states that States parties must “take all appropriate national, bilateral and multilateral measures to prevent the abduction of, the sale of or traffic in children for any purpose or in any form.”
The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, Child Pornography of 2000.
The Optional Protocol Stipulates, in Article 10, that States parties must “take all necessary steps to strengthen international cooperation by multinational, regional and bilateral agreements for the prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution and punishment of those responsible for acts involving the sale of children, child prostitution, child pornography and child sex tourism.”
The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict of 2000. The Optional Protocol requires States parties to ensure that “persons who have not attained the age of 18 years are not compulsory recruited into their armed forces.”
The ILO Convention No 182 on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour of 1999, which provides in Article 3 “all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery such as the sale and trafficking of children.”
The Convention on the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families of 1990, which in Article 11 provides that “No migrant worker or member of his or her family shall be held in slavery or servitude or required to perform forced or compulsory labor.”
Despite of having numerous legislations at international level, the basic rights rather human rights are at abysmal. This should be the first priority, or we should say, this is the need of the hour to tackle the crisis of human trafficking.