Human Trafficking

Human Trafficking is the unlawful trade of human beings for various purposes such as reproductive slavery or sex slavery. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime [UNODC] protocol on trafficking, “Trafficking in Persons is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the 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 the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation” (UNODC).

Human Trafficking is a growing phenomenon. It is one of the fastest growing types of transnational crime worldwide. According to the US State department’s 2009 “Trafficking in Persons Report,” at least 12.3 million adults and children fall victim to human traffickers every year (qtd in Haerens 17). Human Trafficking occurs on every continent and has been booming. One reason for the increase in human trafficking is because of globalization. When competing in the global marketplace companies and corporations need cheap labor, and they don’t care where it comes from. This in turn, causes the employment recruiters (the traffickers) to go after their prey (the trafficked).

Human Trafficking can be thought of as a national security implication. One case of involuntary or forced servitude, standing alone, does not constitute a breach in national security. When viewed as a whole, in relation to human trafficking, this is considered as a major breach in National Security and should be treated as a serious crime. According to Rizer and Glaser “the crime of trafficking in persons has recently been added...

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Haerens, Margaret. Human Trafficking. New York: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Print.

“Human Trafficking.” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. UNODC, 2012. Web. 4 April. 2012.

Kloer, Amanda. "Sex Trafficking and HIV/AIDS." Human Rights 37.2 (2010): 8-25. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Mar. 2012.

Ojeda, Auriana. Slavery Today. New York: Greenhaven Press, 2004. Print.

Pati, Roza. "States' Positive Obligations with Respect to Human Trafficking: The European Court of Human Rights Breaks New Ground in Rantsev V. Cyprus and Russia." Boston University International Law Journal 29.1 (2011): 79-142. Academic Search Complete. Web. 23 Mar. 2012.

Rizer, Arthur and Sheri R. Glaser. "Breach: The National Security Implications of Human Trafficking." Widener Law Review 17.1 (2011): 69-94. Academic Search Complete. Web. 21 Mar. 2012.