Thesis (M.A. (Human Rights))--Mahidol University, 2007. / LICL has E-Thesis 0029 ; please contact computer services.

Transnational security threats are among the most pressing and complicated problems facing both governmental and non-governmental actors in today's world. Human trafficking is one example of contemporary transnational security threat that is relatively less studied compared to other transnational security threats. Because transnational security threats such as human trafficking exist above and outside the boundaries of state control, it may be supposed that a greater degree of supranationalism in the policy responses to them would yield better results in combatting these modern-day ills. Anti-trafficking efforts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the European Union are examined to assess the impact of degree of supranationalism present in the respective policy responses to determine if any advantage is gained from aligning supranational policies to transnational problems. This question is not answered conclusively due to a lack of supranationalism present in key areas of EU governance responsible for law enforcement efforts.

The thesis engages with a dynamic discourse on the human rights approach to human trafficking. Building on the traditional doctrine of human rights, the thesis demonstrates that human trafficking is not a human rights violation, save for a state involvement in it, either directly or through a failure to observe its positive obligations imposed by the existent human rights. In situations that do engage human rights law, the thesis defends an argument that conceptually, human trafficking falls within a domain of the right to be free from slavery, servitude and forced labour. This argument is grounded in both a doctrinal and a conceptual analysis. In particular, the thesis conducts a unique conceptual and legal analysis of Article 4 of the European Convention of Human Rights offering an original interpretation of the concept of exploitation in the context of practices associated with trafficking and 'modern slavery'. This type of inquiry is missing in the existent scholarship. The thesis also conducts a detailed analysis of the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights on positive obligations to protect vulnerable individuals arising out of 'absolute' rights. In addition to providing a complete analysis and classification of these positive obligations, the thesis draws attention to the important difference between the scope of the right and the scope of state responsibility in situations of private infringements of 'absolute' rights. Accordingly, the thesis demonstrates that whereas the prohibition contained in these rights is absolute for the state, positive obligations in situations of their infringements by private individuals are of a limited scope. The analysis of the jurisprudence of the Strasbourg Court is supplemented by a comprehensive discussion of the obligations established in the trafficking-specific instruments. The thesis explains how victim protection provisions contained in these instruments may inform human rights obligations, yet, it demonstrates that these do not represent such obligations on their own. This analysis provides a roadmap for practitioners and activists when arguing cases before the Strasbourg Court and domestically. In addition to this practical dimension, the thesis intends to provide an important contribution to the scholarship on human rights law, and on human trafficking specifically.

This 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 diachronic as well as contemporary overview of the punishment and prevention of human trafficking in South Africa as well as in the legal systems of the US, Germany and Nigeria is provided. 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 generally, as well as specific, to the four selected regions. It was found that in South Africa – similar to the history of slavery in the jurisdictions of the US, Germany and Nigeria – colonisation and the institution of slavery and, more particularly in South Africa, the legacy of the apartheid regime has had an impact on modern human 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 needs to adopt specific and comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation that is based essentially on the provisions of the Palermo Protocol, that is, the draft TIP Bill. Although the Bill is a major improvement on the provisions in the Palermo Protocol as well as on certain aspects of the anti-trafficking legislation in the US, Germany and Nigeria, the Bill can still be improved, especially with regard to more effective victim assistance and the combating of local-specific vulnerability factors. Anti-trafficking efforts undertaken in the US, Germany and Nigeria which may be of value also for the adoption of anti-trafficking legislation, law enforcement and other strategies in South Africa, are further identified. iv 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 (including conventions), protocols, declarations and resolutions – those focussing specifically on combating trafficking and those with a human-rights focus – oblige states to prosecute traffickers, protect people vulnerable to trafficking as well as those already trafficked and create structures for prevention. Regional instruments specifically formulated to combat trafficking as well as instruments that make reference to the issue of trafficking in persons may further provide the basis for long-term strategies to combat human trafficking. However, it was found that although South Africa has adopted many cooperative mechanisms in the form of direct bilateral or multilateral agreements, as well as international and regional treaties and conventions, the jurisdiction has not as yet implemented comprehensive strategies to combat human trafficking. The introduction of legislation to combat human trafficking, and various other strategies envisaged in the TIP Bill and also recommendations suggested in this thesis, should be considered by parliament as a matter of priority. A comprehensive response to human trafficking which includes adequate protection of victims is required in terms of various constitutional imperatives identified in this research. / Criminal & Procedural Law / LL.D.

This 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 diachronic as well as contemporary overview of the punishment and prevention of human trafficking in South Africa as well as in the legal systems of the US, Germany and Nigeria is provided. 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 generally, as well as specific, to the four selected regions. It was found that in South Africa – similar to the history of slavery in the jurisdictions of the US, Germany and Nigeria – colonisation and the institution of slavery and, more particularly in South Africa, the legacy of the apartheid regime has had an impact on modern human 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 needs to adopt specific and comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation that is based essentially on the provisions of the Palermo Protocol, that is, the draft TIP Bill. Although the Bill is a major improvement on the provisions in the Palermo Protocol as well as on certain aspects of the anti-trafficking legislation in the US, Germany and Nigeria, the Bill can still be improved, especially with regard to more effective victim assistance and the combating of local-specific vulnerability factors. Anti-trafficking efforts undertaken in the US, Germany and Nigeria which may be of value also for the adoption of anti-trafficking legislation, law enforcement and other strategies in South Africa, are further identified. iv 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 (including conventions), protocols, declarations and resolutions – those focussing specifically on combating trafficking and those with a human-rights focus – oblige states to prosecute traffickers, protect people vulnerable to trafficking as well as those already trafficked and create structures for prevention. Regional instruments specifically formulated to combat trafficking as well as instruments that make reference to the issue of trafficking in persons may further provide the basis for long-term strategies to combat human trafficking. However, it was found that although South Africa has adopted many cooperative mechanisms in the form of direct bilateral or multilateral agreements, as well as international and regional treaties and conventions, the jurisdiction has not as yet implemented comprehensive strategies to combat human trafficking. The introduction of legislation to combat human trafficking, and various other strategies envisaged in the TIP Bill and also recommendations suggested in this thesis, should be considered by parliament as a matter of priority. A comprehensive response to human trafficking which includes adequate protection of victims is required in terms of various constitutional imperatives identified in this research. / Criminal and Procedural Law / LL. D.

Human trafficking is an old practice that has become a matter of global concern irrespective whether a country is a country of origin where people are trafficked from; a country of transit where people are trafficked through and a country of destination where people are trafficked to. In 2009, the UN Office on Crime and Drugs stated that 66% females, 22% of children and 12% of men are trafficked. In Africa, human trafficking is identified as a problem in roughly one in three of the countries. According to the Salvation Army, at least 2,000,000 people are trafficked each year and of the estimated number, Africa accounts for 450,000. Furthermore, statistics reveal that 30% of cases handled by the Southern Africa Counter-Trafficking Assistance Programme (SACTAP) involved SADC nationals. The purpose of this study was therefore to determine whether there is a need for an effective legislative response to human trafficking in SADC. This was established by tracing the evolvement of trafficking from its conceptualization as slavery to its evolvement to human trafficking. Further, by investigating the measures taken within the SADC region to address human trafficking both at the national and regional levels and a comparative study between different regions and between selected SADC countries was conducted. In the summary of key findings, it was found that the definition of human trafficking as laid out in the Palermo Protocol cannot sufficiently and adequately combat human trafficking in SADC countries in its current form due to a number of reasons. Furthermore, at the institutional level it was found that the Protocols adopted by SADC do not afford all victims of trafficking protection and the Plan of Action is non-binding and faces implementation problems. At SADC country levels it was found that although twelve of the fifteen countries adopted anti-trafficking legislation, these countries struggle with compliance and implementation mechanisms, which show, that mere passing of legislation does not automatically translate to compliance. This study therefore concluded by proposing a number of options that can be explored in order to effectively prevent, and combat human trafficking in SADC. Even though this study does not offer a blueprint solution, it contributes towards the development of a model that will better be suited to address human trafficking problems at the SADC level. / Public, Constitutional and International Law / LL. M.

La législation belge est reconnue comme l'une des meilleures en Europe. Elle est pourtant perfectible, surtout dans un souci d'aide aux victimes. Afin de renforcer la lutte contre la traite des êtres humains en Belgique, l'étude de la législation nationale sera éclairée de normes internationales, française, luxembourgeoise et suisse. L'introduction de la thèse, disponible ci-après, donne, entre autres, l'objet de l'étude et son postulat de départ. Nous y renvoyons le lecteur. / Doctorat en Sciences juridiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

The aim of conducting this research was to obtain a critical understanding of how the South African Police Service (SAPS), law enforcement (LE) and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) understand the concept, policing of Trafficking in Persons (TIP). The study indicates different role players in the policing of TIP. The researcher explored the present and possible future cooperation between SAPS and NGOs in the Cape Town area. The development of policing and legal aspects concerning TIP was explored globally. Research indicates the necessity of a professional partnership approach between SAPS, LE and NGOs, in the policing of TIP. The researcher identified factors that inhibit the effectiveness of policing of TIP. These factors include among others the lack of training in the identification of TIP and lack of trust between role players. Recommendations to this effect and the implementation of the policing of TIP are made to all concerned, especially SAPS management. / Police Practice / M. Tech. (Policing)