Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery

Human trafficking is the recruitment, transport or holding of people by force, fraud or coercion for exploitation, including forced labour and sexual exploitation. It differs from smuggling, which is helping someone cross a border irregularly, usually with their consent; a smuggled person can, however, become a trafficking victim. The main international instrument is the Palermo Protocol of 2000, attached to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, which created the first agreed definition.

A key principle is that a child cannot consent to exploitation, so trafficking of children does not require force or fraud. Estimates are uncertain because victims are hidden, but a 2022 report by the International Labour Organization, Walk Free and the International Organization for Migration estimated about 50 million people in modern slavery, including forced labour and forced marriage. Debates focus on whether policies protect victims or treat them mainly as illegal migrants, and on addressing root causes like poverty and debt.