Trafficking in persons (“TIP”) is a worldwide criminal offense that impedes upon the fundamental human rights of an alarming number of individuals. The International Labor Organization (“ILO”) indicates that there are 12.3 million people in forced labor, bonded labor, forced child labor, and sexual servitude at any given time. Other estimates indicate that anywhere from four to 27 million have fallen preys to such acts. TIP often works in concert with other crimes like money laundering and forces individuals into severely debilitating situations.

While prosecuting TIP is becoming a priority in certain regions of the globe, measures to protect TIP victims are not given as much attention. The key to a successful prosecution should be to primarily protect individuals who are forced into severely debilitating situations where they are exploited for their labor, sexual services, and even their organs. The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (“Trafficking Protocol”), which supplements the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (“Transnational Organized Crime Convention”), imposes a legal obligation upon ratifying states to assist and protect victims of trafficking in addition to prosecuting traffickers and to preventing the overall phenomenon. “Assistance” entails providing victims with information pertaining to their situation, housing, legal representation, medical, psychological and material support, as well as opportunities for employment and education. “Protection” entails concealing the identity of victims during legal proceedings and providing for their physical safety (i.e., shielding victims from possible retaliation by traffickers and the likelihood of being re-trafficked). When discovered on territory other than their country of origin, the Trafficking Protocol encourages governments to grant victims a temporary or permanent legal status.

While governments legally bind themselves to the Trafficking Protocol and the Transnational Organized Crime Convention, practice has shown that implementation of victim protection measures at the national level can be less than adequate. All too often, government authorities focus on building a criminal case against traffickers while ignoring the importance of making victim protection a priority.

During the panel, speakers expanded on the international standards that emphasize the importance of TIP victim assistance and protection as well as discussed process related challenges that prevent countries from fulfilling such international obligations. Panelists suggested ways in which such challenges could be overcome. One common recommendation, supported by all of the speakers, was the need for law enforcement to identify and define individuals as victims of trafficking at the beginning stages of an investigation and not subject them to criminal charges related to the trafficking.

Program Chairs:

Isabella Bunn, Oxford University Regent’s Park College, United Kingdom
Don S. DeAmicis, Ropes & Gray LLP, Boston, MA

Introduction & Moderator:

Don S. DeAmicis, Ropes & Gray LLP, Boston, MA

Speakers:

Cameron Holland, Attorney-Adviser, U.S. Department of State, Office of Law Enforcement and Intelligence, Washington, DC
Jonathan Todres, Associate Professor, Georgia State University College of Law, Atlanta, GA
Ana Isabel Vallejo, Supervising Attorney, Lucha: A Women’s Legal Project, Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, Miami, FL

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