Evaluate the effectiveness of the international and domestic legal and non-legal responses in the promotion and enforcement of human trafficking and slavery.
The human rights issue, human trafficking and slavery, has been dealt with considerably through domestic and international, legal and non-legal responses. It is to a limited extent that the legal and non-legal measures involved in the promotion and enforcement of modern day slavery have been effective. This is because, human trafficking is a multiplex crime which involves serious human rights violations. It is the employment, transpiration, harbouring or obtaining of persons with the threat or use of coercion, abduction or deception for the purpose of some form of slavery. There are various types of slavery; for example, sexual exploitation, forced marriage and child soldiers. Human trafficking does not discriminate as it can occur to anyone of any age, gender or occupation. However, according to a report by UNODC on human trafficking, 79% of human trafficking is made up of sexual exploitation and the victims are predominantly women and girls. As estimated by the International Labour organisation, 21 million victims are trapped in modern-day slavery, however, as reported on Antislavery.org “Official: forced marriage is slavery” (19/11/17), it is estimated that 40 million people are in slavery after forced marriage was recognised as a form of slavery. This raises global concern in regards to whether the law is effectively protecting and enforcing the individual human rights. Thus the responses in the promotion and enforcement of modern day slavery have been somewhat effective due to the concept of state sovereignty and the lack of power needed to enforce appropriate laws.
In the international community, human trafficking and slavery is a serious crime against humanity. The international legal responses to human trafficking began early in the 20th century when many treaties such as the Slavery Convention (1926) were formed in an attempt to effectively abolish slavery worldwide. However, due to the proliferating rate of human trafficking and slavery, the United Nations adopted the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children 2000. This was a treaty aimed at addressing transnational crimes and was the first legally binding instrument which provided a definition of human trafficking and slavery. It also focused on preventing human trafficking, protecting the victims, prosecuting the human rights violators as well as promoting cooperation between the states. This protocol was ratified by many states and in Australia was incorporated into the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth). Nevertheless, many other countries do not have the political will or power to ratify into domestic law. Thus, this protocol is effective as it has raised global awareness about the issue as well as increased state conformity in enforcing stricter laws. However, there is still space for improvement which will require cooperation from all the states in order to effectively meet society's needs in the promotion, protection and enforcement of individual rights in the international community.
The United Nations is an agency which has substantial influence over international affairs. The UN can promote and enforce human rights as long as the member states comply and cooperate. It is made up of two parts; the General Assembly and the Security Council. The General Assembly is the main forum for all international discussions for issues in relation to Human Rights. The UN Security Council is the most powerful arm of the UN as it is responsible for maintaining world peace and security and can exercise power through legally binding resolutions. The International Criminal Court was established in 2002 under the Rome Statute to prosecute international crime. This court wasn't created for human rights violations specifically, however, it does hear matters in relation to the most serious international crimes which involve a breach of human rights. As reported in an interview by the Human Rights Watch “Congo Warlord Gets 30 Years” (7/11/19), Bosco Ntaganda was sentenced by the ICC to 30 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity; the assassination and slavery of women and children with impunity. Thus, the sentencing by the ICC effectively shows the achievement of justice in the protection of individual rights as well as meeting society's needs. The United Nations Global Initiatives To Fight Human Trafficking promotes awareness in regards to human trafficking and slavery by bringing together UN agencies and Intergovernmental organisations in order to combat this issue worldwide. This is done by reducing the vulnerability of potential victims and ensuring the adequate protection of the victims and the prosecution of the violators as well as ensuring the public is aware of the issue. For example, as shown on the UN.GIFT website “Bystanders Vital in Combatting Human Trafficking”, they are trying to ensure ‘Society as a whole is educated on the signs to look for in people who are trafficked or enslaved, and speak out when something seems amiss’ in an attempt to protect victims. This organisation has developed effective procedures to promote and enforce the laws whilst respecting the fundamental human rights of all persons involved.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is the administrative agency in the UN which works to promote and protect human rights by advancing the universal implementation of the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights. According to an article published by the OHCHR “Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of Slavery, including its causes and consequences” (2014), slavery has not been eradicated worldwide thus the promotion and protection of individual rights is crucial. Similarly, the UN Human Rights Council is an IGO which makes recommendations regarding Human rights. This council allows individuals to bring issues to attention as well as periodically reviews the standards of human rights in different states. As reported by UN news “Speaking truth to power: the UN experts fighting for global human rights” (8/11/19), Ms. Bhoola, a human rights lawyer and Special Rapporteur, works globally to advance human rights and end human trafficking and slavery. She is “focused on the specific impact of slavery on women and children”. She engages with ‘governments and organisations, survivors and victims, in several countries, and makes recommendations on improvements’. Thus, despite their inability to enforce, intergovernmental agencies effectively achieve justice as they protect individual rights by increasing the accessibility to the service.
Non-government organisations collaborate with IGO’s, the media and governments to investigate, research and document data to ensure compliance. They also inform the global community by publishing cases to raise awareness or expose human rights violations in order to encourage governments to apply relevant policies. The media, however, has a significant influence on the public. In an article published by the Human Rights Watch “You Pray for Death”(27/8/19), the Human Rights Watch recommended to the governments of Nigeria to “Raise public awareness about safe and legal migration options, and ensure that migration management initiatives respect human rights” as well as “Improve national law protections for domestic workers, and ratify the International Labour Organization (ILO) Domestic Workers Convention, (2011)”. These non-legal mechanisms have demonstrated a profound and crucial impact on responding to human trafficking; to meet society’s needs in an efficient manner. However, media platforms such as the internet or television are restricted or unavailable in some states thus the media is only somewhat effective as it is not always accessible.
Slavery is a crime punishable by state in Australia under the Criminal Code (slavery and sexual servitude) Amendment Act 1999 (cth), the first explicit legislation regarding modern slavery. Similarly, Australia is bound by International human rights treaties and instruments such as the UDHR, ICCPR and the Trafficking in Persons Protocol. Human Trafficking and Slavery incure heavy penalties under domestic law; for example, after the introduction of the Trafficking in Persons Protocol, the criminal code was amended to include the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Slavery, Slavery-like Conditions and People Trafficking) Act 2013 which adds to the current laws against human trafficking by introducing new offences such as forced marriage, and the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Law Enforcement Integrity, Vulnerable Witness Protection And Other Measure) Act 2013, which provides protection for vulnerable witnesses that provide evidence and victims of human trafficking.
The Australian Human Rights Commission is an effective IGO which investigates human rights breaches, promotes and conducts inquiries into human rights issues. Consequently, providing recommendations. The High Court of Australia is the most important protector of human rights as it has the jurisdiction to declare whether legislation is invalid. In 2009, the High Court placed a criminal conviction on slavery offences on the case of R v Tang (2009) , under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) (s 270.3(1)(a)). Wei tang was found guilty of purchasing five women from Thailand to work in a licensed brothel in Melbourne and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. Australia’s human trafficking laws were examined and the article reported that the High courts decision in the Wei Tang case was significant as it brought the “definition of ‘slavery’ in Australian law broadly into line with the definition of ‘slavery’ under international law”. Recently, a case which breached the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) was the DPP v McIntosh (2016) where a man pleaded guilty to charges involving child trafficking, pornography, incest and indecent acts.McIntosh was sentenced to 22 years imprisonment due to the graveness of the crimes and the need to protect the community. This demonstrates the responsiveness of the legal system and courts in enforcing and consequently combating human trafficking and slavery in order to effectively achieve justice for individuals and the community.
Australia has undertaken many non-legal measures to ensure the safety of victims, the promotion and enforcement of the law. NGOs play a significant role in advocating, promoting and collaborating with governments and the media to ensure that human rights are up to standard. They also investigate and report regularly on issues in which the media often publishes with the aim of informing the public. Alongside the media, NGOs are responsible for ‘naming and shaming’ human rights violators in order to shape the public's opinion and pressure the governments to apply appropriate reforms to effectively address the issue. A successful non-legal response is a 2006 SBS documentary “Trafficked” which was viewed by 500,000 people. This effectively documented the issue of slavery in Australia thus raised awareness. Another project aimed at eradicating human trafficking and slavery was the University of Technology Sydney’s Anti-Slavery Project which began in 2004 and is still dedicated to cooperating with governments in order to eliminate slavery in all it's forms. Thus, Australia’s non-legal responses have effectively promoted the issue of human trafficking despite their impotence to enforce any of these rights.
In conclusion, the international and domestic legal measures taken have been effective to a limited extent in the enforcement of the issue of human trafficking and slavery. However, they have been effective in the promotion of human trafficking and slavery. Similarly, the non-legal responses by the media and non-government organisations, despite being unable to enforce anything, have been effective in the promotion of the issue.
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Topic: Legal human rights assessment!!! (Read 2005 times)