Trafficking in the context of hotspots: background and scope

• Author: Amandine Scherrer
• Pages: 1-15

Detecting and protectin g victims of trafficking in hotspots

1

1. Trafficking in the context of hotspots: background and

scope

Trafficking in human beings is defined at global level as:

'the recruitment, transpo rtation, transfer, harbouring o r receipt of persons, by means of the threat or

use of force or other forms of coe rcion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or

of a position of vulnerab ility or of the givin g or receiving of payme nts or benefits to ach ieve the

consent of a person having co ntrol over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitat ion

shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or othe r forms of sexual

exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal

of organs'.1

According to the UN, trafficking in human beings occurs in every country in the world and,

notwithstanding significant variations across countries and regions, trafficking for the purpose of

sexual exploitation is the m ost commonly detected form of exploitation, followed by forced labour.

Other forms of trafficking include forced marriage (more commonly detected in south-east Asia),

trafficking of children for illegal adoption (recorded in Central and South America), trafficking for

forced criminality (mainly reported in western and southern Europe), trafficking for organ removal

(primarily detected in north Africa, central and south-eastern Europe, and eastern Europe), and

trafficking for exploitation in begging or for the production of pornographic material (reported in

various parts of the world).2

Some common factors conducive to human trafficking are difficult local conditions, such as poverty,

lack of social or economic opportunity, and dangers arising from conflict or instability, all of which

push populations to seek safety and security elsewhere. According to the December 2018 Global

report on trafficking in persons by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crim e (UNODC),3 conflict

and accompanying conditions, such as weak rule of law, lack of access to basic needs, exploitation

by armed groups, etc., is particularly instrumental in increasing people's vulnerability to trafficking.

The report also notes that most victims of trafficking are detected in their countries of citizenship.

Nevertheless, trafficking of human beings can also have strong cross-border dimensions, and

wealthy countries are more likely to be destinations for victims that are detected.

1.1. EU framework

At EU level, trafficking in human beings is recognised as a violation of fundamental rights and is

explicitly prohibited by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in its Article 5.4

The main instrument at EU level for tackling trafficking in human beings is Directive 2011/36/EU5

(hereafter referred to as the Anti-trafficking Directive), adopted in 2011. The directive was intended

to extend the scope of Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA6 and of the two key international legal

1 Article 3 of the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons.

2 UN 2018 global report on trafficking in persons. As underlined in the report, the detection of forms of trafficking may

partly reflect the ways in which countries have chosen to criminalise different forms of exploitation.

3 Ibid.

4 Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

5 Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims.

6 Council Framework Decision of 19 July 2002 on combating trafficking in human beings.