The UN Trafficking Protocol of the Transnational Convention on Organized Crime (known colloquially as the “Palermo Protocol”) defines trafficking as:

• "The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons" (the movement).
  
• "By means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person" (the means).


• "For the purpose of exploitation" (the purpose).

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• Forced begging and soliciting;


• Forced and exploited labour (work in mines, on construction sites, in markets, in small shops, in factories);


• Forced prostitution;


• Forced or exploitative domestic service;


• Forced work on plantations; and


• Forced work in fisheries.

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• Children are often more vulnerable to trafficking than adults;


• While adult trafficking (and trafficking of young people in the 15-17 age group) often starts with voluntary migration, younger children do not usually migrate on their own.


• While informed adults can give their consent to a situation considered "exploitative", this is impossible in the case of children. The recruitment and transportation of a child for the purpose of exploitation shall always be considered “trafficking in persons”.

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Question 5. What is the magnitude of the problem?

Several factors make it extremely difficult to provide reliable figures:

• The clandestine nature of trafficking;


• Ongoing disagreement regarding the legal classification (based on national laws, many of which are not in line with the Palermo Protocol) and subsequently, identification of trafficked victims; and


• Lack of coordinated reporting

Estimates of the number of victims trafficked worldwide on an annual basis range from 700,000 to two million (and in one occasion even four million), but with little clear basis in any case. Extrapolations of local surveys in the Mekong sub-region estimate a range of a few thousands a year to 200,000 – again supported by limited concrete data.

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Question 6. Is the problem getting bigger?

Lack of reliable figures also make it difficult to answer this question. Many people believe that trafficking has grown significantly over the last few years, but this may reflect the increased attention given to trafficking, rather than a increase in the phenomenon itself. Others focus on improvements in global communication and transportation networks and come to the conclusion that these will naturally lead to greater levels of human trafficking.

There are, in fact, clear indications from the field that there has been a decrease in trafficking in some areas. This is the case for example for domestic trafficking of Thai children. In other areas the problem seems to be growing – as in the case of Lao, Cambodia and Myanmar nationals trafficked into workplaces in Thailand.. At this time, it is clear that many of the assertions that the problem is growing in the Mekong sub-region are based, at least in part, on anecdotes or analysis of particular situations and then extrapolation of that analysis to larger contexts in ways that may not be factually sound.

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Question 7. What are the root causes of trafficking?

While virtually no country is totally sheltered from trafficking (either as a receiving or a sending party), trafficking seems to be thriving when four conditions are met. Trafficking occurs when, in a flawed system unable to prevent it from happening, there is demand for trafficked victims, opportunities for traffickers, and a vulnerable pool of potential victims.

A flawed system is a system in which adequate laws to prevent trafficking and protect victims are not in place or not enforced; where corrupt authorities (including law enforcement agencies) allow trafficking to happen and may even benefit from it. It is also a system where migration policies are not consistent with labour market realities, that is where the opening of borders and the improvement of infrastructure and transportation have not led to a concomitant relaxation of restrictions on movement and migration for labour – thus exacerbating labour market imbalances and increasing the extent of irregular migration.

Demand for trafficking can be defined by:

• Demand for low status, low paid workers;


• Demand for commercial sexual exploitation, particularly of children;


• Demand for labour in sectors in which nationals of the country are no willing to work for a variety of reasons, such as dangerous conditions of work

• Poverty and economic disparities between countries and regions encourage migration in search of survival or better opportunities;


• Limited job prospects for adults force them to leave, and unemployment of primary caregivers forces children to earn money;


• Abusive family environments (sometimes influenced by alcohol and drug addiction) encourage children to leave home, thus putting them at risk of being trafficked;


• Lack of education and lack of access to information regarding the realities of migration do not allow people to make informed choices;


• Lack of birth registration, legal status, and citizenship, which affects many people in the region, particularly ethnic minorities, affects the rights to own land, access to education, health and legal services, and the ability to move legally and to obtain legal employment;


• Armed conflict or war situations push refugees on the roads in situations of extreme vulnerability;


• Consumerism and the hunger for consumer goods, fuelled by television, create a desire or need for more money;

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• Forcibly removed from their home area;


• Raped, abused physically and emotionally;


• Treated cruelly;


• Exposed to severe health risks;


• Threatened and terrorised;


• Deprived of their right to education;


• Discriminated against;


• Exploited economically;


• Exposed to hazardous work and materials;


• Forced to work long hours with no rest or recreation;


• Receive low or no wages.