Response Paper

Wonsehlea Teah

Enter the Name of Instructor

Political Science

October 13, 2019.

Response Paper

Introduction

Human trafficking is an issue of concern for states all around the world. Governments in different countries had been adopting legal measures to curb human trafficking in all its manifestations. The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2013 ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"vPoaBniN","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Congress)","plainCitation":"(Congress)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":656,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/3BMPKXCI"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/3BMPKXCI"],"itemData":{"id":656,"type":"paper-conference","title":"Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005","container-title":"109th Congress. 1st Session","volume":"4","author":[{"family":"Congress","given":"U. S."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2005"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Congress), Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"KmUBFFkO","properties":{"formattedCitation":"({\\i{}Summary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) and Reauthorizations FY 2017 - ATEST})","plainCitation":"(Summary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) and Reauthorizations FY 2017 - ATEST)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":657,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/XB4VU52Z"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/XB4VU52Z"],"itemData":{"id":657,"type":"webpage","title":"Summary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) and Reauthorizations FY 2017 - ATEST","URL":"https://endslaveryandtrafficking.org/summary-trafficking-victims-protection-act-tvpa-reauthorizations-fy-2017-2/","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",10,13]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), and Reauthorizations FY 2017 - ATEST) and the EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings are examples of such state-sponsored measure. The spirit of these laws aims at limiting human trafficking and creating a defense against crimes emanating from human trafficking. The TVPRA of 2013 aims at taking strict measures against sex offenders and those convicted with trafficking, which is an amendment to the TVPRA Act of 2000. Similarly, the TVPA focuses on providing legal and financial aid to the victims of trafficking. The TVPA has categorized trafficking as a form of modern slavery. The European Union Strategy towards the eradication of trafficking suggests that human trafficking is a gross violation of Article 5 of the charter of fundamental rights of the European Union ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"TdmiWWa2","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Commission)","plainCitation":"(Commission)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":659,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/24XYRMAJ"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/24XYRMAJ"],"itemData":{"id":659,"type":"book","title":"The EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings 2012–2016","publisher":"Office for Official Publications of the European Communities","author":[{"family":"Commission","given":"European"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2012"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Commission). These are some prominent legal measures adopted to combat human trafficking proactively.

Summary

It is an observable fact that America and the European region remains the most affected regions with human trafficking. The menace of human trafficking has been extended to other parts of the world, as well. The 2014 row between India and United States erupted because of charges by some of the American officials, which, however, were relaxed. This bilateral dispute suggests the gravity of the crisis ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"yaXm1o5T","properties":{"formattedCitation":"({\\i{}As Indian Diplomat Exits After Arrest, a Culture Clash Lingers - The New York Times})","plainCitation":"(As Indian Diplomat Exits After Arrest, a Culture Clash Lingers - The New York Times)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":660,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/LU4EC7CH"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/LU4EC7CH"],"itemData":{"id":660,"type":"webpage","title":"As Indian Diplomat Exits After Arrest, a Culture Clash Lingers - The New York Times","URL":"https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/11/world/asia/indian-diplomat-flies-home-after-indictment-in-us.html","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",10,13]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (As Indian Diplomat Exits After Arrest, a Culture Clash Lingers - The New York Times). With the rise in the incidents related to human trafficking and the adoption of new measures, states had been improving the legal barriers to guarantee an end to such hazards. The TVPRA is considered as a modern manifestation of the 13th amendment of the US Constitution, which brought slavery to an end. Since the year 2000, the TVPRA has strengthened over time. The major amendments in its moderation have remained to make the foreign victims eligible for health and social benefits and the creation of immigration protections for foreign nationals.

It remains much evident from the analysis of the latest trafficking incidents that US response to combat human trafficking remains a little narrow. The 3Ps based approach (Prosecution, Protection, and Prevention) have served a little and not the broader purpose of combating trafficking. It is the same paradigm adopted by other countries to stop trafficking. However, in the United States, the administration has involved legal measures such as proscription of passports, which suggests that over time, US measures have become more pre-emptive. Different from this, global response to combatting terrorism has not remained much vibrant. For example, the report titled “Identifying challenges to Improve the Investigation and Prosecution of State and Local Human Trafficking Cases” suggests that human trafficking is overestimated and there exists a dearth of state-based preemptive measures to curb human trafficking ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"ewizUkoq","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Farrell et al.)","plainCitation":"(Farrell et al.)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":662,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/HFHTZSNV"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/HFHTZSNV"],"itemData":{"id":662,"type":"article-journal","title":"Identifying challenges to improve the investigation and prosecution of state and local human trafficking cases","author":[{"family":"Farrell","given":"Amy"},{"family":"McDevitt","given":"Jack"},{"family":"Pfeffer","given":"Rebecca"},{"family":"Fahy","given":"Stephanie"},{"family":"Owens","given":"Colleen"},{"family":"Dank","given":"Meredith"},{"family":"Adams","given":"William"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2012"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Farrell et al.). The local enforcement, along with the state representatives in some countries, is involved in illegal practices, which someway give confidence to traffickers.

Some of the potential challenges which are inherent in prosecuting crimes remain the difficulties in the identification of victims, the hurdles in investigating human trafficking-related crimes, difficulties in supporting victims, and hitches in holding the offenders accountable. The improvements, however, can be made in amalgamating the state measures to adopt the peril of human trafficking.

Conclusion

Human trafficking attracts enlarged financial advantages with it. Traffickers take advantage of the loopholes in the border security management and in the legal mechanisms of the state. The sufferer of this menace remains not a single state; rather it affects the regional approaches. Considering the hazards attached to human trafficking, the states should adopt a collective measure that can serve the purpose of each state, including those which remain the most affected.

Works Cited:

ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY As Indian Diplomat Exits After Arrest, a Culture Clash Lingers - The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/11/world/asia/indian-diplomat-flies-home-after-indictment-in-us.html. Accessed 13 Oct. 2019.

Commission, European. The EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings 2012–2016. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2012.

Congress, U. S. “Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005.” 109th Congress. 1st Session, vol. 4, 2005.

Farrell, Amy, et al. Identifying Challenges to Improve the Investigation and Prosecution of State and Local Human Trafficking Cases. 2012.

Summary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) and Reauthorizations FY 2017 - ATEST. https://endslaveryandtrafficking.org/summary-trafficking-victims-protection-act-tvpa-reauthorizations-fy-2017-2/. Accessed 13 Oct. 2019.