The Trafficking And Smuggling Of Persons - 2190 Words

Introduction The trafficking and smuggling of persons is one of the greatest international crimes that the modern world is currently facing. While both involve the movement of a person from one area to another through illegal means there are several differences between them. (1) The United Nations identified three stark differences between these two forms of crimes these being, Consent, Exploitation and Transnationality. In the smuggling of persons, the person consents to being smuggled while on the other hand victims of illegal trafficking give no such consent and if such consent is given it is through deceptions, coerciveness, threats or use of force. Upon arriving to their agreed destination the exploitation of the illegal immigrants†¦show more content†¦(3) Definition As stated above human trafficking is one the greatest international crimes that the world is currently facing. It is a problem that all countries face whether they are a country where people are deported from or a country of final destination. While some countries have their own definition of what constitutes human trafficking, most countries including the United Kingdom have adopted the United Nation s definition on human trafficking. The UN s definition is given in Article 3, Paragraph (a) of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons or as commonly referred to, The Palermo Protocols. The given definition of Human Trafficking is, the recruitment, transfer, harbour or receipt of persons by means of threat, use of force or any other form, for the purpose of exploitation. Thus, through the given definition one can notice that in order for there to be a human trafficking case three elements must be satisfied these being; the act, the means and the purpose. (4) Key Features While human trafficking has been receiving a great amount of attention these past few decades, it must be noted that the trafficking of persons for the purpose of exploitation has been happening since the beginning of history. The 15th Century marks the beginning of international human trafficking through the Portuguese slave trade in Africa. Soon after several countries followed suite in this lucrative form of forced labour through the exploitation of