Trafficking of children


Trafficking of children, also known as child trafficking, is a form of human trafficking and is defined by the United Nations as the "recruitment, transportation, harbouring, or receipt of a child" for the purpose of slavery, forced labour, and sexual exploitation. This definition is substantially broader than the same document's definition of "trafficking in persons". Children may also be trafficked for illegal adoption. Illegal adoptions violate multiple child rights norms and principles, including the best interests of the child, the principle of subsidiarity and the prohibition of improper financial gain. According to the anti-trafficking organization Love146, it is estimated that over three million children worldwide are being victimized in sex trafficking and child labour.
In 2012, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported the percentage of child victims had risen in 3 years from 20 percent to 27 percent. In 2014, research conducted by the anti-human trafficking organization Thorn, reported that internet sites like Craigslist are often used as tools for conducting business within the industry and that 70 percent of child sex trafficking survivors surveyed were at some point sold online. In 2016 NGO ERASE Child Trafficking estimated 300,000 children are taken from all around the world and sold by human traffickers as slaves.
In 2020, the United Nations noted that between 18,000 and 20,000 children were identified as trafficked globally ; however, the challenges of lax reporting and accurate detection mean this number is certainly a bare minimum. Children in North and Sub-Saharan Africa make up the majority of trafficked victims with forced labour most common in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most child traffic victims in Central America and the Caribbean are girls, primarily consisting of teenagers trafficked for sexual exploitation, while in South Asia, nearly half of the victims are children, where the victims are exploited for labour or forced into marriage.
In 2022, the European Commission noted that just over 10,000 people were identified as being trafficked into the European Union in one year; of these 15% were children. This number represents a 41% increase from 2021, perhaps because of efforts to increase awareness of vulnerability to trafficking of those fleeing military aggression against Ukraine.
In 2022, the USA issued certification letters and assistance letters to 2,264 non-US children ; it noted that all of them had experienced labor trafficking, sex trafficking or both.
The trafficking of children has been internationally recognized as a serious crime that exists in every region of the world and which often has human rights implications. Yet, it is only since 2002 that the prevalence and ramifications of this practice have risen to international prominence, due to a dramatic increase in research and public action. Limited research has not yet identified all causes of child trafficking, however, it appears that poverty, humanitarian crisis, and lack of education contribute to high rates. A variety of potential solutions have accordingly been suggested and implemented, which can be categorized into four types of action: broad protection, prevention, law enforcement, and victim assistance.
The main international documents dealing with the trafficking of children are the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the 1999 ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, and the 2000 UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.

Definition

The first major international instrument dealing with the trafficking of children is part of the 2000 UN Palermo protocols, titled the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. Article 3 of this document defines child trafficking as the "recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring and/or receipt" of a child for the purpose of exploitation. The definition for child trafficking given here applies only to cases of trafficking that are transnational and/or involve organized criminal groups; in spite of this, child trafficking is now typically recognized well outside these parameters. The ILO expands upon this definition by asserting that movement and exploitation are key aspects of child trafficking. The definition of "child" used here is that listed in the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which states: "child means every human being below the age of 18 years, unless, under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier." The distinction outlined in this definition is important, because some countries have chosen to set the "age of majority" lower than 18, thus influencing what exactly legally constitutes child trafficking.

Related legal instruments

Many international, regional, and national instruments deal with the trafficking of children. These instruments are used to define what legally constitutes trafficking of children, such that appropriate legal action can be taken against those who engage in and promote this practice. These legal instruments are called by a variety of terms, including conventions, protocols, memorandums, joint actions, recommendations, and declarations. The most significant instruments are listed below.

International human rights instruments

These legal instruments were developed by the UN in an effort to protect international human rights and, more specifically, children's rights.
The trafficking of children often involves both labour and migration. As such, these international frameworks clarify instances in which these practices are illegal.
A variety of regional instruments have also been developed to guide countries in decisions regarding child trafficking. Below are some of the major instruments, though many others exist:
National laws pertaining to child trafficking continue to develop worldwide, based on the international principles that have been established. Anti-trafficking legislation has been lauded as critical by the United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking, because it ensures that traffickers and trafficking victims are treated accordingly: for example, "if migration laws are used to pursue traffickers, it is often the case that the victims too are prosecuted as illegal migrants, whereas if there is a specific category of 'trafficker' and 'trafficked person,' then it is more likely that the victim will be treated as such." The existence of national laws regarding child trafficking also enables trafficking victims and/or their families to take appropriate civil action.

Types of child trafficking

The intended or actual after-sale use of the child is not always known.

Forced labour

The objective of child trafficking is often forced child labour. According to UNICEF approximately 160 million children were subjected to child labour at the beginning of 2020. This accounts for nearly 1 in 10 children worldwide with nearly 79 million involved in hazardous work directly endangering their health and development. Within this number, the ILO reports that 70% of child workers work in agriculture, an increase of 10% over the last decade. A comparative study between domestic child labour rates in urban and rural regions in sub-Saharan Africa revealed that in 2010 84.3% of child labourers were working in the rural sector. 99.8% of children age five to fourteen are engaged in child labour for some form of economic activity in these regions. The 2020 report found that in sub-Saharan Africa more than 81% of children in child labour were working for their own families, while 8% worked as employees for third parties and the remaining 10% for worked for their own account with greater impact on boys in every age group in the 2020 study. Overall, child labour can take many forms, including domestic servitude, work in agriculture, service, and manufacturing industries. Also, according to several researchers, most children are forced into cheap and controllable labour, and work in homes, farms, factories, restaurants, and much more. Children are cheap labour and additionally are able to complete jobs that adults cannot due to their size. One example for this is within the fishing industry in Ghana. Children can release fish easier from nets due to their small hands. Thereby their services are highly demanded and child labour remains a present consequence of child trafficking. Need citation
Trafficked children may be sexually exploited, used in the armed forces and drug trades, and in child begging. In terms of global trends, the ILO estimates that in 2004–2008, there was a 3% reduction in the incidence of child labour; this stands in contrast to a previous ILO report which found that in 2000–2004, there was a 10% reduction in child labour. The ILO contends that, globally, child labour is slowly declining, except in sub-Saharan Africa, where the number of child workers has remained relatively constant: 1 in 4 children aged 5–17 work in this region. In 2018 UNICEF reported that 31% of total child labour is located in West Africa. In this region, one in six children between the ages of six and fourteen is working. The report additionally finds that 43% of child labour in Sub-Saharan Africa is due to child migration and trafficking. Another major global trend concerns the number of child labourers in the 15–17 age group: in the past five years, a 20% increase in the number of these child workers has been reported. A surprising example occurred in the United States as McCabe indicates that in the 1990s, huge companies such as Gap and Nike were using industry "sweatshops" that used trafficked children to make their desired products. After further investigation of the child labour scandal the hazardous work conditions of the GAP company factories were exposed. Children were working in poorly maintained and dangerous factories, were victims of abuse and were paid far below minimum wage. In the years that followed similar scandals were revealed in other parts of Asia and Africa.
Responding to these cases members of the Secretary-General of the United Nations attempted to reduce the number of violations within corporate systems in 2011 by implementing the United Nations "Protect, Respect and Remedy" Framework, a report stating the guiding principles on transnational corporations and other business enterprises and human rights. Endorsed in Resolution 17/4 by the Human Rights Council on June 16, 2011, the report outlines three main principles. 1) The state's existing obligation to respect, protect and fulfill human rights and fundamental freedoms, 2) the role of business enterprises as specialized organs of society performing specialized functions, required to comply with all applicable laws and to respect human rights, and 3) the need for rights and obligations to be matched to appropriate and effective remedies when breached. The resolution attempted to establish a universal understanding of appropriate employment conditions and stated punishments for those firms who violate the guiding principles. In addition, research regarding the lasting consequences for labour whose rights were violated were revealed. Yet in 2018 it was found that still, 218 million children are working full-time, many of which are employed by factory owners to lower production costs.