2004/68/JHA of 22 December 2003 on combating the sexual exploitation of children and child pornography; Council Directive 2004/81/EC of 29 April 2004 on the residence permit issued to third-country nationals who are victims of trafficking in human beings or who have been the subject of an action to facilitate illegal immigration, who cooperate with the competent authorities. While the existing instruments oblige EU Member States to criminalise all possible acts that constitute Trafficking in Human Beings and to provide an adequate framework to protect victims of Trafficking in Human Beings as victims of crime, their transposition into domestic legislation lies with the Member States. Thus, besides the still-existing legislative gaps in compliance of national legislation with European standards, the elements determining Trafficking in Human Beings vary considerably across EU Member States. For the purpose of this study all elements that are in compliance with Council Framework Decisions and Directives determining trafficking in human beings on the respective national level constitute the basis for the assessment of the extent of the phenomenon.In addition, elements that go beyond the definition of the European instruments were taken into consideration.

The present paper aims to critically engage with the explanatory framework of demand as it is employed in various debates and to shed light on main demand-side arguments put forward in the context of various forms of trafficking in human beings. This paper delivers mainly a positive analysis, in the sense that it seeks to clarify ‘what is there’ – which arguments are used in which debates –, rather than to identify what action should be taken – which would subscribe to a normative analysis (Robert & Zeckhauser 2011). It is a stocktacking exercise of main demand-side arguments in debates on various types of trafficking in human beings. The paper critically engages with the normative side of demand-side arguments only in as much as this is required to reconstruct the arguments for a better understanding of policy measures proposed. The general argument identified in debates is that there is a demand that fosters exploitation related to trafficking in human beings. The paper aims to retrace the arguments used in debates on demand in particular areas of trafficking in human beings – for sexual exploitation, for labour exploitation, for the exploitation of begging, for illegal adoption, trafficking for forced and servile marriages and trafficking for the removal of organs – in order to better understand the assumptions behind demand-side arguments, the way demand is understood and contextualised and how it is considered relevant in addressing various types of trafficking in human beings. One of the main findings is that although ‘demand’ is mostly referred to in its economic understanding – the willingness and ability to purchase a good or a service – the way in which the notion of demand is being employed varies and is often inconsistent.

Human trafficking occurs in almost every country in the world, but it takes on particularly abhorrent dimensions during and after conflict. It is defined as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of people through the threat or use of abduction, abuse of power or vulnerability, deception, coercion, fraud, force, or giving payments or benefits to a person in control of the victim for the purpose of exploitation. While many trafficking victims are exploited within their countries of residence, other victims are trafficked across regions More than 72 percent of detected victims are women and girls; Western and Central Europe and North America, Central America, and the Caribbean have particularly high rates of detected women and girls. Some forms of trafficking are particularly prevalent in the context of armed conflict, such as sexual exploitation, enslavement, and forced marriage; forced labor to support military operations; recruitment and exploitation of child soldiers; and removal of organs to treat injured fighters or finance operations.Traffickers also target forcibly displaced populations. On migration routes, human traffickers deceive people into fraudulent travel arrangements and job opportunities. Migrants face unique danger as they go through holding points and informal settlements or accept unsafe employment opportunities. Refugee women and girls are at particular risk of sex trafficking and forced marriage.

Disaffected, impoverished, and displaced people in weak and failing states are particularly vulnerable. Human trafficking exploits social and political turmoil caused by natural disasters, economic crisis, and armed conflict. The exploitation and forced servitude of millions of trafficking victims take many forms. Women and children are trafficked into becoming child soldiers and concubines of illegal armed groups, men, women and children are trafficked into forced labor and sexual slavery, forced to sell drugs, steal, and beg money for the criminals controlling them, and thousands are coerced or forced into a growing black market trade in human body parts. The growth in illegal mining operations by illegal armed groups and organized crime is also fueling conditions of forced labor. Trafficking victims are dehumanized and suffer grave physical and mental illness and often die at the hands of their captors and exploiters. Colombia is particularly afflicted by the scourge of human trafficking. All the elements of modern-day slavery and human exploitation are present in this Latin American state that is struggling to overcome decades of internal armed conflict, social fragmentation, poverty, and the constant debilitating presence of organized crime and corruption. Women’s Link Worldwide recently reported that human trafficking is not viewed as an internal problem among Colombian officials, despite estimates that more than 70,000 people are trafficked within Colombia each year. This article examines human trafficking in its many forms in Colombia, the parties involved in trafficking, and the State’s response or lack of response to human trafficking. The article also presents innovations that might be effective for combating human trafficking, and proposes that Colombia can serve as an effective model for other countries to address this growing domestic and international human rights catastrophe.

The areas where armed conflicts take place and have been perpetrated by state or non-state actors involved in conflicts represent a suitable place for emergence of phenomenon of human trafficking. The exploitation of victims of trafficking in human beings in the context of armed conflicts can take various forms, so that for the purposes of our research, this category of victims will be classified into two groups: victims of armed activities and victims of non-armed activities. Hence, the first group includes victims that take direct participation in armed combat activities or other activities during combat operations such as minefield cleaning, transport and medical services, etc. The second group includes victims of sexual exploitation in the conflict area and their forms, forced labour in different sectors and trafficking in organs.

While some of the forms of exploitation covered by this research are specific to countries directly involved in conflict child soldiering and organ trafficking to treat wounded fighters the remaining types of trafficking in human beings have many points in common in conflict and post conflict periods. Recruitment methods, psychological control techniques and the forms of exploitation do not depend on particular geographic zones.

Trafficking in persons (TIP) is a crime and a grave violation of human rights defined in Article 3(a) of the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons. It takes place in every region of the world, in both ordinary times and in times of crisis. Its root causes can include poverty and economic inequality, homelessness, structural or interpersonal violence, gender inequalities, armed conflict and post-conflict factors. TIP manifests in multiple forms affecting women, girls, boys and men who are exploited for domestic servitude, sex, forced labor, and forced marriage, among others. A growing body of research has shown that humanitarian crises may exacerbate pre-existing trafficking trends and give rise to new ones. While some forms of trafficking are a direct result of crises, such as exploitative sexual services demanded by armed groups or the forced recruitment of child soldiers, others are less evident, with traffickers thriving on the widespread human, material, social and economic losses caused by crises. Moreover, conflict and displacement have a stronger impact on trafficking risks due to the general erosion of the rule of law and the breakdown of social safety nets or the lack of other protection systems. Despite the identification of a link between TIP and emergency contexts, trafficking prevention and response is frequently overlooked or not addressed in a comprehensive manner in humanitarian responses.