The Regulations And The Practices Of Trafficking In Persons In International Law From The Perspective Of Palermo Convention

Trafficking in persons,a form of modern slavery,has become one of the top three transnational crimes along with drug trafficking and arms trafficking.The huge amount of illegal profits out of trafficking in persons and the gross human rights violation caused by it pushed the international community to form a series of international instruments in addressing this issue.On 15 November 2000,the United Nations General Assembly adopted the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols Theireto(hereinafter called Palermo Convention).Soon after this,a Protocol to Prevent,Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons,Especially Women and Children(hereinafter called Trafficking Protocol)was adopted on 15 November 2000 by the UNGA.Not until then did the world has a standard definition of trafficking in persons approved by the international community.The process of reaching a consensus on the definition of trafficking in persons has proved to be difficult.The drafting process of Palermo Convention involves not only the government officials but also some relevant NGOs and inter-governmental organizations,the participation of which has eliminated each party's blind spot in this area.All these efforts have increased the authority of Palermo Convention.Article 3 of the protocol stipulates the elements that constitute trafficking in persons,which are action,means,and purposes.Through these three elements,trafficking in persons could be easier to identify for each state.Only under a uniformed understanding of trafficking in persons,can the international community conduct better international cooperation both in the law enforcement and in the protection of victims suffering from this crime.However,the current international situation has perplexed the role of Palermo Convention and Trafficking Protocol in addressing trafficking in persons.The emerging issues such as the refugee crisis in Europe,the rise of populism in the West,and the polarized attitudes towards immigration policy in the West have all posed threat to the implementation of Palermo Convention.The international instruments of human trafficking can be divided into two parts:the first part is a set of international laws and regulations;the second part is the work of relevant international organizations.The former lays the foundation of a general guidance of addressing trafficking in persons,and the latter could supervise the effective enforcement of the obligations accorded to the states.The combination of the two could safeguard a more effective way in addressing human trafficking.Based on Palermo Convention and Trafficking Protocol,this article analyzes the evolution of the attitudes of international community towards human trafficking before and after the adoption of Palermo Convention.Meanwhile,efforts have been made to clarify the nuances of trafficking in persons in different regions and the respective measures addressing human trafficking by the government.In the last part,the article focuses on elaborating on the laws and practices in China in addressing trafficking in persons.