By Chase Childress, Amy Farrella, Shawn Bhimani, and Kayse Lee Maass

Law enforcement interventions continue to be the primary mechanism used to identify offenders and illicit businesses involved in human trafficking, yet trafficking continues to be a thriving international operation. We explore alternative mechanisms to disrupt illicit operations and reduce victimization through labor trafficking supply chains using supply chain disruption theory. Using a case study approach to examine one federally prosecuted labor trafficking case in the agricultural sector, we (1) extend criminological concepts of disruption by identifying sources and methods of disruption and (2) inform criminal justice system responses by presenting novel methods of assessing effectiveness of anti-human trafficking policies and programs.

Victims & Offenders, 2022. 39p.

MAY CONTAIN MARKUP

BY CHARLES SUMNER.

“HISTORY has been sometimes called a gallery, where, in living forms, are preserved the scenes, the incidents, and the characters of the past. It may also be called the world's great charnel house, where are gathered coffins, dead men's bones, and all the uncleanness of the years that have fled.”

Massachusetts. JOHN P. JEWETT AND COMPANY, 1853. 134p.

By Flore Berger

Mali has long been an important origin and transit country for West African migrants travelling to North Africa. Its role has expanded in recent years as preferred migration routes have shifted westwards from Libya into Algeria. In 2023, however, the political and security situation in northern Mali changed significantly. MINUSMA (the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali) withdrew from Mali after nearly a decade on the ground. This in turn contributed to the outbreak of hostilities between the Cadre Stratégique Permanent (Permanent Strategic Framework – CSP) and the Forces Armées Maliennes (Malian Armed Forces – FAMa), operating with the support of Russia’s Wagner Group, marking the de facto end of the 2015 Algiers Peace Agreement. The Malian transitional military government officially terminated this accord on 25 January 2024. Taking advantage of Mali’s international isolation and internal turmoil, violent extremist groups – including the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (Group to Support Islam and Muslims – JNIM) and Islamic State Sahel Province (IS Sahel) – stepped up their activities, notably by imposing blockades on major northern towns, most notably Timbuktu by JNIM and Ménaka by IS Sahel. These events altered the security equilibrium that, in recent years, had allowed migrants to travel through large parts of northern Mali, particularly Timbuktu, with little difficulty. While none of the developments, individually or collectively, drastically disrupted the movement of migrants and the functioning of human smuggling networks, they did have localized and short- to medium-term effects on flows, route safety, methods and means of transport, and prices. Timbuktu was by far the most significantly affected hub. A blockade was imposed by JNIM at the beginning of August, bringing movement to an immediate halt. Later, however, even as the blockade continued, flows resumed, with migrants using the river to get to Timbuktu rather than overland travel. The safety of movement in and around the city, including on the route to Algeria, deteriorated sharply, and the cost of the journey for migrants almost doubled. Gao was similarly affected by the resumption of hostilities between the CSP and FAMa. This region has always been much more volatile, however, with migratory flows through the city fluctuating greatly depending on the season and the security situation.

Mali’s third major migration route, through the western Kayes region and into Mauritania and Senegal, is a key area to watch. Movements through the south-west have not been directly affected by the upheaval in the north, and a growing number of Malians and West Africans are using this option. This is the latest Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) monitoring report on human smuggling in Mali. It builds on the series of annual reports that has been issued by the GI-TOC since 2019, tracking the evolution of human smuggling in Mali, as well as the political, security and economic dynamics that influence it.

Geneva, SWIT: Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC)’s Observatory of Illicit Economies in North Africa and the Sahel. 2024. 30p.

By The International Drug Policy Consortium

The signing organisations (the International Drug Policy Consortium, Amnesty International, the Global Alliance against Traffic in Women, the Global Network of Sex Work Projects, the International Planned Parenthood Federation, and the Women and Harm Reduction International Network) welcome the initiative to prepare a report on the decriminalisation of poverty and homelessness, to be presented at the 56th session of the Human Rights Council in June-July 2024. We also welcome the background paper shared by consultation.

In order to ensure that the report creates effective and consistent standards for the decriminalisation of poverty and homelessness, we strongly encourage the Special Rapporteurs to include in the conclusions section explicit recommendations for the decriminalisation of drug use and possession of personal use, and of sex work, as the criminalisation of both activities is a major driver of contact between law enforcement and people living in poverty in public spaces, is discriminatory, and has harmful effects on the enjoyment of a broad range of human rights. This informal paper provides a number of key arguments supporting that inclusion.

London: International Drug Policy Consortium, 2024. 9p.

by Maya Esslemont

In recent years, the concept of ‘modern slavery’ has garnered significant academic, political and media interest. However political momentum, which peaked at the advent of the Modern Slavery Act’s passage in 2015, has now waned.1 Whilst there is some public data on modern slavery referrals, decisions and the characteristics of victims, practitioners still struggle to access reliable evidence on prevention, support, or identification. Inconsistent data access makes it difficult to assess the Government’s performance in addressing the drivers of exploitation or empowering survivors to recover. The influence of ‘data gaps’ cannot be understated. In the course of this research, professionals from a wide range of sectors reported that they have had to reconfigure or completely abandon projects due to a lack of available public data. Interviewees told us that planned work exploring survivors’ access to safe housing, the criminalisation of young victims, homelessness, and survivors’ health outcomes were amongst topics shelved due to a lack of evidence. Journalists told of having to drop reports on individual survivors’ stories, or emerging concerns held by practitioners, in the absence of national statistics.

Yet, where data is published, the output was often described as inaccurate, inconsistent, lacking in detail, or undermined by the bias of data producers’ chosen framing or ‘narratives’. In the absence of modern slavery statistics which meet the needs of practitioners, participants extolled the virtues of Parliamentary Questions (PQs) or Freedom of Information (FOI) requests as forms of evidence gathering (see 3. Requesting data). However, these methods come with challenges. The diminishing quality of data responses, coupled with the dwindling capacity and confidence of practitioners, deter many from asking for evidence in the first place. Through ‘A can of worms’: Challenges and opportunities in gathering modern slavery evidence, After Exploitation evaluates the needs of a diverse range of practitioners who use modern slavery evidence as part of their day-to-day work, alongside a five-person panel of experts with lived experience (the ‘PELE’). Recommendations for improving transparency and public data were shared by practitioners and the panel, and we have grouped data recommendations into six policy areas, explored in order of recommendation frequency: Entitlements and survivor outcomes (n=41); Immigration and enforcement (n=35); Policy monitoring and transparency (n=33), NRM recording (n=32), prevention (n=28) and criminal justice (n=21).

London: After Exploitation, 2024. 82p.

By Anna-Greta Pekkarinen, Saara Haapasaari, Anniina Jokinen, Anni Lietonen, Natalia Ollus

The report was produced by HEUNI as a result of their project in collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Regional Office for EEA, EU, and NATO. The project was part of their effort to sustain and scale private sector engagement to protect migrant workers in Europe. HEUNI conducted four regional mappings on sector-specific risks to migrant workers in European supply chain contexts in the sectors of agriculture, food processing, hospitality, and manufacturing.

The purpose of HEUNI’s four regional mappings was to gain a deeper understanding of the risks, gaps, and good practices related to protecting migrant workers, as well as the roles of both private and public sectors. HEUNI's findings were intended to inform and support businesses in advancing the rights of migrant workers in a wider European context. The report used information on the differences between different European regions and approaches to due diligence, corporate governance, and supply chains to identify ways to support businesses in their work concerning migrant workers’ rights.

Helsinki: HEUNI, 2023. 76p.

By Natalia Ollus, Anniina Jokinen

HEUNI’S SECOND STUDY on exploitation of migrant workers and trafficking in persons for the purpose of forced labour was published in 2013. The report “We’ve got people lined up behind the door”: Placing the Trafficking and Exploitation of Migrant Workers in Context in the Restaurant and Cleaning Sectors in Finland was prepared as part of an EU-funded project looking into the issue in Finland, Estonia, Lithuania and Sweden. The study was a follow-up to HEUNI’s first study on the topic, launched two years earlier, and aimed at providing a more in-depth analysis of selected sectors, recruitment methods and the business model of exploitation in Finland. In addition to research, the project organized multi stakeholder meetings to establish a dialogue between key labour actors. It also produced the first set of concrete guidelines for employers and recruitment agencies and other actors for the prevention of trafficking for forced labour and labour exploitation. The report kickstarted HEUNI’s work with businesses and corporate social responsibility, a topic which is today a core theme in HEUNI’s work and services. The report found that most migrant workers coming to Finland seek work due to economic reasons and many are willing to compromise regarding the employment and the working conditions, as long as they can earn more than at home. Recruitment of migrant workers in the restaurant and cleaning sectors is carried out either via recruitment and employment service companies or via relatives, acquaintances and word-of-mouth. The study uncovered several cases where migrant workers paid unreasonably high recruitment and placement fees in order to secure a job in Finland. Different forms of underpayment of wages were common, often in connection with poor terms of employment, irregular or excessive working hours, and difficult working conditions. The study argued that many of the exploited workers seemed to be weighing the pros and cons of disclosing their experiences of exploitation to the authorities versus the risk of losing their job, their means of income and perhaps even their residence right if they disclosed their experiences of exploitation. Similar findings have been made in more recent studies and media articles covering exploitation in cleaning and in the restaurant sector. The study “We’ve got people lined up behind the door” argues that the exploitation of migrant workers should be seen as part of a larger, structural context, where dishonest and exploitative actors engage in economic crime and distort free competition. Thus, exploitation is not a stand-alone, specific phenomenon, but part of a larger societal and historical development. In the report we also argue that a focus solely on trafficking for forced labour makes it difficult to see and understand the larger structural and contextual factors that facilitate exploitation of migrant workers. Trafficking does not take place in isolation from the larger context of exploitation of migrant workers. Therefore, exploitation can perhaps best be understood as a continuum rather than as clear-cut, separate phenomena. We also make many more arguments, which are still very valid and relevant. By relaunching the report in English as a standalone report, we hope it will find a new international readership.

Report Series no. 76b. Helsinki: HEUNI 2024. 170p.

By Anniina Jokinen, Anna-Greta Pekkarinen, Veikko Mäkelä, Saija Korkeakangas, Natalia Ollus, Roosa Näsi

Hundreds of migrant victims of human trafficking or labour exploitation are identified in Finland each year. Human trafficking is a serious crime that violates human rights and personal liberty and integrity. The consequences of exploitation and its effects on an individuals’ capacity and work ability vary. Many victims of trafficking wish to stay in Finland and find a path to fair employment in which the statutory terms of employment are fulfilled, and they receive an appropriate salary to provide for themselves and their family. This path is different for each person and because of that, it is important to consider their individual circumstances. Based on international agreements Finland must offer trafficking victims protection and assistance and therefore, in the long run, also improve their work ability and integration into Finnish society. Little is known, however, about issues which relate to employment of victims of trafficking and exploitation. The topic has not been studied in Finland and is quite novel also internationally – in most countries less attention has been paid to employment and long-term support needs in comparison to the trafficking victims’ identification process and initial support (e.g. McCarthy 2018, 105, 120; Shigekane 2007, 114–115; Surtees 2013). This report is an English version of the original Finnish study that examined the challenges of the organisation of employment services to migrant victims of trafficking in Finland. The English version is shorter than the Finnish report, and only the empirical part of that study has been translated. The report has been written in cooperation by HEUNI and the National Assistance System for Victims of Trafficking as part of the IKUT-project. The National Assistance System for Victims of Human Trafficking is an authority tasked with helping trafficking victims in Finland. It offers services for potential victims, their underage children as well as people assisting with the investigation. The Assistance System is also the national centre of knowledge for assisting trafficking victims in Finland, providing consultation and training. The IKUT-project run by the Assistance System focuses on building the employability skills and working life competence of victims of human trafficking in Finland through training modules and direct support. Furthermore, the project aims to increase the awareness of the private sector on human trafficking and to facilitate the private sector’s anti-trafficking work. The project is funded by the European Social Fund,

Research questions, data and methodology The research questions of the study at hand are the following: 1. What kind of challenges or structural deficiencies related to employ ment do migrant victims of trafficking face in Finland at the moment? 2. What kind of actions or services would be of use to migrant victims of trafficking to support their employment?

Report Series, No. 96b. Helsinki: HEUNI, 2022. 104p.

By Samantha Lyneham and Isabella Voce

The National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking and Slavery 2015–19 provides the strategic framework for Australia’s response to human trafficking and slavery for the five-year period from 2015 to 2019. The National Action Plan is founded on the need to prevent human trafficking and slavery; detect, investigate and prosecute offenders; and protect and support victims. Four central pillars underpin this strategy: prevention and deterrence, detection and investigation, prosecution and compliance, and victim support and protection.

The Commonwealth Government has oversight of the National Action Plan, with core activities undertaken by members of the Interdepartmental Committee on Human Trafficking and Slavery and complementary activities undertaken by members of the National Roundtable on Human Trafficking and Slavery. The Department of Home Affairs commissioned the Australian Institute of Criminology to undertake this review to inform the development of the next National Action Plan.

Research Report no. 17. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. 2020. 33p.

By Canada. Public Safety Canada

Sex trafficking is highly gendered and disproportionately affects women and girls. Statistics Canada reported that 96% of detected victims of human trafficking between 2011 and 2021 were women, and that 45% of all detected victims were aged 18 to 24 and 24% under the age of 18. Although exact numbers are unknown, Indigenous and non-Indigenous women and girls are disproportionately represented among sex trafficking victims, as reported in the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Other populations at higher risk of being trafficked or targeted by human traffickers for sex trafficking include: •Youth in or who had been in the child welfare system; •2SLGBTQl+ persons, especially transgender men and women and gender non-conforming individuals; •Migrants; and •People experiencing social or economic marginalization. With regards to labour trafficking, the gender and age of victims differs across Canadian regions and economic sectors, however, the data is limited.

[Ottawa] : Public Safety Canada = Sécurité publique Canada, January 2023. 35p.

By Mackenzie Seaman and Jessamy Garver Affeldt

This paper focuses on the multiple intersecting harms (forced returns, expulsion, interception at sea, detention) migrants experience in Senegal during the return process. It pays particular attention to violations and abuses that are frequently reported in relation to such uses of force. The data shows that respondents often endured multiple instances of violations and abuse during their return journey to Senegal. This appeared to compound the challenges they encountered after their return to Senegal.

Geneva: Mixed Migration Centre, 2024. 24p.

By Shreya Bhat and Hui Yin Chuah

This report explores the financial dimension of human smuggling across Southeast Asia, drawing insights from extensive 4Mi surveys conducted between December 2022 and August 2023. Focusing on the experiences of refugees and migrants from Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Somalia, and Myanmar who engaged smugglers during their journeys, the report sheds light on how refugees and migrants finance their smuggling journey.

Key findings include:

• In Thailand, smuggling fees constituted 85% of the journey costs among Rohingya and Vietnamese respondents, the highest among all groups.

• In Malaysia, 57% used a smuggler for part of or the whole journey, with Rohingya most commonly using several smugglers for different parts of the journey.

• The average smuggling fee to Indonesia was USD 2,651. Afghan respondents paid the highest average smuggling fees (USD 5,748), and Somali respondents the lowest (USD 1,356)

Geneva, SWIT: Mixed Migration Centre, 2024. 362.

By Cody Corliss

The Article examines the relationship between trafficking and enslavement in light of recent calls from activists to prosecute trafficking as an international crime. Although human trafficking has repeatedly been denounced as "modern slavery," there remains significant distinctions between the crimes of enslavement and trafficking. Enslavement is an international crime that may be prosecuted in international courts and tribunals in addition to national courts. Trafficking, on the other hand, is a transnational crime restricted to domestic courts.

Under certain circumstances, however, trafficking crimes may constitute the crime of enslavement, as the definition of enslavement in the Statute of the International Criminal Court recognizes. Given their overlap, this Article examines the relationship between trafficking and enslavement, utilizing their respective histories of prohibition and criminalization and judgments at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and European Court for Human Rights.

South Carolina Law Review, Vol. 71, No. 3, 2020, WVU College of Law Research Paper No. 2024-008.

Editors:  Rebecca Adami, Anna Kaldal , and  Margareta As

How can human rights for children born outside their national jurisdiction with parents deemed as terrorists be safeguarded? In what ways do children risk being discriminated in their welfare rights in Sweden when treated as invisible part of a family? How can we do research on children’s rights in not just ethically sensitive ways but also with respect for children as rights subjects? And what could be a theory on social justice for children? These are questions discussed in studies from different disciplines concerning children’s international human rights, with a special focus on the realization of the CRC in Sweden.

Leiden: Brill, 2023. 

By Olivier Marie and Paolo Pinotti

The association between immigration and crime has long been a subject of debate, and only recently have we encountered systematic empirical evidence on this issue. Data shows that immigrants, often younger, male, and less educated compared to natives, are disproportionately represented among offenders in numerous host countries. However, existing research, inclusive of our analysis of new international data, consistently indicates that immigration does not significantly impact local crime rates in these countries. Furthermore, recent studies underscore that obtaining legal status diminishes immigrants' involvement in criminal activities. Finally, we discuss potential explanations for the apparent incongruity between immigrants' overrepresentation among offenders and the null effect of immigration on crime rates.

JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES. VOL. 38, NO. 1, WINTER 2024. (pp. 181-200)

By Matthias Lücke , Helena Hahn , Silvia Carta , Martin Ruhs , Mehari Taddele Maru , Paweł Kaczmarczyk , Karolina Łukasiewicz , Marta Pachocka , Tobias Heidland

Recent geopolitical events like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the instrumentalisation of migration from Belarus to Poland are re-shaping the EU's migration policy. To build a resilient migration and asylum system, the EU and its member states must find a way to balance ad hoc, crisis-oriented responses with a long-term, strategic approach. This is one of the main findings of the 2022 MEDAM Assessment Report “Refugee protection in the EU: Building resilience to geopolitical conflict”.

This final report concludes the Mercator Dialogue on Asylum and Migration (MEDAM). Launched in 2016, the project aimed to develop concrete proposals to reform EU asylum and migration policy based on in-depth research. The report considers the most recent developments in the European migration system and reflects on how the numerous crises facing the EU influence the negotiations on the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, proposed in 2020, and public perception of migrants and refugees.

As Russia continues to wage war against Ukraine, the report provides an insightful analysis of refugee movements from Ukraine to Europe since February 2022. The authors discuss the effectiveness of the TPD and future challenges that the war's outcome can pose.

The report also considers general, global migration trends. First, it looks more closely at the link between migration and development policies. The report advances the argument that the relation between economic development, foreign aid, and out-migration is a complex one, challenging the widespread belief that better economic conditions encourage migration. The report also explores the preconditions for effective cooperation on migration management with countries of origin and transit, with a particular focus on EU-Africa relations.

Recent geopolitical events have put migration and asylum back at the centre of EU policymaking. Yet, member states are still struggling to find a common, structured and effective response. Finding a way to bridge their deep-seated differences will be vital to ensure that the EU is ready to navigate future crises.

MEDAM Assessment Report . Kiel, Germany: Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) Mercator Dialogue on Asylum and Migration (MEDAM). 2022. 92p.

By M.  Luzes , E. Pilatowsky,  and  J. Ruiz

Over the past 20 years, migration in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has been characterized by an increase in intraregional migration flows. Within  this  regional  migration  scenario  there  is a  misconception,  rooted  in  the  social  imaginary, that the majority of people who migrate within the continent are men. Nevertheless, women have accounted for practically half of migration flows in Latin America and the Caribbean since 1960, and their  participation  in  the  current  interregional mobility dynamics is around 50%. Even so, studies that   focus   on   understanding   the   experiences of   discrimination   women   face,   derived   from particular  stigmas  —  different  to  those  faced  by male migrants — are scarce. This   document   seeks   to   understand   these particular  experiences  from  an  intersectional perspective, exploring the perception of women migrants,  their  experiences  in  Latin  American and    Caribbean    countries,    and    how    these impact  integration  indicators. Female  migrants experience  unique  challenges,  different  to  those of  male  migrants  and  local  women,  confronting multiple  forms  of  discrimination  based  on  their gender,  country  of  origin,  migration  status,  and other   interrelated   identities.   The   aim   of   this work  is  to  delve  deeper  into  the  knowledge  that reinforces the need to address the specific barriers that  women  migrants  come  up  against  in  their integration processes, marked by prejudices and stigmas that influence the narratives about them. 

Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank (“IDB” ), 2024. 42p

By Shreya Bhat and Hui Yin Chuah

Mixed migration from Myanmar to countries in South and Southeast Asia has become a common phenomenon driven by various factors, including violence, insecurity, conflict, deprivation of rights, and economic reasons. This report underscores the integral role of smugglers in facilitating migration from Myanmar to Malaysia and Thailand, influenced by a complex interplay of factors that result in considerable variation in the dynamics of smuggling among different population groups and on different routes. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for developing targeted interventions aimed at addressing the vulnerabilities and challenges faced by refugees and migrants in the region.

Geneva, SWIT: : Mixed Migration Centre. 2024, 17pg

By  Ximena Canal Laiton

This paper explores the use of smugglers by Latin American and Caribbean migrants on their journeys to North America. It is based on responses to more than 3,000 4Mi surveys conducted in Costa Rica, Honduras and Mexico in 2022 and 2023 and includes findings on profiles of migrants who hired smugglers as well as information on the services they sought and their general perceptions of smugglers. As such, this paper provides a wealth of solid empirical evidence with a view to informing the work of policymakers and humanitarian actors.

Geneva, SWIT: Mixed Migration Centre. 2024, 14pg