Assessment of the legal framework

Transcription

1 46 Toolkt to Combat Traffckng n Persons Tool 2.4 Assessment of the legal framework Overvew Ths tool offers gudelnes and resources for assessng a natonal legal framework. See also Tool 3.2 on crmnalzaton of traffckng n persons. Legslaton, as well as legal procedures and practces, vares wdely among States. In some States, exstng laws on labour, mgraton, and organzed crme may not have been harmonzed wth more recent laws or treaty oblgatons to fght human traffckng. Furthermore, legslaton may be requred to ncrease vctm protecton measures or to prevent traffckng. A broad and comprehensve assessment of the natonal legal framework s usually requred wth regard to human traffckng, ncludng crmnal law, labour law, socal servce and employment laws, mmgraton and asylum laws, as well as nvestgatve, crmnal and judcal procedures. The assessment questons may nclude the followng: Does your State have: Laws or other measures to crmnalze traffckng n persons? A defnton of traffckng n persons? Crtera for determnng the consent of a traffckng vctm? Legslaton on traffckng n persons that dfferentates between adults and chldren? Provsons to protect the prvacy and dentty of vctms? Procedures to provde traffckng vctms wth nformaton on relevant court and admnstratve proceedngs? Measures to provde for the physcal, psychologcal and socal recovery of traffckng vctms? Measures for the physcal safety of traffckng vctms whle they are wthn your State s jursdcton? Measures that offer traffckng vctms the possblty of obtanng compensaton for damage suffered? Legslatve and other measures permttng traffckng vctms to reman temporarly or permanently n recevng States? Laws or regulatons regardng the repatraton of traffckng vctms who are wthout proper documentaton? Tranng for law enforcement, mmgraton or other relevant authortes n the preventon of traffckng n persons? Polces, programmes or acton plans to prevent and combat traffckng n persons? Measures to protect traffckng vctms from revctmzaton?

2 chapter 2 Problem assessment and strategy development 47 Research, nformaton or mass meda campagns to prevent and combat traffckng n persons? Measures, ncludng through blateral or multlateral cooperaton, to allevate the factors that make persons vulnerable to traffckng, such as poverty, underdevelopment and lack of equal opportunty? Measures dscouragng the demand that fosters all forms of explotaton of persons that leads to traffckng? Measures for storng and sharng nformaton about the dentfcaton of possble vctms and/or traffckers n transt? An example of such an assessment s Questonnare II Assessment of legal framework n Natonal Referral Mechansms: Jonng Efforts to Protect the Rghts of Traffcked Persons (Warsaw, OSCE, 2004), avalable at: Recommended resources Ant-Traffckng Assessment Tool (UNODC Regonal Centre for East Asa and the Pacfc, n collaboraton wth the Unted Natons Inter-Agency Project on Human Traffckng n the Greater Mekong Subregon) Ths succnct tool was desgned by the UNODC Regonal Centre for East Asa and the Pacfc and UNIAP for use by non-legal researchers to rapdly assess jursdctonal concordance wth the requrements of the Traffckng n Persons Protocol and the Organzed Crme Conventon. The tool offers checklsts relatng to mandatory requrements and nonmandatory provsons of the Conventon and the Protocol. The Ant-Traffckng Assessment Tool s avalable at: The Human Traffckng Assessment Tool (Central European and Eurasan Law Intatve of the Amercan Bar Assocaton) The Human Traffckng Assessment Tool of the Central European and Eurasan Law Intatve of the Amercan Bar Assocaton measures a country s complance wth the Traffckng n Persons Protocol. It analyses natonal ant-human traffckng laws and Government efforts to combat traffckng aganst the oblgatons set forth n the Protocol and the Conventon. The Human Traffckng Assessment Tool s ntended to:

3 48 Toolkt to Combat Traffckng n Persons Assst Governments to prortze areas of concern, draft strong ant-traffckng legslaton and mplement effectve ant-traffckng strateges Assst ant-traffckng non-governmental organzatons to montor complance wth the Traffckng n Persons Protocol Encourage collaboraton between non-governmental organzatons and Governments Montor long-term performance of countres through second- and thrd-round assessments The tool s dvded nto two sectons; the frst s a de jure assessment (focusng on whether the country s domestc laws comply wth the oblgatons set forth n the Traffckng n Persons Protocol) and the second s a de facto assessment (of the country s programmatc efforts to combat traffckng n practce and whether they comply wth the Protocol). An Introducton to the Human Traffckng Assessment Tool (Amercan Bar Assocaton/Central European and Eurasan Law Intatve, Washngton, D.C., 2005) s avalable at: manual_ntro_2005.pdf Promsng practce Assessment of the legal system n Moldova In 2005, an assessment was conducted of complance by Moldova wth the Traffckng n Persons Protocol, usng the Human Traffckng Assessment Tool of the Central European and Eurasan Law Intatve of the Amercan Bar Assocaton (see above). Ths assessment was a plot mplementaton of the tool. A team of experts revewed laws, codes, acton plans and other documentaton relevant to human traffckng and responded to questons pertanng to complance by Moldova wth the Traffckng n Persons Protocol that closely reflected the language of the Protocol s substantve provsons. Assessment of the mplementaton of the Protocol n practce was based on ntervews wth law enforcement offcers, prosecutors, Government offcals, representatves of nternatonal organzatons and members of the non-governmental organzaton communty. Non-governmental organzaton focal groups also responded to questons relatng to vctm protecton and preventon measures, and hghschool students were ntervewed to gauge the mpact of awareness-rasng campagns. The full assessment report s avalable at:

4 chapter 2 Problem assessment and strategy development 49 Assessment of the legal system n Vet Nam A group of legal experts n the Department for Crmnal and Admnstratve Laws of the Mnstry of Justce of Vet Nam conducted an assessment of the Vetnamese legal system n relaton to the Traffckng n Persons Protocol. Ths assessment was undertaken n the framework of a UNODC project, Strengthenng of the legal and law enforcement nsttutons n preventng and combatng traffckng n persons n Vet Nam, and n collaboraton wth UNICEF. The assessment report enttled Assessment of the legal system n Vet Nam n comparson wth the Protocols on Traffckng n Persons and Smugglng of Mgrants, supplementng the Unted Natons Conventon aganst Transnatonal Organzed Crme addresses the areas of nvestgaton and prosecuton, vctm protecton and support, repatraton and rentegraton, and nternatonal and regonal cooperaton. Under each secton t assesses Vetnamese domestc law aganst nternatonal law and makes recommendatons to brng t further nto lne wth nternatonal law. The full report s avalable at: Comparatve Analyss of Internatonal Instruments and Macedonan Legslaton on Counter-Traffckng and Illegal Mgraton (Internatonal Organzaton for Mgraton, 2007) Ths trlngual comparatve study of the domestc legslaton of the former Yugoslav Republc of Macedona and of the Traffckng n Persons Protocol (and the Mgrants Protocol) assesses the complance of the ant-traffckng legslaton of the former Yugoslav Republc of Macedona aganst nternatonal nstruments n the areas of nvestgaton and prosecuton, protecton and preventon. The study offers recommendatons for the amendment of the legslaton of the former Yugoslav Republc of Macedona to brng t nto greater complance wth nternatonal nstruments. The full report s avalable at:

5 50 Toolkt to Combat Traffckng n Persons Legal Revew on Traffckng n Persons n the Carbbean In June 2005, the IOM conducted a legal revew of traffckng n persons n the Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaca, Netherlands Antlles, Sant Luca and Surname. The revew provdes a comparatve assessment of nternatonal and regonal nstruments, and of domestc legslaton, consders the crmnal justce system and protecton polces of those countres and makes recommendatons for the reform of current strateges. The revew s avalable at: Assessment of specfc aspects of the exstng legal framework At another stage of strategc plannng, gven local knowledge of typcal patterns of traffckng, t may be necessary to assess more specfcally the provsons of mmgraton, labour or crmnal law that are beng exploted or abused by traffckers. An example of one such legal assessment Traffckng n Women n Canada: a Crtcal Analyss of the Legal Framework Governng Immgrant Lve-n Caregvers and Mal-Order Brdes. In ths analyss, the Canadan legal framework regulatng the hrng of mmgrant lve-n caregvers s examned and ssues are dentfed n relaton to mmgraton law, socal legslaton, labour law and human rghts and contract law. The analyss also examnes the mal-order brde trade. It addresses many legal areas ndrectly governng ths phenomenon n the absence of legslaton specfcally addressng the mal-order brde ndustry: contract law, mmgraton law, the laws on marrage and dvorce, prvate nternatonal law and crmnal law. The analyss can be consulted at: 2_e.html