Megan Bastick

In recent years trafficking in human beings has become an issue of increasingconcern to European states. Trafficking in human beings is understood as ahuman rights issue, a violation of labour and migration laws, and as underminingnational and international security through its links to organised crime andcorruption.

United Nations agencies, the European Union, the Council of Europe and theOrganisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, amongst others, makeimportant contributions to coordinating the fight against human trafficking.However, there remain significant deficits in concrete information sharing andcooperation between the security agencies of different states necessary to achieve success. In many countries, cooperation among local security sector actors, other state agencies and non governmental organisations has improved. However, ensuring that the human rights of trafficking victims are protected requires more substantial training and specialised operational procedures within the security sector.

This paper brings a governance analysis to security sector responses to humantrafficking. It focuses on security governance approaches concerningcriminalisation and harmonisation of laws, prosecution of traffickers, protectionof trafficked persons, prevention in countries of origin and prevention incountries of destination. The authors identify key shortcomings in current securityresponses to human trafficking, and make recommendations to states with aparticular focus on national and international coordination and the prevention ofhuman trafficking.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. The Nature and Scope of Trafficking in Human Beings
2.1. Key concepts
2.2. Overview of Global Patterns in Human Trafficking
2.3. Overview of Patterns in Human Trafficking in Europe
2.4. Both Organised Crime and Violation of Human Rights

3. A Security Governance Analysis of Responses toTrafficking in Human Beings

4. Improving Security Sector Responses to Traffickingin Human Beings
4.1. Legal measures
4.2. Prosecution
4.3. Protection
4.4. Prevention in Countries of Origin
4.5. Prevention in Countries of Destination

5. Conclusions

Appendix

In recent years trafficking in human beings has become an issue of increasingconcern to European states. Trafficking in human beings is understood as ahuman rights issue, a violation of labour and migration laws, and as underminingnational and international security through its links to organised crime andcorruption.

United Nations agencies, the European Union, the Council of Europe and theOrganisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, amongst others, makeimportant contributions to coordinating the fight against human trafficking.However, there remain significant deficits in concrete information sharing andcooperation between the security agencies of different states necessary to achieve success. In many countries, cooperation among local security sector actors, other state agencies and non governmental organisations has improved. However, ensuring that the human rights of trafficking victims are protected requires more substantial training and specialised operational procedures within the security sector.

This paper brings a governance analysis to security sector responses to humantrafficking. It focuses on security governance approaches concerningcriminalisation and harmonisation of laws, prosecution of traffickers, protectionof trafficked persons, prevention in countries of origin and prevention incountries of destination. The authors identify key shortcomings in current securityresponses to human trafficking, and make recommendations to states with aparticular focus on national and international coordination and the prevention ofhuman trafficking.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. The Nature and Scope of Trafficking in Human Beings
2.1. Key concepts
2.2. Overview of Global Patterns in Human Trafficking
2.3. Overview of Patterns in Human Trafficking in Europe
2.4. Both Organised Crime and Violation of Human Rights

3. A Security Governance Analysis of Responses toTrafficking in Human Beings

4. Improving Security Sector Responses to Traffickingin Human Beings
4.1. Legal measures
4.2. Prosecution
4.3. Protection
4.4. Prevention in Countries of Origin
4.5. Prevention in Countries of Destination

5. Conclusions

Appendix

The importance of security sector reform (SSR) has increasingly been emphasizedin international engagement with post-conflict countries. Many governments and UN and donor agencies have emphasized women’s participation and efforts to achieve gender equality as crucial elements of post-conflict reconstruction. In 2000 the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 on ‘Women, peace and security4, highlighting the interdependence of postconflict gender equality, peacebuilding and security. Women are acknowledged as playing important roles in peacebuilding and in sustaining security on a communal level. Gender inequality is understood to inhibit development and violence against women to be a pervasive form of insecurity with widespread ill-effects across society. There is also growing awareness of the need to address the particular experiences of men and boys, both as victims and as sources of insecurity.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. Gender and security sector reform
2.1 Gender and security
2.2 Gender and (in)security in post-conflict settings
2.3 Principles for integrating gender in security sector reform

3. Gender mainstreaming and promoting women’s participation in post-conflict security sector reform
3.1 Gender mainstreaming in security sector reform
3.2 The challenge of women’s participation in security sectorreform
3.3 Women’s civil society groups in security sector reform
3.4 Women parliamentarians in security sector reform

4. Securing women’s full and equal participation in post-conflictsecurity situations
4.1 The challenge of women’s participation in security services
4.2 Women’s participation within post-confl ict security services

5. Gender and specifi c post-conflict security sector reform issues
5.1 Integrating gender in disarmament, demobilization and reintegration
5.2 Integrating gender in transitional justice and justice reform

6. Conclusions

Penal reform activities have been carried on in Europe and the United States sinceat least the late eighteenth century. Security sector reform (SSR), a much newerconcept, is a governance-driven approach that looks to strengthen the roles ofboth state and non-state actors to deliver security to individuals and communities.As such, attention to the penal system is important in any comprehensive SSR process. However, much SSR programming overlooks penal elements, and lessonslearnt through long experience in penal reform have not been applied to other SSR activities. There is limited discourse between the penal reform community ofpractice and the wider SSR community. This paper seeks to initiate a dialogue concerning the relationship between penal reform and wider security sector reform and governance. It is based on desk research and a number of interviews with penal reform practitioners. Follow this link for the publication.