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Historical evolution of the international legal responses to the trafficking of children: A critique

Faulkner, Elizabeth A.

Authors

Elizabeth A. Faulkner



Contributors

Elizabeth A. Faulkner
Researcher

John A. Winterdyk
Editor

Jackie Jones
Editor

Abstract

The trafficking of children has received extensive attention from both academic and political arenas in recent years, yet this growing phenomenon remains a relatively new area of international law (Gallagher, The international law of human trafficking, Cambridge University Press, 2010). Human trafficking has both a long legal and political history, distinguishing it from many contemporary international legal issues (Gallagher, The international law of human trafficking, Cambridge University Press, 2010). Despite this history the term “trafficking” was not defined by international law until the adoption of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children in 2000.

This chapter will illustrate the origins of child trafficking within international law and identify an evolution in understanding of the phenomenon over the course of the last century. Through research in the League of Nations archives, Geneva, this chapter illustrates how a historical perspective enhances understanding of contemporary legal responses to child trafficking. The chapter undertakes a critical analysis of child trafficking within the context of international law, demonstrating the parallels with the White Slavery Conventions of the early twentieth century and the contemporary legal framework.

Citation

Faulkner, E. A. (2019). Historical evolution of the international legal responses to the trafficking of children: A critique. In J. A. Winterdyk, & J. Jones (Eds.), The Palgrave International Handbook of Human Trafficking (1-18). Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63192-9_113-1

Online Publication Date Jan 23, 2019
Publication Date 2019
Deposit Date Feb 26, 2019
Publisher Palgrave Macmillan
Pages 1-18
Book Title The Palgrave International Handbook of Human Trafficking
Chapter Number 1
ISBN 9783319631929; 9783319631929
DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63192-9_113-1
Keywords Child trafficking; International law; Archives; League of Nations; United Nations
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/1301582
Publisher URL https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-3-319-63192-9_113-1
Additional Information Received: 1 June 2018, 00:00:00; Accepted: 31 October 2018, 00:00:00; First Online: 23 January 2019
Contract Date Oct 31, 2018