b) Regional instruments (Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe)

The Palermo Protocol’s definition and model for addressing human trafficking has generated significant commitment: near universal ratification and replication at the regional and national levels. Many organizations have in turn adopted instruments to combat human trafficking which follow the Palermo Protocol paradigm.

Of particular note is the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings – adopted on May 16, 2005 and entered into force on February 1, 2008 (Warsaw Convention) – which is also open to non-Member Statesof the Council of Europe. It is a regional instrument but has a universal vocation. It has adopted the definition of the Palermo Protocol while also creating real added value:

• The Council of Europe Convention falls outside the strict framework of transnational organized crime: trafficking can be national or cross-border and committed by a single person or by a network of traffickers.
• It focuses more on the protection of victims, stating in its preamble that trafficking “constitutes a violation of human rights and an attack on the dignity and integrity of the human being” and that “respect for the rights of victims and their protection […] must be the primary objectives”.
• It provides for the establishment of an independent monitoring mechanism (the Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings – GRETA) to ensure compliance with the Convention by States Parties.

Gendarmerie Lieutenant Colonel Nicolas LE COZ, former president of GRETA – invited to several webinars and to a conference on human trafficking at the Institute of Peace and Development (UCA, Nice) – emphasized the impact of the Convention on the broadening of the definition of trafficking, the coordination efforts of States and the protection of victims. In particular, he emphasized that the Council of Europe Convention is the first international text to include a non-punishment provision for victims of trafficking.

In addition to the Warsaw Convention, there are other regional instruments aimed at fighting trafficking, both binding and non-binding, including:

• European Union Directive 2011/36 of 5 April 2011, on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting victims
• ASEAN Convention against Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, adopted on November 21, 2015 and entered into force on March 8, 2017
• Ouagadougou Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings, Especially Women and Children, as adopted by the African Union Ministerial Conference on Migration and Development of 22-23 November 2006
• OSCE Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings, Decision No. 557 of July 24, 2003, supplemented by the Addendum to the Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings: Addressing the Special Protection and Assistance Needs of Child Victims of Trafficking, OSCE Permanent Council Decision No. 685 of July 7, 2005

In other regions of the world, trafficking is not the subject of a specific convention but appears in broader instruments. Trafficking, which is a violation of several branches of law, may indeed appear in instruments of human rights law, labor law, migration law, environmental law, maritime law, among others. As such, all legal approaches will have to be used to combat it effectively (see III/A).

“Explanatory Report on the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings”, Council of Europe, Warsaw, 16.V.2005, Council of Europe Treaty Series – No. 197, § 36 < https://rm.coe.int/16800d388d >