Human Trafficking and Refugees

Abstract

This chapter evaluates the rules that define and determine the rights and status of two, sometimes overlapping, groups of migrants: victims of trafficking and refugees. As our examination of its preoccupation with enhanced border controls, criminalisation and victim return reveals, the international trafficking regime has negative consequences for migrants, including refugees and trafficked persons themselves. Having critically appraised the trafficking regime, we consider how some of those who have been, or who are at risk of, being (re)trafficked have been recognised as refugees, highlighting the benefits that flow from such recognition. As not all victims of trafficking are entitled to refugee protection, we explore the residence rights and protection available to trafficking victims under international human rights law. Recourse to human rights law is, we argue, vital, not only to mitigate some of the trafficking regime’s harmful consequences, but also to enhance its, and international refugee law’s, protective capacities.