DISSERTATION RESEARCH PROPOSAL
SYED RAFAY HAIDER
Student Number: 220649579/1
Area Of Law: IPHR
Research Question: How effectively do international legal frameworks,
such as the Hague Convention and the Palermo Protocol, address the
interconnected issues of child abduction and child sex trafficking?
Description:
Adopted in 1980, the Hague Convention was created to deal with the
problem of international child abductions. The Convention has been applied
to cases involving child abduction for the purpose of trafficking, despite its
primary concern being family conflicts. In addition, the United Nations
Convention against Transnational Organised Crime has a supplemental
protocol known as the Palermo Protocol, which was ratified in 2000. It
focusses on stopping and prosecuting human sex trafficking, particularly that
which involves minors. The goal of this dissertation is to critically assess the
legal modifications that have been made and their efficacy in addressing the
issues at hand.
Even while these tools have significantly improved the fight against these
crimes, their shortcomings and difficulties need to be carefully considered to
guide the creation and application of future policies. This research will
examine these legal frameworks' advantages, disadvantages, and gaps as
well as how they affect children's safety and wellbeing around the globe.
In today's globalised world, the topic of child abduction and child sex
trafficking is becoming more and more relevant. Technological
advancements such as the internet and social media platforms have created
new avenues for the abuse of children. Traffickers can easily plan worldwide
trafficking operations and communicate with potential victims, making it
difficult for law enforcement to track down and put an end to these unlawful
activities. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has drawn
attention to the ways in which technology has contributed to the rise in child
sexual exploitation and trafficking on the internet. They have seen that child
traffickers recruit victims, publicise their services, and disseminate
information about child sexual abuse via social media, which will also be a
topic of discussion in this study.
Political upheaval and economic inequality raise the likelihood of child
abduction and sex trafficking. In places where there is violence or economic
hardship, children may be compelled to leave their homes in search of
protection or money, making them more susceptible to exploitation. The UK's
Employment of Children Act (1913) focusses on guaranteeing that children
have a more stable work environment and are less likely to be subject to
exploitation, these provisions can indirectly help to child safety. The effect
that these actions have on the problem of child abduction will also be
covered in this dissertation.
This study's first section will examine how these frameworks came to be,
their historical context, and an analysis of their key principles. The benefits,
drawbacks, and potential weaknesses of various legal instruments will then
be assessed through a comparative analysis. The dissertation will also look
at the challenges in implementing these frameworks. The study will conclude
with recommendations for improving and supporting these international
legal frameworks.
This dissertation will use a socio-legal and a desk-based approach to
investigate how well international legal systems handle the trafficking of
children for sex and abduction. This method will make it possible to
comprehend the social and cultural aspects that affect how these tools are
used and how effective they are in greater detail. Additionally, this study will
be using reports from various law reform-related organisations, most of
which I can locate through Online Libraries. Furthermore, case studies will be
used to demonstrate how these frameworks might be applied practically to
handle particular cases of child abduction and sex trafficking.
Bibliography:
"Global Study on Human Trafficking" by the United Nations Office
on Drugs and Crime (2012) https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-
trafficking/index.html
"Child Abduction: A Global Challenge" by the International Centre
for Missing & Exploited Children (2015) https://www.icmec.org/
The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International
Child Abduction: https://assets.hcch.net/docs/c3433c56-4627-4dbb-
92a7-b2eaa5cea6cc.pdf
"The Business of Child Trafficking" by the International Labour
Organization (2014) https://www.ilo.org/international-programme-
elimination-child-labour-ipec/sectors-and-topics/trafficking-children
"In good company: how corporate social responsibility can
protect rights and aid efforts to end child sex trafficking and
modern slavery". New York University journal of international law &
politics (1930-6237), George, Erika R (01/10/2013).
https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?
collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/
nyuilp46&id=59&men_tab=srchresults
"SLAVERY-LIKE CONDITIONS AND ABUSE OF POSITIONS OF
VULNERABILITY: WHY THE UNITED STATES SHOULD JUDGE
COUNTRIES' EFFORTS TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFIFFICKING
BASED ON THE PALERMO PROTOCOL AND CONSIDER THE
EFFECTS OF LEGALIZED PROSTITUTION ON HUMAN
TRAFFIFFICKING". The American University journal of gender, social
policy & the law (2331-317X), 28 (2), p. 167. Baird, Danica
(01/01/2020). https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?
lname=Baird&handle=hein.journals/ajgsp28&collection=&page=167&
collection=journals
UNODC's work on online child sexual exploitation:
https://www.unodc.org/westandcentralafrica/en/westandcentralafrica/
stories/2022/countering-online-child-sexual-exploitation.html
