NCJ Number
195869
Date Published
2000
Length
24 pages
Annotation
After explaining how drug and human trafficking threaten civil society, this paper discusses international efforts to counter these threats.
Abstract
Trafficking in drugs and humans by organized crime syndicates grosses $1.5 trillion a year, giving them an economic power that rivals multinational corporations and contributing to public corruption and a deterioration of the rule of law. The single most important weapon in the fight against drug trafficking is international cooperation. This is because the drug trade knows no borders. Anti-drug legislation and investigative and enforcement techniques will be only as good as the weakest link in the international chain. In addition to law enforcement, prevention strategies, education, training, and the empowerment of victims have become important elements in drug-control strategies. Member states of the United Nations decided that the most appropriate way to deal with the problem of trafficking in human beings was to elaborate a specialized protocol within the framework of the U.N. Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. The Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea, and Air is intended to combat smuggling by the prevention, investigation, and prosecution of offenses and by promoting international cooperation. State parties are requested to criminalize the smuggling of migrants, including the procurement of illegal entry or illegal residence in order to obtain any financial or other benefit, whether direct or indirect. In confronting trafficking and in preventing and controlling the smuggling of people, the fundamental concern adopted by U.N. member states was to maintain a carefully crafted balance between law enforcement and the protection of victims. The U.N. protocol focuses on preventing and combating trafficking in persons, particularly women and children; protecting and assisting victims by complying with internationally recognized human rights; and by promoting cooperation among states in order to meet these objectives. Appended pages designed to facilitate the projection of an outline of this paper for presentation to groups