Rights and Responsibilities in Trafficking for Forced Labour: Migration Regimes, Labour Law and Welfare States

Trafficking in human beings is often associated with women & girls & especially the sex industry. Gradually information is getting through more widely about cases of exploitation in domestic work, agriculture, hospitality & construction, too. In this paper I add to the conventional picture of trafficking in human beings by illustrating that trafficking for labor occurs in a long list of industries by discussing the outcomes of a recent collaborative research project across Europe (http://www.esf.org/activities/eurocores/programmes/ecrp/ecrp-i-2005.html). I put forward an argument that vulnerability to labour exploitation is often exacerbated by current complex & restrictive migration regimes, the complexity & restrictive nature of labor laws & the harsh exclusions from welfare provisions in several European states. I suggest that cosmopolitanism is a good starting-point for addressing these issues. Usually cosmopolitanism is associated with duties across borders but in an age of migration the duties of states & their 'global citizens' are as much towards their disenfranchised counterparts within their countries. This means that creating accessible human rights involves initiatives in countries of origin, transit & destination; these should be supported by cross-border collaboration & social investment. Therefore campaigns of solidarity with trafficked persons & measures to prevent trafficking should be directed both to national provisions & international law. I also sketch some implication of cosmopolitanism for individual duties to combat trafficking & transform the regimes that exacerbate it. Adapted from the source document.