Understanding human trafficking: perspectives from social science, security matters, business and human rights

Abstract

Human trafficking can be traced back to the dawn of civilisation and it has economic, business and societal roots. Over the last half-century, human rights have gradually moved to centre stage in the global policy arena. And recently, security issues, poverty, inequality, law and inclusive development have also entered the picture on matters dealing with trafficking. This article provides a fresh look at the subject by focusing on trafficking from various perspectives that include consideration of diverse yet complementary dimensions – including the social sciences, security matters, business and human rights – to impart an understanding of the definitions, issues and problems to be tackled. As part of concluding remarks, suggestions for future action on the policy, practice and research fronts are offered.

Acknowledgements

I thank the peer reviewers and Professor Canter for their useful comments on an earlier draft of this article. However, I am fully responsible for the analysis and arguments presented, and any errors that remain are entirely mine.

Notes on contributor

Michael Chibba is Managing Director and Distinguished Fellow of the International Centre for Development Effectiveness and Poverty Reduction, Canada. He has a long history of work in international development, economics and business spanning over three decades and with service to a broad scope of organizations. Michael has led research and strategy-formulation activities, taught/lectured and conducted capacity building activities and stakeholder consultations, and managed and supervised many projects/programs and technical assistance in over 35 countries worldwide. He also has an extensive record of publications in refereed international journals.