The role of international treaties in combating human trafficking

The aim of the study was to critically analyse the effectiveness of international treaties in combating human trafficking. The study was conducted using dogmatic, comparative legal and criminological methods of analysis of international treaties, the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and national courts, statistical data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, as well as the practice of implementing international obligations at the national level in European and Central Asian states. The study found that the Palermo Protocol demonstrates a significant imbalance between mandatory criminal prosecution of traffickers and discretionary measures to protect victims, which critically reduces its effectiveness and hinders victims’ cooperation with law enforcement agencies. Analysis of the data showed that sexual exploitation and forced labour account for almost equal shares in the overall structure of human trafficking, with a steady trend of significant growth in the number of underage victims, which highlights the problem of adequate implementation of special protection mechanisms. It has been established that making the provision of assistance conditional on cooperation with law enforcement agencies creates a pathological situation that contradicts basic human rights principles and undermines the effectiveness of both protection and prosecution. A comparative analysis of the Palermo Protocol and the Council of Europe Convention has demonstrated a qualitative transformation of the international legal approach from a crime-oriented to a comprehensive human rights model. The GRETA monitoring mechanism, with its independent expert status and powers to conduct regular visits, addresses the critical shortcoming of the universal instrument in terms of the lack of effective oversight of the implementation of international obligations. The results obtained can be used to improve national legislation, develop programmes for the protection and rehabilitation of victims, strengthen international cooperation and create independent monitoring mechanisms at the universal level