摘要
Freedom and justice are sweet dreams for individuals who are forced or tricked into serving others against their will-who are trafficked for the purpose of exploitation.1 They are sweet dreams because freedom and justice are not guaranteed and often not realized together. Individuals who have suffered as victims of trafficking may be freed only later to find no way of pursuing justice or redress for the wrongs they suffered. Instead, their traffickers go unpunished and continue to profit. Meanwhile, governments often ignore victims’ needs and sometimes even punish victims as criminals by quickly deporting them, denying them opportunities for compensation, or holding them accountable for criminal activities they performed under duress. Shipped to and from different states, either against their will or by deception, victims suffer violations and denials of essential rights on account of both traffickers and governments. Yet, neither traffickers nor governments are adequately held accountable for their actions, or the lack thereof, and victims are left without justice.
[1] For a more expansive definition of trafficking, see Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, opened for signature Dec. 12, 2000, G.A. Res. 25, annex II, U.N. GAOR, 55th Sess., Supp. No. 49, at arts. 3, 5. U.N. Doc. A/45/49 (Vol. I) (2001), (entered into force Dec. 25, 2003) [hereinafter Trafficking Protocol] and ANTi-HuMAN TRAFFICKING UNIT, UNITED NATIONS OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME, THE EFFECTIVENESS OF LEGAL FRAMEWORKS AND ANTITRAFFICKiNG LEGISLATION, UN.GIFT B.P.:023 (February 2008).