UCLA Center for the Study of Women

Over the last decade, human trafficking has emerged as a legal category of prosecutable criminal behavior. The 2000 Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, created international guidelines for the identification and prosecution of human trafficking under the auspices of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. More than 110 UN member states are signatories to this protocol while actual attempts to translate it into practice continue to face major obstacles.