Elizabeth A . Faulkner

Human trafficking has appeared in numerous international instruments since the early twentieth century, and predates the formation of the current international legal system.1 This chapter seeks to demonstrate the emergence of child trafficking within the legislative sphere of the League of Nations through undertaking research within the League of Nations archives, Geneva. This case study investigated the legal and policy responses to child trafficking, focusing upon the 1920s after the adoption of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children (1921). The adoption of a socio-legal lens for analysing law, policy and society within the archives enhanced the innovative methodological approach of the research. The project provided unique insights into the perceptions of children and childhood of the period in addition to highlighting the responses to child trafficking during the era of the League of Nations. Moreover, this chapter demonstrates the underutilised value of archival research within the context of legal scholarship and the manifold benefits it can bring to socio-legal research

The trafficking of children has received extensive attention from both academic and political arenas in recent years., yet this growing phenomenon remains a relatively new area of international law. (Gallagher, 2010) Human trafficking has both a long legal and political history, distinguishing it from many contemporary international legal issues. (Gallagher, 2010) Despite this history the term “trafficking” was not defined by international law until the adoption of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime; The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children in 2000. This chapter will illustrate the origins of child trafficking within international law and identify an evolution in understanding of the phenomenon over the course of the last century. Through research in the League of Nations archives, Geneva, this chapter illustrates how a historical perspective enhances understanding of contemporary legal responses to child trafficking. The chapter undertakes a critical analysis of child trafficking within the context of international law; demonstrating the parallels with the White Slavery Conventions of the early twentieth century and the contemporary legal framework.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (uncrc) 1989 has been celebrated for its universal acceptance. However, questions still arise around its provenance and representation. In particular, the Convention is deemed to enshrine Western notions of childhood upon which its rights were constructed. However, the legacy of the colonial contours of the new world order are often excluded within the context of children’s rights. It has been suggested that the new imperialism brandished under the guise of “children’s rights” serves as an effective tool to “beat” the Global South, deflecting from the continued Western dominance within the field of children’s rights. This paper interrogates the power dynamics and colonial legacy upon which views of children are formed, centralising the multitude of issues in the arena of children’s rights in the wake of what can be identified as Hokusai’s wave. 1

Human trafficking has both a long legal and political history, distinguishing it from many contemporary international legal issues. In 2000, the United Nations (hereafter, UN) Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish the Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children (hereafter, the Trafficking Protocol) created the first definition of trafficking by international law. The Trafficking Protocol through Article 3 established three key elements to trafficking, namely the action, means and exploitation. The origins of the Trafficking Protocol’s definition can be traced back to the International Convention for the Suppression of the White Slave Traffic 1910 (hereafter, the 1910 Convention) which identified the terms ‘abuse of authority’, ‘fraud’, ‘threats’ and ‘violence’ as the means elements. A doctrinal analysis of international instruments serves as a mechanism to shine light upon the evolution or transfer of ideology over a period of time. The parallels between contemporary international legal instruments implemented and their historical counterparts highlighted through a doctrinal analysis illustrate the ahistorical state of contemporary research upon the international law of child trafficking. This research demonstrates the necessity of understanding the historical developments of anti-trafficking law to understand contemporary international law.