Regional Laws and Agreements

Africa

• 1982 African [Banjul] Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, adopted June 27, 1981, OAU Doc. CAB/LEG/67/3 rev. 5, 21 I.L.M. 58 (1982)

• 1990 African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, OAU Doc. CAB/LEG/24.9/49 (1990). Articles 27 and 29 pertain to the use of children in prostitution and the sale of or traffick in children.

• 2001 ECOWAS Declaration on the Fight Against Trafficking in Persons

• 2003 Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, adopted by the 2nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union, Maputo, CAB/LEG/66.6 (Sept. 13, 2000); reprinted in 1 Afr. Hum. Rts. L.J. 40, entered into force Nov. 25, 2005. Article 4(g) obligates state parties to take appropriate and effective measures to “prevent and condemn trafficking in women, prosecute the perpetrators of such trafficking and protect those women most at risk.”

Americas

• 1994 Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence Against Women (Convention of Belém do Pará)

• 1994 Inter-American Convention on International Traffic in Minors

 Europe

• 1953 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms

• 1996 European Convention on the Exercise of Children’s Rights

• 2000 Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union

• 2005 Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings

• 2007 Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse

• The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (the Istanbul Convention), adopted by the Council of Europe and opened for signature in May 2011, obliges states to reform laws, implement practical measures to aid victims, and, importantly, allocate adequate resources for an effective response to violence against women and domestic violence. In addition states must involve all relevant actors in the implementation of the Istanbul Convention, including national parliaments and institutions and non-governmental and civil society organizations. While the Istanbul Convention does not specifically address trafficking in women and girls, it does address the additional forms of violence women and girls may face while being trafficked. Any nation can become a signatory of the Istanbul Convention. The Convention will enter into force once ten countries have ratified it. Eight of the ten ratifying countries must be Council of Europe member states. An ongoing list of signatures and ratifications can be found here. Available here in 28 languages.

12 Steps to Comply with the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (the Istanbul Convention).

• The European Union passed Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, and replacing previous Council Framework Decision 2002/626/JHA addressing this issue. The directive takes a victim-centered approach and requires all member states to bring into force laws, regulations, and other provisions necessary to comply with the Directive by April 6, 2013.

Asia 

• 1997 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Declaration on Transnational Crime

• Asian countries have formed the ASEAN National Human Rights Institutions Forum and the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions to encourage cooperation, training, capacity building, and the promotion and protection of human rights. The Asian Regional Trafficking in Persons Project, an initiative of the Australian government, began in 2005 and focuses on promoting and protecting trafficking victims’ rights and holding sex traffickers accountable.