1st Edition

Transnational Crime and Human Rights Responses to Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Subregion

By Susan Kneebone, Julie Debeljak Copyright 2012
    296 Pages
    by Routledge

    290 Pages
    by Routledge

    Transnational Crime and Human Rights offers an evaluation of the responses to the transnational crime of human trafficking and governance of the issue through a case study of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), which comprises Cambodia, the People's Republic of China, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam. The book analyses the international and national legal policy frameworks and the role of governments, international and national non-governmental institutions, and regional processes in responding to trafficking issues in the GMS. The book is based on the findings of a three year study conducted in the region, involving interviews with more than 60 individuals from relevant organizations and agencies, and examines the social, political and historical factors, including gender and age, labour exploitation and migration which form the background to human trafficking in the GMS. The authors consider issues of competing mandates, and gaps in strategies for protection and conclude with a discussion of broader lessons to be learned from the GMS situation and suggestions for future governance strategies in the fight against trafficking.

    1. The Discourse on Trafficking: Transnational Criminal Justice and Human Rights  2. Anti-Trafficking Discourses and International Migration: the Origins  3. The Greater Mekong Subregion: Discourses and Regional Responses in the 1990s  4. Implementing the Trafficking Protocol in the Greater Mekong Subregion: the Trafficking Definition  5. Prevention and Cooperation in the Greater Mekong Subregion: Compliance, Legitimacy and Norm Re-Enactment  6. Protection of victims of trafficking: Criminal Justice and Human Rights in the Greater Mekong Subregion  7. Conclusion

    Biography

    Susan Kneebone is a Professor in the Faculty of Law at Monash University, Australia; where she teaches Forced Migration and Human Rights, International Refugee Law, Citizenship and Migration Law. Professor Kneebone's current research projects are in relation to the protection of trafficked persons in the Greater Mekong Sub-region and labour migration in Southeast Asia.

    Julie Debeljak is a Senior Lecturer in Law at Monash University, Australia. She teaches International Human Rights Law and Comparative Constitutions and Rights. Dr. Debeljak continues to research in the area of trafficking in persons, and has a current research grant for research into the protection of human rights in closed environments.

    ‘This book is an important contribution which advances not only scholarship in this area, but has the potential to shape the thinking of a range of actors working on an issue of great significance in our region.’Laurie Berg, University of Technology, Sydney, for Australian International Law Journal

    'Transnational Crime and Human Rights: Responses to Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Subregion deepens our understanding of antitrafficking discourse and policy responses at the global and regional GMS levels. Moreover, its contextualization of the human trafficking issue within the context of migration and exploitative labor is demonstrative of the welcome shift that is taking place in the broader anti-trafficking rubric. This volume will be particularly useful for any audience interested in anti-trafficking practice. Kneebone and Debeljak’s research will also be appealing to readers interested in the complex relationship between different levels of analysis in international relations as well as normative development and compliance.' - Naomi Atkins, Australian National University, Australia for Asian Politics & Policy