legislation on trafficking in persons, issues around armed conflict.
Thus, Kenya determines that exploitation also includes "forcible
or fraudulent use of any human being to take part in armed
conflict"'; whereas Kyrgyzstani, Tajikistani, and Ukraine
legislation all speak of using a person in armed conflict.o' Sierra
Leone makes plain the relationship it is seeking to criminalize:
"exploitation during armed conflicts"l0 2; while Norway is more
concerned with it citizens fighting for foreign powers: "war service
in a foreign country."'
Legislators around the world have taken up the unstated
invitation, provided by the Palermo Protocol, to define trafficking
in persons, opening up the definition to their legislative process.
Having considered the legislation of all States that have
introduced provisions into their domestic law related to
trafficking, it can be stated as fact that, at the domestic level, no
two definitions of trafficking in persons are identical. While a
number of States have variations on the theme regarding the methods and the means elements of the Palermo Protocol, a much
larger proportion of States have promulgated different readings
of exploitation by including various acts that are deemed
exploitive in their domestic legal order.
As a result, no generalization can be proffered when speaking
of 'trafficking in persons.' Instead, the near totality of obligation
flowing from the Palermo Protocol, or any other obligation related
to trafficking in persons, will be dependent on the manner in
which individual States have incorporated the notion of
'trafficking in persons' into their domestic law. The
overwhelming approach of States has been to take what was conceived as a transnational regime, meant to interrupt
organized criminal groups from creating an industry out of the
trafficking in persons, and, instead, with the ratification of the
Palermo Protocol, create an approach focused on activities solely
within their borders, further defining the notion of 'trafficking in
persons' in ways that are sometimes unique, but oftentimes
idiosyncratic.