While there are currently 154 nation-state parties to the Palermo
Protocol, many complications surrounding human trafficking are left
unaddressed. Up until 2009, almost one third of the member states to the
United Nations had not ratified the Palermo Protocol. 21 While
ratification has since increased, most troublesome is the lack of
ratifications from East Asian countries. Specifically, Japan, South Korea,
Sri Lanka and Thailand have signed but not ratified the Protocol.2 2
According to the 2012 Report, "Trafficking originating from East Asia
also remains the most conspicuous globally. Based on the Report, East
Asian victims were found in 64 countries in all regions, and were often
detected in large numbers."22
International agreements can only go so far, and ultimately nationstate
legislation plays an integral role in the battle against human
24 trafficking. The United States enacted the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act (TVPA) in 2000, which criminalizes human trafficking
within the United States and also presently includes a sanctions regime
that holds other nation states accountable to U.S. domestic standards.2 5
The Executive Director of the UNODC recently stated, "Overall, the
international community has the tools to confront this crime [of human
trafficking] ," and this Comment analyzes how effectively the Palermo
Protocol and the TVPA create a framework to confront this crime by
identifying trafficking victims and addressing their needs in a manner that lives up to the philosophy of a victim-centered approach.
First, this Comment will analyze the Palermo Protocol and TVPA's
conceptualization of human trafficking victims. Second, this Comment
will explore how the Palermo Protocol and TVPA enforce and balance
the obligations of protecting victims and prosecuting traffickers. Third,
this Comment will investigate the United States' role as global enforcer
of human trafficking standards via economic sanctions on nations
noncompliant with United States' national standards and President Barack Obama's Executive Order designed to "Strengthen[] Protections
Against Trafficking in Persons in Federal Contracts.