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25 years ago, the landmark Palermo Protocol provided what is considered to be the ‘gold standard’ definition of human trafficking and outlined the protections and support for victims that governments must provide. It has been signed by over 190 countries, including the UK which ratified the treaty (agreed to be bound by it) in 2006. The Protocol was the outcome of years of hard-fought advocacy by anti-trafficking movements globally. But, two and a half decades on, many countries still lack the resources or the political will to enforce anti-trafficking laws effectively and, in the UK, we are witnessing an erosion of protections for victims of trafficking.  

The Palermo Protocol - also known as the ‘Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children’ - has played a vital role in shaping the UK’s response to human trafficking and in improving support for survivors. The Protocol provided the first internationally agreed definition of human trafficking, enabling states to align their domestic laws with international standards. The definition involves three key elements: 

• Act: recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of persons; 

• Means: threat, use of force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power, or vulnerability; and 

• Purpose: exploitation (including sexual exploitation, forced labour, slavery, servitude, or organ removal). 

This definition is echoed in the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings, of which the UK is also a signatory.   

Significantly, the Protocol emphasised the non-punishment principle, ensuring that victims of trafficking are not criminalised for acts they were forced to commit. This shift led to the development of shelters, counselling, and support programs across the world.   

However, many countries are falling behind in enforcing anti-trafficking laws effectively. There is an overemphasis on the criminal justice and law enforcement responses to trafficking rather than meeting the obligation to prevent trafficking. This limits the Protocol’s effectiveness and the rights of victims to protection, support and redress. Additionally, governments lose sight of the causes of exploitation, including global inequality and a lack of safe and legal migration routes, as well as the measures needed to reduce vulnerability. This has often resulted in harm rather than protection: the criminalisation of victims including children; harsh border policies; and hostile immigration systems which leave victims afraid to seek help from authorities for fear of criminalisation, detention and unsafe return to their country of origin. 

When it signed up to the Protocol, the UK committed to aligning its laws and policies with international standards focused on prevention, prosecution, and protection—the “three Ps.” This led to clearer legal definitions of trafficking and stronger mechanisms for victim identification, influencing the development of the National Referral Mechanism (the UK framework for identifying and protecting victims of trafficking and modern slavery) and the Modern Slavery Act 2015.  But in recent years we have seen significant regression and the weakening of protections for victims of trafficking as the government continues to push the narrative that these systems are being ‘abused’ and makes it increasingly difficult for victims to access them. 

Tackling  human trafficking requires concerted efforts that go beyond the national borders. It requires not only responding to the crime of trafficking but to its root causes, and addressing the systemic problems that leave people more vulnerable to exploitation. The Palermo Protocol provided the much-needed tools and framework for tackling human trafficking - we must remember its importance and continue to push for holistic, rights-based approaches that are survivor-centred and prioritise protection over punishment.