The UNHCR's Guidelines on Human Trafficking

In April 2006 the UNHCR published Guidelines on the application of the Refugees Convention to people who have been trafficked. While there is little doubt that trafficked people are subjected to serious violations of their basic rights and interests, the applicability of the Convention is problematic because they do not fit easily into any of the categories recognised by the Convention as giving rise to an entitlement to refugee status. The Guidelines adopt the definition of trafficking contained in the Palermo Protocol to the UN Convention on Transnational Organised Crime 2000. The various elements of the refugee definition are then analysed for their relevance to trafficking. The Guidelines show that the Refugees Convention may be applicable, but in limited cases, particularly through the possibility of victims of trafficking being members of a particular social group.