Note from the Guest Editor

The subject of international trafficking in human beings has captured a lot of attention during the last few years from many interest groups.There are few parts of the world untouched by what may now be regarded as an expanding business always seeking out new markets.Many of the migrations within its purview take place over extremely long distances, from China to the United States or Iran to Australia, for example.Others are relatively local affairs, such as the smuggling of Mexicans across the border with the US or of Burmese into Thailand.Some trafficking now occurs within countries, notably of children in parts of South-East Asia, although internal moves are not the subject of articles in this special issue of International Migration.Trafficking is a subject that divides those who come into contact with it.Much of the concern expressed about its causes and consequences has been emotional, for example, dwelling on the plight of women and children trafficked into prostitution and sweatshop work.The role of criminal organizations has been highlighted in a human trade that some put on a par with drugs and arms smuggling in its profitability and perniciousness.Governments have announced measures to control what they deem to be an assault on their borders.Some politicians and parts of the media regard all illegal migrants as criminals, to be returned across borders as soon as possible.In contrast, human rights organizations argue that for many seeking asylum, traffickers and smugglers represent the best hope for safety, and that in many other cases the real victims are those migrants who have lost control of their own lives

Citation · Library science · Computer Science · Conflict of Laws and Jurisdiction

• Turning transnational

  Open Access•Adrian J Bailey•International Journal of…•2001

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